Apple fans gear up for the iPhone 5 and iOS6

Last week Apple announced the release of its highly anticipated iPhone 5, set to hit shelves September 21, and they’re already breaking records. Adding to the excitement,  iOS6 pushes to existing Apple users on September 19. The new iPhone has the expected improvements, but nothing outrageous:

–          Longer, Thinner, Lighter Design

–          4in Retina Display w. 44% more color saturation than the 4S

–          A6 Processor

–          4G LTE support

–          802.11n and Bluetooth 4.0

–          8 hr talk time, 10 hr video playback

It’s notable that Apple decided not to include NFC in the new device, which will further delay the relevance of NFC-dependent solutions in the marketplace. Once you’ve got your iPhone5, get ready for some super upgrades to the software. Some changes to get ready for in iOS6:

–          Apple has dropped Google Maps for own Maps software. Let’s hope it rocks!

–          Turn-by-turn navigation

–          Panoramic image support with the new camera app

–          A smarter Siri that can launch apps

–          New Passbook “wallet” app to hold loyalty cards, coupons, tickets and more.

–          Deep Facebook Integration

–          Video Chat over 3G Networks

–          Special Phone Features including auto-responses via text while on the line

–          VIP Mailbox and custom email alerts

And those are just a few of the over 200 features Apples pumped into iOS6. It’ll be exciting to see how the community receives these changes in the coming weeks. Of the list we’re most excited about Passbook, the new “wallet” app that will hold coupons, loyalty cards, tickets and more. If and when Apple decides to move into the mobile payments space, Passbook sets them up for a graceful entrance. Check out the Passbook demo from this year’s WWDC:

What do you think of the new iPhone? iOS6? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.