The Urban Dictionary defines an Apple Fanboy as “A passionate advocate and promoter for Apple operating systems and hardware; also known as an Apple Evangelist”.  Now I never considered myself a Fanboy but I certainly have (at times) advocated, and maybe evangelized their products…  Those of us at The Senior List believe the Apple operating system (iOS) is quite intuitive and ought to be considered a great choice for boomers and seniors looking for tech devices.  We’ve written about tablets and their wonderful utility around the home, and we’ve written extensively about smartphones and dumb phones.

In the movie Crazy People (starring Dudley Moore and Daryl Hannah), a struggling ad executive creates a truth-in-advertising campaign after he is voluntarily committed to a mental hospital.  His inspiration comes from his fellow psychiatric patients, and the simple (yet attention getting) slogans take the advertising world by storm!  One of our favorite slogans that the “team” came up with was for Volvo, a boring brand but strong on safety.  The slogan went “Volvo – They’re Boxy But They’re Good“.  Sadly, (or maybe not so sadly) Apple’s latest products seem to fit this same mold.  Anyone who’s held a sexy Samsung Galaxy S3 in their hand and compared it to the new Apple iPhone 5 understands what I’m talking about… The iPhone 5 is boxy but it’s good.

Lot’s of folks (including myself) hoped for more than a taller, lighter iPhone in this latest release.  Perhaps the distraction of being the worlds most valuable tech company (and brand), allowed them to take their eye off the ball.  Perhaps without Steve Jobs at the helm we should give them more time to get their sea-legs under them.  Or, perhaps we’ve just entered a phase where the other guys are going to finally make a big run at Apple.  Microsoft just released Windows 8, Samsung Galaxy phones are outselling Apple iPhones on a number of carriers, and the new ultra books on the market look pretty nifty (at half the cost of the MacBook Air).  Add all this to the disastrous Apple iOS Maps debacle, and Apple suddenly looks vulnerable.  Don’t just take it from me… take a peak at Apple’s stock volatility over the last month or so!

I’m guessing that Apple will continue to be the innovative stalwart that got them where they are today.  They’ll get things right with Apple Maps, and I’ll make a prediction that the next iPhone (iPhone 6?) will be more than just a taller phone with room for “a 5th row of icons“…

If you’re a Crazy People Fanboy, here are a few of the other famous slogans that Emory Leeson’s (Dudley Moore) “creative team” came up with in the movie:

• “Forget Paris. The French can be annoying. Come to Greece. We’re nicer” (for a Greek travel agency)
• “Come… IN the Bahamas” (for the Bahamas national tourism board)
• “Jaguar — For men who’d like hand-jobs from beautiful women they hardly know”
• “It won’t just scare you, it will F (sic) you up for life!” (for a new horror film called The Freak)

We write a lot about how technology can help boomers and seniors as they age.  Staying connected is important to everyone, and the smartphone market for aging adults is rapidly expanding.  That said, today Apple unveiled it’s much anticipated line-up of devices, and by all accounts they didn’t disappoint.  The star of the show was the new iPhone 5 (yes if you voted “iPhone 5″ as opposed to “iPhone 6″ or “The New iPhone” you won) a taller, lighter and faster version of it’s predecessors.  The iPhone 5 is made of aluminum and glass (ya we knew that) and is 18% thinner than the iPhone 4S.  It’s also lighter… 20% lighter than previous models.  When you combine the fact that Apple set-out to build a better phone with a taller display, that is LIGHTER than before, it’s really quite an accomplishment.

The new iPhone 5 will support LTE and together Sprint, Verizon and AT&T will support the faster network (here in the USA).  This phone does have the A6 processor will will allow graphics etc. to load much faster that the iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S.  As for the battery, Apple reports that the battery in the iPhone 5 will exceed what is capable with the iPhone 4S.  8 hours of talk time or browsing, and 10 hours on WiFi.  The camera sounds like it’s been upgraded a bit as well.  There is better image stabilization and a front-facing 720p camera.

“Siri- What’s the best smartphone on the market today?”

Google maps may have a competitor now, as iOS maps will have 3D satellite generated imagery.  It will be interesting to see if iOS maps are ready for the big time, as there’s been some speculation as to the market readiness of the application. Lot’s of folks will be watching this eagerly… Siri (as if I have to introduce her) is naturally on the iPhone 5, but no word on how refreshed she is on iOS 6.  Apple says Siri will continue to get better and better with more languages coming aboard, and even better speech recognition down the road.

iPhone 5 comes in white or black (surprise, surprise) and is the same price as the existing 4S ($199 for 16 GB, $299 for 32 GB, $399 for 64 GB) subsidized by your local carrier.  Expect to see these new iPhones fly off the shelves like never before!  Pre-orders for the iPhone 5 start Friday the 14th with shipping commencing on September 21 (in the US and Canada).  Click through to read about our Top iPhone Apps for Seniors (and add your favorites to the list)!

In January we wrote about smartphones becoming popular choices  for boomers and seniors.  In fact Nielsen reported late last year that the demographic with the second highest smart phone penetration rates are adults aged 55-64.  Fast forward 8 months and we’re seeing smarter, bigger mobile phones taking over the market.  These new mobile phones are faster, more intuitive, have (more) advanced operating systems, and they have bigger screens (viewing areas).  Just this week rumors began swirling that Apple will make a big announcement on September 12th, and many are predicting the eminent launch of the most anticipated product launch in recent years… the iPhone 5.

Apple has been facing stiff competition recently from Samsung.  The Samsung Galaxy S3 smartphone has been gobbling up market share with a mighty fine feature set, which includes a 1.4GHz quad-core processor, a 4.8 inch  super AMOLED HD screen, and a simply gorgeous design (look and feel).  Interestingly, the Samsung Galaxy S3 outsold the iPhone in the first quarter this year.  Results then indicated a surprising jump in market share to 30.6% compared to a 24.1% share for the iPhone.  Many have postulated that it’s taken too long for the latest Apple refresh, but details are emerging daily about the pending launch of the iPhone 5.  One detail that’s interesting to note here is that the touch screen is growing from 3.5″ to a 4″ screen area, a common trend among all smartphone manufacturers.

Competition in the smartphone market is good for consumers.  It tends to drive innovation, and products usually get better as manufacturers duke it out in this most lucrative market.  Bigger screens and more intuitive UI’s (user interfaces) mean that aging adults will have an easier time adopting to the new technology (if they haven’t already).  Larger viewing areas mean easier navigation, more surface area to view photos of loved ones, and a better experience for those with deteriorating eye site (like most of us).   Improved UI’s mean better social media integration, and easier access to apps that could make a difference in the lives of boomers and seniors…