Good news for those who pack their iPhones

[Edward Jursek]

I include my iPhone 4 as part of my UL backpacking kit. I know there have been a number of threads about smartphone use in UL hiking, about the pros and cons. I find it to be a very useful multi-functional item that I use for pictures, to keep a daily audio journal, to play games while waiting out weather, etc. I was pleased to see the new iPhone 5 comes in at a listed 112 grams (3.95oz) dropping over an ounce from my current iPhone 4, that is thankfully over two years old and ready for an upgrade. It is also volumetrically smaller and will have a longer battery life.

[Scott Bentz]

A few weeks ago I went out for 4 days solo. I almost never pack my iPhone but on this trip I did. I was glad too! I had a lot of rain one early afternoon before heading up Muir Pass (south to north). I decided to sit it out and set up my tarp in Big Pete Meadow. The only problem is I am not used to spending that much time in camp. I started a fire, which got rained out in a downpour, I fished until it rained and hailed, and I cooked. Finally, I put my headphones on and listened to music. I was really nice having it with me. I may bring it more often. I was also able to play a game or two which I never do.

Nice to see the new iPhone 5 will be lighter.

[David Thomas]

But I just heard the connector is different which would frustrating to say the least – that all my charging cables and more so, the external batteries I have, may be useless for an iPhone each other. Anyone have confirmation on that?

[Jason G]

well of coarse they will sell you a $59 adapter at the apple store

[BlackHatGuy]

Yes, connector is completely different, but there is an adapter. You'd be screwed if you had a charging case, that wouldn't work.

[drowning in spam]

Do those adapters allow anything with a docking station to still be dockable with the new iPhone?

[JP]

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[BlackHatGuy]

"Do those adapters allow anything with a docking station to still be dockable with the new iPhone?"

Don't know but I'd doubt it, since it would make the iPhone sit up much higher on whatever you were trying to dock it to.

[Mike In Socal]

"Do those adapters allow anything with a docking station to still be dockable with the new iPhone?"

Yes, but it depends on how much height you have. If the docking station is completely open on top then you have room but the phone would sit higher due to the dock adapter.

The Lightning (new) to 30-pin (old) adapter is $30.
The Lightning to 30-pin adapter cable is $39.
The Lightning to USB cable is $19.

The phone will probably come with a USB-Lightning cable but I will buy more to keep in the cars and other charging locations in the house.

[Jason G]

Just wait a couple weeks and eBay will be flooded with adapters and cables for less than $5

[Dale Wambaugh]

It was time to change the port. IMHO the 30 pin port is weak. The question is why they didn't go to a standard USB connector. Why the iPhones don't use a swappable battery is another puzzle.

[Nathan Watts]

"Why the iPhones don't use a swappable battery is another puzzle."

Probably a trade off they thought was worth doing to keep the phone as thin as it is without giving up battery capacity. Packaging a standard replaceable battery would be much less efficient.

[Brian Johns]

for the adapter. $59 is awful high. I agree the external batteries are a biggy. What if you owned a stereo (I do) that takes all previous gen iphones and pods in pop-out door like an old CD player (did I just say old CD playero; welcome to the future baby). Anyway, there would not be room for an adapter in the drawer, so I guess it will become useless unless I want to run a stereo to stereo mini cable from the headphone out to the aux input. I do think the multii pin adapter is a flawed design, but apple kept it for so long. Something more easily compatable should have been created.

[BlackHatGuy]

"Packaging a standard replaceable battery would be much less efficient."

Exactly. Apple is going away from user replaceable batteries in much of their line, much to the dismay of some users. The new Macbook Pro doesn't have one (the battery is soldered to the motherboard, I believe), the new Macbook Airs don't have one.

[Author]

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