Five user complaints about iPhone 5

(CNN) -- Apple's iPhone 5 broke records over the weekend, selling more than 5 million units.

Most of those new owners, many of whom lined up at Apple stores and other retailers, are presumably happy with their new gadget, which has been praised for its bigger display screen, lighter and thinner form, and faster processor.

But, as with many new tech products, there have been glitches, too. As the new iPhones get road-tested, buyers have taken to the Web to complain about issues ranging from the fixable to the unfortunately final.

The doozy has been a spotty maps application. For the first time, Apple's latest operating system replaced rival Google's mapping service with its own. As many people got their first look at it with a new phone, they've found huge chunks of the world missing, or locations showing up in the wrong place. (Apple said the app is a work in progress and will be fixed.)

Plenty has been written about that issue. But other gripes have emerged as well. Some sound legitimate. And, given the hyper-intense nature of the tech world's "love-hate" relationship with their gadgets, a couple just sound downright silly.

After a few days of putting the new smartphone through its paces, here are five gripes people have with the iPhone 5.

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1. Scratches

Apple prides itself on making products that aren't just functional but beautiful as well.

But users are reporting that after having their iPhone 5s for only days, or even hours, the sheen on the sleek, aluminum phone is getting scratched up.

Melissa Jenna Godsey at iFixIt.com posted a YouTube video of her 2-year-old daughter hitting and scratching the phone's aluminum rear case with a set of keys, creating visible scratches and dents. Similar scuffing of the iPhone 4S revealed little, if any, damage.

"I know this is kind of an extreme case, but she's not the strongest two-year-old," Godsey said. "And this all just happened, so I can only imagine what this is going to look like after a couple of weeks of solid use."

Answering an e-mail from a user, Phil Schiller, Apple senior vice president of worldwide marketing, downplayed the issue.

"Any aluminum product may scratch or chip with use, exposing its natural silver color," Schiller said in the e-mail, reported and verified by Apple-centric blog 9to5 Mac. "That is normal."

Translated on Twitter by PC Mag writer Sascha Segan: "Apple: iPhones Aren't Chipping, They're Just Shedding Their Skins To Become Beautiful Butterflies."

2. Lightning dock connector

The tech world is nothing if not full of change. But many longtime Apple users are irked at the company's decision to use a smaller connector port, called Lightning, on the iPhone 5 and new iPods. With one fell swoop, that meant both a need for new power cords and that the new products won't connect with older speaker systems, alarm clocks and other accessories.

The fix? A $29 adapter (which costs $39 if you want a new cable with it). And even then, the adapter doesn't support video or the "iPod out" function for transmitting some data from the devices.

"Day 3 of having the new iPhone and I already lost the power cord #thanksapple," wrote one Twitter user.

"It's time to gouge our customers for a ton more money," Disqus commenter dawsg4ever quipped.

A Lightning-to-USB cable costs $19 and, according to Apple's website, currently has a one- to two-week wait time to be shipped.

3. The phone's too light

We told you some of these are kind of weird.

One of Apple's selling points for the new phone is that it's the lightest smartphone ever.

One of the emerging complaints? That it's the lightest smartphone ever.

To some users, a phone without the usual heft feels suspiciously cheap, toylike. Gizmodo rounded up some of the gripes under the headline, "The Weirdest Thing People Hate About the iPhone 5."

Those, culled from Twitter, included these nuggets:

• "Can I be honest and say I wish the iPhone 5 was slightly thicker and heavier. Hate thin phones!"

• "Held the iPhone 5. Way too light for this spazz-attack. I need a heavier phone so I don't completely destroy it."

• "This new iPhone is way too light. I feel like its gonna just fly outta my hand with the slightest breeze #firstworldproblems"

Should you upgrade to the iPhone 5?

4. Screen issues

OK ... there are 5 million new phones in the wild now, so inevitably there are going to be some lemons. It's hard to know how widespread it is, but a handful of problems with the phone's touchscreen are bubbling up, too.

One YouTube video shows what appear to be weird bubbles showing up on one part of the display screen when the user touches another.

Threads on the Macrumors site also were filling up with people who said their screens started flickering just hours after getting their new phone.

5. Leaking light

Phones aren't supposed to leak. But users on multiple forums are reporting that light from the screen appears to be showing through gaps around the iPhone 5's antenna and power button.

Boy Genius Report said it's happening on one of its phones and shows light streaming out of a small crack beneath the power button. The report said the leak is only visible in low light. Users said Apple has been offering replacements.

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Rihanna leads MTV Europe Music Award nominations

Pop sensations Rihanna and Taylor Swift are up against each other in three categories. PHOTO: FILE

LOS ANGELES: 

Barbadian R&B singer Rihanna led the nominations for the MTV Europe Music Awards on Monday with six nominations, ahead of country songstress Taylor Swift with five and pop stars Justin Bieber and Katy Perry with four each.

