Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia are looking to run 4G services on airwaves that will be freed up when analog TV broadcasts are switched off in the region by 2020.

While the move is aimed at re-allocating precious bandwidth in the sky, the use of a common 700MHz frequency band in the region could enable travellers to easily “roam” with their smartphones and log on to local cellphone services to make calls or surf the Web.

Going forward, the use of the new spectrum can “meet growing demand for mobile broadband, improve regional mobile roaming, and provide more competitive mobile broadband services,” said Singapore’s Minister for Communications and Information Yaacob Ibrahim today at the opening of the imbX trade show.

This is the clearest sign of governments in the region giving bigger chunks of the airwaves to mobile broadband services, such as 4G. These frequencies once reserved for analog TV will likely be allocated to mobile operators when the old broadcasts are switched off by 2020.

The quality of the frequency block matters as well. Signals carried on the lower 700MHz range can penetrate walls and buildings more easily than current 1,800MHz and 2,600MHz bands used for 4G in Singapore.

This means better coverage. It is the same reason why 2.4GHz Wi-Fi usually can pass through more walls at home than 5GHz Wi-Fi, which uses a higher frequency band.

In the United States, some broadcast TV operators had resisted the “re-farming” of frequencies once reserved for their broadcasts, claiming that it affected the quality of their transmissions.

That’s unlikely to happen in Singapore, where almost all homes are wired and free-to-air TV can be delivered via a cable point, phone jack or fibre connection.

At the same time, more people are using their cellphones’ Internet link to watch TV or listen to radio, instead of tuning in to broadcasts over the air. National broadcaster MediaCorp had cut digital radio broadcasts in 2011, preferring to deliver its programmes over mobile networks.

Most countries still keep a part of the airwaves for broadcast TV and radio. This is important for emergencies, when over-the-air signals are still the easiest and fastest way to reach out to a lot of people over a large area.

Another day, another network upgrade by a Singapore telecom operator.

There was a time when subscribers didn’t care how a network was run, as long as they could make calls or get their e-mails on the go. Today, however, with users often upset over clogged-up 3G networks and spotty 4G coverage, telcos seem to have upped their game publicly.

The latest news comes from StarHub today. It will blanket 95 per cent of the island with its 4G signals in the next four months, joining rivals M1 and SingTel in providing nationwide coverage for the fast mobile Internet service.

Besides 4G, the “green” camp also said today that it will improve the quality of its older 3G service. By the end of this year, it will install 40 per cent more base stations as part of its efforts to increase capacity, boost in-building coverage and reduce its dropped call rate.

StarHub also claims it is the first in Singapore to use the 900MHz spectrum for its 3G services. A bigger chunk of the airwaves means it can carry more data over thin air.

This is the kind of information that telcos were previously shy to share. They didn’t want rivals to know what they were doing, to begin with. Plus, they did not want their network equipment suppliers to be all geared up to sell them stuff – at a high price.

Yet, the battleground has changed dramatically in recent years.

Consumers now want to know exactly what their telcos are doing to make things better when they tune in to a music streaming service on their way to work or while catching up on e-mail while sitting at a cafe.

So what if they don’t understand everything that’s being done – they want to see something done. Many are committed to two-year subscription contracts, after all. If telcos can sign on thousands more users as Singapore’s population increases over the years, they should jolly well improve the networks just as quickly.

All this unhappiness began, of course, with the poor service in the past few years.

The recent arrival of 4G services, run on a separate network and using a different part of the spectrum, has made surfing on the go slightly better. Yet, few users will so quickly forget how congested the 3G networks were – and often still are – when they try to get on to the Internet.

Thus, telcos coming out to publicise their network upgrades is a positive step forward. For users, it is another way to gauge how much effort a telco is spending to provide a good experience on the go, besides just looking at the theoretical top speeds on offer.

StarHub has actually been slow to talk. M1 has been providing lots of details on its plans on femtocells, for example, to offload some of the cellphone network traffic, while SingTel recently became the first to double 4G speeds to a max of 150Mbps.

