“The launch of a new iPhone long ago passed from mere product introduction into the realm of cultural phenomena. Still, underneath all the hype, the iPhone 5 really is just a new smartphone. A terrific new smartphone,” Rich Jaroslovsky writes for Bloomberg. “The iPhone 5, which in the U.S. starts at $199 for a model with 16 gigabytes of storage on a two-year contract, unquestionably retains the title of handsomest phone you can buy. The fit and finish really are more like a fine wristwatch, as Apple boasts, than a gadget you might shove into pocket or purse.”

Jaroslovsky writes, “The iPhone 5 is by no means perfect, and we’re lucky there are a lot of really good smartphones on the market. But only one great one.”

Read more in the full article here.

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CNET reviews Apple’s iPhone 5: Editors’ Choice; a great, beautifully-engineered smartphone – September 19, 2012
NYT’s Pogue reviews Apple’s iPhone 5: If you’re getting one, wow, are you in for a treat – September 18, 2012
USA Today’s Baig reviews Apple’s iPhone 5: Keeps Apple at the front of the smartphone pack – September 18, 2012
Mossberg reviews Apple’s iPhone 5: ‘The best smartphone on the market’ – September 18, 2012
Pocket-lint reviews Apple’s iPhone 5: ‘This really is product design at its finest’ – September 18, 2012