Strangely not on board - yet.

After a prolonged wait for the new iPhone 5, I see it, I get the new features, but I'm not bowled over. Maybe it will take an in-person demo or experience for me to leap in? It's great that the screen is larger, the LTE service will make the data as fast as cable or DSL, plus this new one has faster camera processing and better low light performance. Wonderful. The body is slimmer and lighter. That means iPhone 5 would fit (slide!) better in my back pocket. The larger screen conforms more to the 16:9 widescreen standard for videos, which are more commonly being taken on smartphones than ever before. The A6 onboard processor is the fastest one yet. And it sips battery power, iPhone 5 is slated to last for 8 hours of talk time and 10 hours of video playback time.  The ear buds have been redesigned, and iPhone 5 has 3 microphones - front, rear and bottom. Very nifty tech upgrades I admit.

So all this and I'm not excited? I think I'm more excited about iOS6. New features, most of which my iPhone 4s can do, will be the benefit. Siri will improve, but most of all, tell me autocorrect will snap out of it's mentally warped state. I am anxious to see the new Apple maps, USA specific, they say it now includes buildings and structures in the options for viewing! These features are good and I'd use them.

Maybe the real reason why I'm less likely to queue up at the Apple store September 21st is because regardless of what this phone or any other phone were to evolve to include, I have changed. I am not as "phone centric" as I was back in say, April or May. Example - I don't have a Facebook app on my phone. I seldom tweet and upload the pictures like I once did. Evidence is no more glaring than my Klout scores, once very high, now settle in to the "normal user" range since I don't publish social content as often. I am more engaged in real life with real people. I have made more forward strides since May than I did the first five months of the year. I found my smartphone to be a tremendous distraction every day. A great tool, but unchecked, a big distraction for me.

Will I get an iPhone 5? Maybe. I won't rush over and buy one instantly even though I don't have any AT&T restrictions hanging over me with regards to contracts, etc. I have found some balance from the craziness of the "smartphone euphoria" I was experiencing. I take advantage of the brilliance that is an iPhone and the apps I own. I sometimes leave my phone in my car, at my desk, every once in awhile even at my home! And everything is ok if I don't parse my text messages or social media every 10 minutes. Really, I'm good with less iPhone in my life. So to the good folks in Cupertino - nice job on iPhone 5. I like what you've done and I may join you in your latest venture, but only when I am sure it won't lead me to the recursive land of unproductivity.