Ultimately, the user experience is still key, despite all the publicity.

Since the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) fined all three telcos for their poor 3G service coverage last year, they have wasted no time in improving their services.

Perhaps it’s time the regulator upped its standards. Besides requirements in coverage and rate of dropped calls, it’s time for telcos to meet a minimum, realistic level of service for Internet links on the go as well. After all, the phone is increasingly used to go online besides making calls.

It’s got a metallic case, it’s slimmed down drastically and it has the great camera as before. Say hello to Nokia’s new Lumia 925, which was unveiled hours ago as the follow-up to the flagship Lumia 920.

The new phone is lighter (139 grams versus 185 grams) and skinnier (8.5mm, down from 10.7mm). Most importantly, it now has a metallic case instead of the polycarbonate on the older Lumia range. Perhaps the Nokia folks have seen the wows that the HTC One has attracted?

Well, one thing’s for sure. The Lumia 925 is not going to suddenly draw in the crowds. It will be a great phone, but won’t shock people out of the default choice of Android or iOS.

The smooth Windows Phone operating system that the Lumia range runs will surely impress those who don’t have a lot of apps already invested on the top two OSes. It will be a tougher sell, though, to ask existing users to switch.

Nokia has smartly – or stubbornly, depending on how you see it – stuck to a formula here. The Finnish phone maker has taken the best of the Lumia 920 and slimmed it down into the Lumia 925. That’s not a bad thing, since one common complaint against the Lumia 920 was its heft.

One thing to note though: the change to a metallic cover means that you need a separate one to charge the phone wirelessly. Previously, the built-in wireless charging on the Lumia 920 was an important selling point.

Otherwise, the same hardware that impressed before should impress now. The Lumia 925 has the company’s 8.7-meg lens that’s assisted by an optical image stabiliser, which helps avoid blur images. The camera is also one of the best to be mounted on a phone.

The specs that matter, the Lumia 925 has them. There’s 4G built in, a reasonably large 4.5-inch screen (at 1,280 x 768 resolution) and also near-field communications for tap-and-go wireless services.

The dual-core 1.5GHz processor may seem long in the tooth compared to quad- and octa-core monsters these days, but Windows Phone should run pretty well on it, as it has before with the older Lumias.

Actually, the problem with the Lumia 925 will be the same as before – getting people to believe that Nokia is back. And of course, that Windows Phone is a real alternative. It actually is, but people are often too lazy to find out about it or too used to their existing phones to switch.

Well at least the price is attractive. The Lumia 925 will cost about €469 (S$755) - compared to almost S$1,000 for a top Android phone – when it goes on sale in Europe and China in June, followed by the United States.

We’ll update on prices for Singapore when we get information on that.

Tablet and PC users who want a pay-as-you-use 4G connection can now buy prepaid cards from M1, which unveiled Singapore’s first such service earlier today.

An S$18 micro- or nano-SIM card provides up to 1GB of data for a month, which could translate into hundreds of webpages or just dozens of high-rez videos on YouTube, depending on the content consumed. 

The prepaid service will appeal to those who may want to give M1′s islandwide 4G network a try before signing up with a monthly subscription. In comparison, committing to a two-year deal means paying less each month – S$24 for 2GB and S$32 for 5GB.

The new 4G plan will connect at up to 75Mbps, on paper. Typical speeds, however, are between about 10Mbps and 21Mbps, according to the telecom operator.

By being the first to the game, M1 will hope to establish itself as a leader in 4G. In September last year, it had been the first to announce a nationwide 4G service, beating rivals SingTel and StarHub to the game.

Since then, all three telcos have been bringing in 4G phones, such as the Apple iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy Note II, and most mid- to high-end phones this year are expected to support faster 4G networks.

Sony seems to have gotten its game together like never before, and that includes shipping its flagship phone on time to steal a march over rivals.

The Xperia Z, possibly the best phone from Sony in a long while, is going on sale in Singapore on March 1, for a rather expensive but not unexpected S$988. Impatient buyers can pre-order from February 15 at Sony stores or telecom operators.

