iPhone 5 ... hit or miss?

[eelhead]

So I've never had a smart phone but I'm thinking of getting an unlocked iPhone 5. I figure it can come in quite useful for many of the things I use now. I don't want to get one with a contract, even though in the short run it's cheaper but I don't talk or surf the internet that much that I'd warrant needing one of those plans. One of the things I want to replace (I need to buy a new one) is a GPS for my car. I often do long trips cross country or even trips to nearby cities, so I use it quite often.

My question is, would I be able to use the iPhone sufficiently enough to replace a Garmin GPS? Would I need to have a data plan? That's my main issue, I figure I can find some way to get voice plan or something prepaid preferrably as I only use the phone for calls once a week or usually during quick 1-2 min calls. I know the unlocked ones are pricey, but I figure if it can do all those things and I can still manage to pay what I pay now for calls (I had a tracfone before) then it would be worth it. Thoughts?

You would need a data plan to use the Nav features and all the other network type applications.
Unless your going to use a wi-fi hot spot all the time is how you would get by with no data plan and if you want to use the navigation and your vehicle isn't a wi-fi hot spot then the navigation will not work with no data plan.

 

[mjmm88]

Meh... basic refresh. I'll wait until 5S. lol

Why not wait until Iphone 6?

 

[tinos]

I feel like everyone was let down to some extent on this one, but honestly, what really are we waiting for?
There's only so much you can do with a hand held device and some code. I feel like all that's left is improvements on what's already there. Until it starts shooting out holograms or something... haha

I was happy that they kept the back flat, and hope they stay that way from here on out, it allows cool addons like new lenses and things like that for the hardcore iPhoneographer. I was also happy that they brought back the machined metal, that will always be a classy touch.

 

[chaosdesigns]

My wife likes to shop. She likes when I drive her. So I wait in the car while she shops and the wider screen (I surf in landscape mode) is really nice when reading this forum! The LTE is really fast too. One of the other things I love is Photo Stream. I take photos of my mods, and they are seamlessly on my computer in no time. I know its not a feature that is exclusive to the iP5 but it is a really nice feature. I upgraded from the 4S and before that I had the 3GS. Complain all you want about the new connecter but the old connecter was 10 years old and it was time for it to go. If Apple didn't embrace new tech every once in a while, we would still be using ADB, VGA and 5.25" Floppy Disks! Also, please remember, Its hard to improve on perfection.

my two cents.
chaos