A month with the iPhone 5

Record-breaking preorders. Anticipation. Lines that begin forming a week in advance. Excitement. Launch-day lines that extend for blocks. Chaos. Supply shortages. Heartbreak. Preorder delays. Panic. Record-breaking opening weekend sales. Doubt. Problems that begin to arise. Scandals. Troubles continue to mount. Apologies. Heavy demand persists… These are the makings of an Apple (AAPL) device launch.When Apple released its third-generation iPad earlier this year, it seemed like the hype surrounding Apple launches might finally be subsiding. Lines were short, inventory was plentiful and some were left wondering if Apple fever had subsided. As it turned out, that was not the case at all. The company's manufacturing partner had finally managed to build enough devices to satisfy demand while Apple encouraged customers to preorder online rather than making in-store purchases on launch day.Electric Car Battery Maker A123 Expects Debt Default.Apple ended up selling 3 million iPads during the device's debut weekend, making it the company's second-biggest launch of all time behind the iPhone 4S.
But Apple was back to its old self last month when the iPhone 5 finally hit store shelves (albeit briefly). The phone that took less than an hour to sell out on Apple.com was also sold out at many Apple Stores and carrier stores across the country after just a few hours, and it remains extremely difficult to find a new iPhone more than a month later.Demand for a fresh new design had been building ahead of Apple's iPhone 4S unveiling last year and when the company pulled back the curtain on a smartphone that looked exactly like its predecessor, people were disappointed. They got over it quickly, of course, and the 4S went on to become the fastest-selling smartphone of all time. Even still, people wanted a "new" iPhone.I have spent the past month using Apple's new iPhone 5 alongside various other devices that have launched recently, and I've measured it against the competition as well as its predecessors. The device is certainly not without its faults — "Scuffgate" and "Mapsgate" have shown us that — but is the new iPhone 5 really "the biggest thing to happen to iPhone since iPhone," as Apple claims?
I have owned each generation of iPhone, from the original model through to the current version. From a design and materials perspective, the original iPhone was always my favorite. I was not happy when Apple moved away from aluminum and opted for plastic on the iPhone 3G and 3GS, and while the iPhone 4 and 4S moved back in the right direction by dumping cheap-feeling plastics in favor of glass and metal, I still missed the sleek aluminum housing on the first iPhone.