From what we’ve seen so far (read our hands-on test),  the Xperia Z is a well-designed and feature-packed gizmo that can take on and possibly beat popular models from HTC and Samsung.

It certainly doesn’t lose out in the hardware department. With a 5-inch screen displaying Full HD resolution, a 1.5GHz quad-core chip and 2GB RAM, it connects to speedy 4G or LTE (Long Term Evolution) networks.

It also betters HTC and Samsung offerings with a 13-meg camera, which promises to bring the Japanese electronics giant’s expertise on digital imaging to the small device.

One more thing that might attract users: a waterproof frame that lets you carry the phone to the pool side without worry. At launch, the Xperia Z will also come in black, white and purple.

Is S$988 a little expensive? The Android phone is certainly not cheap, but the cost is within the range of high-end models from Samsung, for example.

Has Sony pulled a winner out of the hat? Well, this phone will be out for pre-order just as the hype begins with new phones to be launched in the yearly Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in late February. That’s pretty fast, considering that the phone was unveiled only last month.

However, Sony will have to contend with the might of Samsung, now the largest phone maker in the world, in terms of marketing and advertising.

Geeks will no doubt be interested in the Xperia Z, but the bigger market of fashion-conscious “lifestyle” users will have to be convinced Sony is back, amid the Korean wave.

Check out our review of the Xperia Z here.

Yet another year filled with surprises and no less interesting technology products and services has passed us by, perhaps too fast for some of 2012′s winners and not too soon for the strugglers.

The past 12 months have seen a great variety of tablets, from the Google Nexus 7 to Apple’s iPad mini, while Microsoft and partners tried their best to jump on the mobile bandwagon by bringing touch screens to everyday PCs with Windows 8.

In many ways, the much-talked about convergence of computers and mobile technologies has brought about some of the keenest competition that hasn’t been seen in years.

That’s not even mentioning the other big headlines of the year, like Facebook going public, Apple and Samsung’s courtroom joust and in Singapore, the arrival of cheap and fast fibre broadband.

Now, just hours away from 2013, users could well be staring at another year of great tech gadgets, sometimes frustrating technologies that fail to live up to expectations, and oh, winners and losers, definitely. Here are eight trends to look out for in the new year.

1. 4G goes mainstream
Unlike the last time when 3G rolled around, the new 4G services that started appearing throughout the world in 2012 are actually faster, less bug-ridden and most importantly, work as advertised. Oh, and the phones are not bulky or ugly like the first 3G models. At least for now, when there are few users on the new network, you can expect a speedier experience on the go.

In the next 12 months, 4G will become even more popular. More handsets, tablets and even Windows 8 PCs will arrive, and possibly by the end of 2013, 4G will be expected, rather than the exception, in the next mobile gizmos you buy.

Can 4G services become cheaper in 2013 with maturing technology and tougher competition? It’s hard to say, but in Singapore, don’t rule out telecom operators giving more free data bundles after cutting down from 12GB to 2GB.

They had gone overboard with the cutback and may just feel that there’s some leeway left to tempt new subscribers, as new devices from Samsung or Apple launch in 2013.

2. Android to dominate, Blackberry to struggle
Place a Samsung Galaxy Note II next to an iPhone or worse, a Blackberry, and it’s clear which is the biggest winner in mobile phones in 2012. The Korean phoner, along with Google’s Android operating system, is gaining the kind of traction that is taking it away from competitors towards the end of the year. The trend looks to be continuing in 2013.

Android had grabbed 72.4 per cent of the market share in the third quarter of 2012, up from 52.5 per cent a year ago, the latest numbers from research firm Gartner suggest. Apple has seen its share fall from 15 per cent to 13.9 per cent, while Microsoft and a resurgent Windows Phone have climbed slowly from 1.5 per cent to 2.4 per cent in the same period.