The music channel said Rihanna had been shortlisted for best song “We Found Love”, best female, best pop, best video for “We Found Love”, “biggest” fans and in the new category best look.

She is up against Swift in the female, pop and look categories, while Swift was also nominated for best live and best world stage act.

Lady Gaga dominated last year’s awards held in Belfast, coming away with four prizes and performing “Marry the Night”. This year she is nominated for three awards – best live act, best video and “biggest” fans.

The awards, many of which are voted for by MTV fans online, are one of the biggest pop events outside the United States, and, despite being based in Europe, are generally dominated by American artists.

This year they will be held in Frankfurt’s Festhalle on November 11.

Following are the main nominations:

Best song: Carly Rae Jepsen/“Call Me Maybe”; Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris/ “We Found Love”; Gotye/ “Somebody That I Used To Know”; Pitbull feat. Chris Brown/ “International Love”; Fun. feat. Janelle Monáe/ “We Are Young”

Best new: Rita Ora; Fun.; One Direction; Lana Del Rey; Carly Rae Jepsen

Best female: Rihanna; Katy Perry; P!nk; Taylor Swift; Nicki Minaj

Best male: Justin Bieber; Kanye West; Flo Rida; Pitbull; Jay-Z

Best pop: Justin Bieber; No Doubt; Katy Perry; Taylor Swift; Rihanna

Best live: Taylor Swift; Lady Gaga; Jay-Z & Kanye West; Green Day; Muse

Best hip hop: Jay-Z & Kanye West; Nas; Rick Ross; Drake; Nicki Minaj

Best rock: Linkin Park; Green Day; Muse; The Killers; Coldplay

Best electronic: David Guetta; Swedish House Mafia; Avicii; Skrillex; Calvin Harris

Best alternative: Jack White; The Black Keys; Arctic Monkeys; Florence + The Machine; Lana Del Rey

Best video: M.I.A./Bad Girls; Lady Gaga/Marry The Night; Katy Perry/Wide Awake; Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris/We Found Love; PSY/Gangnam Style. 

Published in The Express Tribune, September 19^th, 2012.

Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean Test OTA update for Samsung Galaxy S3 revealed

Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean Test OTA update for Samsung Galaxy S3 revealed

Heads up, those of you who are rocking to the South Korean version of the Samsung Galaxy S3, which is also known by its model number SHV-E210K. It seems that the Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean Test OTA (Over The Air) update for said handset can be retrieved, although it is not yet available to the masses. Word has it that this particular update will also be able to assist 3rd party Android Developers such as CyanogenMod Team to further improve their Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean custom ROMs for Samsung Galaxy S3. Again, we must stress that this particular Jelly Bean Test is meant for the South Korean version of the Galaxy S3 only, try it on other Galaxy S3 models and it will not work.

The entire OTA update weighs in at a massive 323.9MB, sporting a build date of September 18, 2012. You will need to be on E210KKKALH6 firmware before the update can be flashed properly. For the uninitiated, you might just want to play it safe and wait it out for an official Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean update for your device and save yourself from any potential heartaches and headaches.

Samsung Galaxy Note II with dual-SIM capabilities gets spotted in the wild

Now that the second-gen Note is finally out of Samsung's precious (and teasing) bag, we're learning moreand more about the exorbitant device -- not to say we weren't expecting this to be the case, however. Still, we were rather intrigued by the distinct Galaxy Note II pictured above, which, by the looks it, comes pre-loaded with dual-SIM capabilities, and thus makes this particular unit slightly different than that one unit we played with back at IFA. Although details are still very scarce at the moment, rumor has it the dual-SIM Note will only be available in China and, aside from the slot additions, all other features the famed phablet offers appear to be exactly the same. Feel free to check out the source below for more pics, but don't expect anything too exciting or out of the ordinary -- unless, of course, extra SIM slots are your thing.

iPhone 5 review: Finally, the iPhone we've always wanted

iPhone 5 review

The good: The iPhone 5 adds everything we wanted in the iPhone 4S: 4G LTE, a longer, larger screen, and a faster A6 processor. Plus, its top-to-bottom redesign is sharp, slim, and feather-light.

The bad: Sprint and Verizon models can't use voice and data simultaneously. The smaller connector renders current accessories unusable without an adapter. There's no NFC, and the screen size pales in comparison to jumbo Android models.

The bottom line: The iPhone 5 completely rebuilds the iPhone on a framework of new features and design, addressing its major previous shortcomings. It's absolutely the best iPhone to date, and it easily secures its place in the top tier of the smartphone universe.

The look: Thin, metal, light as heck
You know its look, even if the look has been subtly transformed over the years: circular Home button, pocketable rectangle, familiarly sized screen. Can that design be toyed with, transformed a little, changed?

From left: The Lumia 900, iPhone 5, Samsung Galaxy S3.