Tech Watch: iPhone 5 Flaws May Keep New Buyers Away

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) - The iPhone 5 is a great phone, but it's been awhile since Apple was the only serious choice and this phone doesn't change that.

One of the most irritating issues with the iPhone 5 (and there are only a few) is that it is unable to do voice and data connections at once on Sprint and Verizon. Other 4G phones on those carriers are able to do so, but not the iPhone 5. That's due to the way Apple designed the phone and it's going to leave iPhone 5 users having to hang up to check a map or grab or search for something while their peers on other phones can do both at once. This may be an issue for you or not, depending on how (and how avidly) you use a smartphone.

Apple Maps is buggy and unfinished and that's a big problem. The search in Google Maps is far more comprehensive than the Yelp powered search Apple uses. Street View doesn't exist with Apple Maps, and many areas don't even have the flyover mode.

Related: Apple iPhone 5 Sales Weaker Than Expected

Finally, you have to think about the adapters you may need to connect an iPhone 5 to your legacy iPhone accessories. The adapter is $29 from Apple, though cheap knock-offs are starting to emerge. But even if they were free, even Apple doesn't promise they will adapt your new phone to every accessory and they are just another rather clumsy piece of gear you have to attach to your sleeker, thinner, lighter iPhone. It's just a bit against the grain.

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