The worst of the lot? Research in Motion and Blackberry, whose share of the pie has been cut from 11 per cent to 5.3 per cent. Even as it readies its comeback story, the Blackberry 10 operating system, it knows it’s facing a steep, uphill climb.

Developers are not crazy about it. Even in Blackberry stronghold Indonesia, people are buying Android phones. The momentum has clearly shifted away long ago, and 2013 could well be a very long year for RIM. -Alfred Siew

3. Big Data gets bigger
There was plenty of talk on Big Data in 2012, with nearly all major enterprise IT vendors touting technologies that help companies make sense of the growing pool of corporate data.

But Big Data is more than analysing structured information embedded in Excel spreadsheets and databases – it also involves volumes of unstructured data embodied in e-mail messages and social media content that are created every second. When put together, these data sources can reveal interesting insights that can be used to guide business decision-making.

While large companies are expected to embark on full-scale Big Data projects in 2013, small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) will test the waters through pilot projects before jumping onto the bandwagon. The latter group offers a significant business opportunity for IT vendors, which will tailor Big Data offerings – possibly through the cloud – to suit the needs of smaller companies.

4. More cloud security threats and scams
Cybercriminals will be hard at work as more companies embrace cloud computing this year. Cloud services with heaps of corporate and personal information will be a key target, along with corporate networks that employees are increasingly hooking up to through personal devices.

Scammers will continue to lure consumers to give up personal and credit card information through tried-and-tested ways such as social engineering, botnets and malware.

So, don’t be too quick to click on links embedded in suspicious e-mails that request you to update your LinkedIn profile or accept friend requests. If there’s anything that sounds too good to be true – like changing the background colour of your Facebook profile - it’s probably a scam. -Aaron Tan

5. Cameras will be even smarter
Towards the end of 2012, we’re seeing the first waves of the next natural progression for digital cameras: connectivity. Android-powered cameras are making inroads into the market, and DSLRs with built-in Wi-Fi (or peripherals which let them connect to WiFi) all promise to link your camera to the cloud. In 2013, expect to see much more of these “smart cameras”, and more innovative ways of taking advantage of such connectivity.

6. The TV space heats up
For decades, the key entertainment tech in your living room had been the television. Key to your television experience is content, and next year, the battle for your eyeballs will be the fiercest yet.

Content delivery is evolving, and it’s possible to cut yourself off those expensive cable TV bills right now. Tech companies are all stumbling over each other to build up a stable of movies and TV shows, not just in the US and parts of Europe, but in Asia too.

Beyond simply serving up shows, the boxes you plug into your TV will bring more services together, from the cloud and from your personal gadgets such as smartphones and tablets.

Microsoft, for instance, is pushing the Xbox as an integrated entertainment device, with support for apps and integration with Windows 8. Steam has also announced that it will go for a slice of the pie with a new gaming machine next year.

In 2013, we expect to see more companies defining their strategies for the living room, offering new ecosystems with a range of services than just video. We also expect to see more streaming content available in the local market, giving our fibre infrastructure a real workout. -Raymond Lau

7. Growth of niche social networks
The big players of social media need to watch out as niche social networks surge in 2013. While Facebook reached more than 1 billion users and Twitter attracted 200 million active users in 2012, rival niche social networks have also been on the rise.

Sure, Facebook is still the top player in the social media landscape, but it is trying to be everything at once, incorporating a mish-mash of features to cater to a wide audience. It’s trying to help publicise their location, share images and update statuses.

Niche social networks, as the name suggests, are quite the opposite. Pinterest and Tumblr are examples of hugely successful niche social networks which offer users deeper functionality and engagement with limited options to what they can do. On Pinterest or Tumblr, you simply share things or hobbies that you are interested in.

The explosive growth of these platforms suggests that simplicity and specific functionality are important to users. The possibilities for niche social networks are endless, ranging from dating to religion to cooking to networking. In the coming year, it is likely that there will be a spike both in the growth niche social networks and the number of users turning to these platforms.

8. Mobile content becomes more important
With the smartphone and tablet boom in 2012, businesses are starting to recognise the importance of mobile devices as more users surf, browse and communicate in real-time and on the go. As they spend more time on mobile apps than on Web surfing, businesses will have to beef up on their mobile apps in the coming year and more social media marketing will revolve around mobile content. Singaporeans already prefer the phone as an online shopping tool.

Also, as tablets become more size-friendly a la the iPad mini and Google Nexus 7, even more people will turn towards tablets as a device for browsing and reading. Websites and applications will be designed to make the browsing and usage optimal for tablet users, incorporating the touch and swipe features that meld seamlessly with the tablet experience. -Zen Soo

Share with us what you think will dominate the headlines in technology in 2013 in the comments!

Things have moved very fast since all three cellphone operators in Singapore decided or ramp up their coverage with faster 4G or LTE (Long Term Evolution) services two months ago.

The good news is that there are now several options for 4G phones. Today, many of the latest top-end models can link up to the new network, should you choose to sign up to a 4G service.

Here are five phones, out in the shops or coming in the next few weeks, that you should check out.

Samsung Galaxy Note II LTE
The “it” phone now that is sold out in shops everywhere, Samsung’s large phablet – a cross between a phone and tablet – comes with the fast download speeds as well as every feature in the spec sheet.

The Galaxy Note II’s huge 5.5-inch screen is the first thing that catches your eye, followed how sharp and high-contrast the display can be. Of course, the shops will have it plugged in and running at 100 per cent brightness, but still, all things considered, this smartphone has one of the best displays around.

The quad-core CPU plus Google’s Android 4.1 (Jellybean) software keep things running smoothly. And yes, if you want to scribble or draw, there’s a handy stylus as well (read our hands-on test).

With a nice screen to watch online movies easily on, this is probably the first LTE phone you should consider – as long as you carry it in a handbag, man bag or jeans that have big pockets. But don’t confuse it with the Galaxy Note LTE, an LTE version of the previous Galaxy Note and which is still sold in stores.

Samsung Galaxy S III LTE
If you like Samsung’s latest rounded, smooth and shiny designs, then a smaller phone like the Galaxy S III LTE will fit more easily in your pocket. Almost like a smaller sibling to the Note II LTE, the LTE version of the popular S III still has a great 4.8-inch screen (read our hands-on test).

With a very sleek finish and the smooth Android 4.1 (Jellybean) operating system, this is definitely an option to consider if you prefer a more “regular-sized” phone. It’s also usually cheaper than the Note II LTE.

HTC Windows Phone 8X
Besides having LTE onboard, this Windows phone is worth checking out for its quite stunning build. The Taiwanese phone maker has used similar polycarbonate finishes in its One series of Android phones, and on the Windows Phone 8X, it once again impresses with a nicely contoured and attractive body (read our hands-on test).

Though the Windows Phone 8X comes with “only” a dual-core processor, it is no slouch when you are moving between apps. Besides speed, what the Windows Phone software also offers is the tile-based interface and people-centric interaction. Both make it a joy to use, especially for folks new to smartphones.

Nokia Lumia 920
Despite being the unofficial flag bearer for Microsoft’s phone operating system, the Finnish phone maker has lost out to HTC when it comes to naming its phones after the software. Yet, its Lumia 920 is no pushover, and should be a contender if you are looking for an LTE phone (read our hands-on test).

The 4.5-inch screen will wow with its deep blacks, as Nokia’s screens have been known to offer. The wireless charging is another cool and useful feature to have onboard. And for those who shoot holiday photos with their phones, the Lumia 920 promises to take sharp images with image-stabilisation included with its 8.7-meg camera.

Apple iPhone 5
Finally, there’s Apple’s iPhone 5. If you will buy a phone from Apple and no one else, then obviously only the latest iPhone will do. It supports LTE in Singapore, unlike the previous iPad, but it might not be able to connect to the faster network at as many places as other devices here. The reason: it supports only one of the two frequency bands used in Singapore’s LTE networks.

Are you using a 4G or LTE service in Singapore? Share with us your experience!

When the Galaxy Note was unveiled a year ago, I saw it as a niche product aimed at folks who might do a bit of sketching on the go. Why would people go back to a stylus and isn’t a 5-inch screen too big for a phone?

Well, if you see the queues this weekend in Singapore for the Galaxy Note II, the followup to the surprise hit last year, you’ll know how wrong many geeks like me have been.

The new S$998 “phablet” – a cross between a phone and tablet – comes with a slightly bigger screen and now looks even more like a sure-fire crowd pleaser.

Firstly, if you liked the Galaxy S III, you’d be happy that the same touch-and-feel is here. The previous Note’s squarish shape has been replaced with the slightly smoother edges now.

The softer, more streamlined look will attract so-called “lifestyle users”, who have taken to the Galaxy S III very well. Yet another winning feature here is the S-pen stylus, which lets them sketch whatever they fancy or jot down notes.

What are the major changes? The new 5.5-inch screen is slightly upsized from the 5.3-incher on the previous model, while the girth is a slim 9.4mm, a hair’s breadth skinnier than the previous 9.7mm, despite the extra features packed in.

That means if you’ve always felt that the Note was too big for your pocket, the Note II will not make it easier to squeeze into your skinny jeans. Having said that, size is no issue if you are carrying a hand bag.

What I’m most impressed with the Note II is still its screen. The HD Super AMOLED display is sharp, with a resolution of 1,280 x 720, and also very bright and comes with excellent contrast that really shows in images and videos.

I’ve always been pleased by the Korean phone maker’s Super AMOLED screens, and on the Note II, the experience is no different. Just try playing an HD movie on it.

Yet another important draw is how smooth the Android operating system (Jellybean 4.1.1) is on the phone. Even with all the junk apps and widgets that Samsung somehow feels obliged to fill all the screens with, there’s none of the lag you’d expect as a result.

Software-wise, I’m also wowed by a new “hover” feature presented by the S-pen, the stylus. Place it over a menu on screen and it brings up a preview, of say, a movie. It acts as if you have pressed on something on screen and held your finger there.

A gimmick, I thought, when I first saw the demo on stage. Yet, when I tried it out later, the feature proved pretty nifty. Very importantly, no lag there either.

Perhaps it helps that the Note II has a 1.6GHz quad core chip. For folks looking to jump on 4G services, there’s also 4G LTE, promising theoretical download speeds of up to 100Mbps, if your operator supports it.

How will all that impact the battery life? I can’t say for sure, until I get a review unit to test it for a few days. But there’s more juice in the battery – the 3,100mAh now an improvement over the original Note’s 2,500mAh.

(Queue for the Samsung GALAXY Note II LTE at M1 Paragon on Saturday. Credit: Samsung.)

Just to make sure that this is the “complete” phone, Samsung has also added to the Galaxy Note II a microSD card slot that lets you pop in your own movies should you run out of space with the 16GB of storage onboard the basic model.

Then there’s near-field communications (NFC), which offers an option to tap and pay for an widening range of services in Singapore now.

All in, there’s little not to like about the Note II. It’s a nice followup after the Korean electronics firm had hit gold with the Galaxy S III. This time, it’s surely not a niche product.

Got your hands on the Note II? Tell us what you think of it so far?

Despite seeing its rival M1 become the first to offer 4G throughout Singapore, SingTel is sticking to its guns and promising that its slower rollout will provide better quality.

M1 became the first telecom operator here to cover 95 per cent of the island with LTE or Long Term Evolution signals on September 15, and the pressure is now on the other two local telcos to match up.

Yet, the “red camp”, Singapore’s biggest telco, has hit back by suggesting it offers better quality of service. Said its CEO for Consumer in Singapore, Yuen Kuan Moon: “We will focus on quality rather than (rush to) cover the entire island with LTE.”

Speaking at a media briefing with network equipment vendor Ericsson on Monday, he said customers who hop on to SingTel’s LTE network now will be able to fall back on upgraded 3G speeds of up to 42Mbps in areas where the LTE signal is unavailable.

This faster 3G is exclusive to SingTel’s LTE subscribers, and appears to be a temporary measure to keep LTE subscribers happy until the whole island is covered.

SingTel currently has 50 per cent of the island covered with LTE and expects 95 per cent coverage by March 2013.

Check out our guide to whether or not it’s a good time to jump on the 4G LTE bandwagon.

I was on the way to an Office Depot, the most boring store here in San Francisco, when I passed by the Yerba Buena area where Apple was unveiling its new iPhone 5. Past the hype, I walked on round to 3rd Street and picked up a couple of non-magical, non-revolutionary Nexus 7s.

If there’s something to be said about Apple’s event this morning in the United States, it’s that it’s underwhelming. Okay, that’s unfair, seeing that the iPhone 4S launch before that was worse in terms of new features or hardware, but hey, Apple still went on to sell millions of those.

So, warts and all, disappointments and burst bubbles aside, don’t be surprised to see Apple sell loads of the iPhone 5. There are just enough people out there who would buy an iPhone even if it’s a rebadged Blackberry or Nokia.

But seriously, what’s important – and what’s good – about the new iPhone 5 can be boiled down in a few words. The first has to do with LTE (Long Term Evolution) or 4G. In East Asia, like Singapore, Hong Kong and South Korea, the iPhone 5′s support for the faster networks will drive the adoption of the newer technology.

In Singapore, for example, only a handful of phones and tablets support the new network, so telecom operators have been fast to pick up on the iPhone craze to sell these 4G plans. They have already lined up price plans for the new Apple gizmo, before it reaches the shops on September 21.

Sadly, other than that, the iPhone 5 is far less impressive than the usual Apple hype would have it.

It’s got a 4-inch screen that’s smaller than the competition (the “copycat” Samsung Galaxy S III has a 4.8-incher) and the resolution is less than the competition (1,136 x 640 against the 1,280 x 720 on the S III and HTC’s One X and One XL). Okay, it’s very light at 112 grams, quite unlike the previous iPhone 4S, but it’s far from the revolutionary, magical product that Apple likes to tout its products as.

Perhaps it’s unfair to criticise Apple as such. The iPhone 5, all things considered, is a very competitive product. It’s just not the best.

Indeed, the iPhone hasn’t been the best for a long time, hence Apple’s attempts to halt the sales of Samsung products (it’s succeeded in suing Samsung in the US but has been rebuffed in Japan and Britain).

Even the BBC, which had previously lauded older iPhones like many Apple-mad mainstream media outlets, says the magic has gone. Research firm Ovum has a more sobering message: if Apple doesn’t innovate with new features, it’s in for a hard time in the next two years against Google’s Android, which is leading the market now.

The new iPhone just doesn’t have the wow factor that others have picked up and ran with. Nokia’s Lumia 920, which runs the less popular Windows Phone 8 software, comes with wireless charging – a gimmick but cool, nonetheless. Samsung’s Galaxy S III is slim, fast and boasts a sharp screen and it’s been selling for months now.

Better yet, Google’s Android has some of the best maps and other cloud services which Apple is trying to replicate with iCloud. To the average consumer, if this is what innovation is about at Cupertino, they’d probably rather have the Korean copy.

Sure, there’s nothing that will stop the long queues forming up outside a telco launch in Singapore and elsewhere next week. But it’s ironic that Apple fans now speak like Microsoft supporters of the past.

In the 1990s, when Apple was an underdog, its Macs had the cutting edge with SCSI drives and scanners besting the PC’s slower parallel and serial links, and the early beige Macs ran on a graphical interface that did not throw up a blue screen like the Windows of the day did so ever often.

The reverse is true today. Now, Apple is the laggard when it comes to technology and is banking on users who only know the iPhone as the one smartphone they’d own. It is using its dominance to sell underwhelming products to users who don’t know better. Ironically, rather like Windows and the boring PC in this post-PC era.