I set my alarm for 2:55 a.m.

Think about that for a moment. I purposefully woke myself up in the middle of the night to spend $549 on something that I certainly do not “need.”

I’m guessing once Apple releases its final preorder numbers, I’ll feel a tad better. All signs point to the fact that MILLIONS of others did the same exact thing.

My problem, one that I am certain I did not face alone, was this: I’m not due for an upgrade for quite some time.

Like many, I purchased the iPhone 4S the day it was released. In doing so, I signed a new two-year commitment.

That was 11 months ago.

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It could make sense to leave for Sprint or Verizon, you say? Wrong.

The combined early termination fee of my contract with AT&T for my wife and me is well over $600. I did the math: I was screwed.

So I paid full price for two iPhone 5’s, with one eye open, at 6 a.m., in my boxers (my alarm never went off at 2:55. I now wait two weeks for shipping).

If you are/were in my position, would you have done the same?

IPhone 4S versus iPhone 5 – the features that matter

I wanted to break down the features that actually matter side by side. Not the specs, just the primary features of the phone that we use every single day.

There are plenty of articles comparing the iPhone 5 to its numerous Android and high-end smartphone “competitors.” This isn’t that.

I’m looking only at the iPhone 4S versus the iPhone 5.

It’s the phone I own and love, against the phone I just preordered. Here we go:

Battery

Consider: Battery Life

If I have a major complaint about my 4S, and every other iPhone I have owned, it is the battery life. I’ve gone through more Mophies than BlackBerry has users. Bottom line? This matters a lot to a lot of people. I could care less about talk time, which is what they always tout. I need to know how long the phone will last using major data.

• iPhone 4S – Up to 6 hours on 3G, up to 9 hours on Wi-Fi
• iPhone 5 – Up to 8 hours on 3G, up to 8 hours on LTE, up to 10 hours on Wi-Fi

Takeaway: Going from 6 hours to 8 hours when accessing cellular data works out to be a 33.3 percent increase in battery life for the 5 over the 4S. I would have loved if the new iPhone had the battery life of the iPad, but this is still a significant improvement.

Screen size

Consider: Screen Size

If there is one thing that can give me Android envy, it is screen size. That being said, I also see people with large-screen Android phones and think it is too much and looks goofy, like a phablet or something. Apple, for the first time, decided a larger screen made sense. It did it in a unique way. The screen on the 5 is “bigger” than the 4S. Longer may be a better description though.

• iPhone 4S – 3.5-inch diagonal display
• iPhone 5 – 4-inch diagonal display

Takeaway: Obviously Apple knows how to make larger screens work. Google “iPad market share” for proof. The additional space at the top and bottom of the iPhone 5 becomes most valuable in landscape mode, as now true 16:9 ratio is attainable. The additional row of apps and decreased need to scroll will be nice, but I am guessing not noticeable. The biggest winner here may be the mobile advertising world. More pixel equals more dollars, while obstructing the user experience less.

Camera

Consider: Camera

If there is an “app” that matters the most to me, it is the camera. My professional accomplishments, my Yorkie and the special moments I share privately with my family are all in my iPhone photo album. Photos matter more than ever. The iPhone 5 improves upon an already remarkable smartphone camera.

• iPhone 4S – 8-megapixel sensor (3264 x 2448 pixel), backside illumination, hybrid infrared filter, and a f/2.4 aperture.
• iPhone 5 – Sapphire crystal lens, dynamic low light mode, native Panorama mode, 8-megapixel sensor (3264 x 2448 pixel), backside illumination, hybrid infrared filter, and a f/2.4 aperture.

Takeaway: The lens (really important), amount of light the camera lets in (also really important) and Panorama mode (obviously cool) are what’s new. With the continued rise in popularity and mass adoption of photo apps, driven by Instagram, Camera+ and others, the improvements are welcome. Would I have liked to see more megapixels? Sure. I’m just glad Apple made an already amazing camera better. Had Apple left it untouched, I would not have been disappointed and still purchased the 5.

Speed

Consider: Speed

Speed, an unarguable critical daily component. My patience with websites and apps when on my iPhone is little to none. Hourglasses are for BlackBerrys. I want my phone to scream, whether I am connected to Wi-Fi or cellular.

• iPhone 4S – A5 Apple built processor chip, 3G data connection
• iPhone 5 – A6 Apple built processor chip, 4G LTE data connection

Takeaway: Going from the A5 chip in the iPhone 4S to the A6 chip in the iPhone 5 doubles both CPU and graphics processing speeds. I’ve never really used my iPhone 4S and thought it should be twice as fast as it is, but I’m thrilled it will be. As for the new data upgrade, consider this from the AP: “Sprint and Verizon iPhone users should see a huge jump in speed with the new iPhone because their 3G networks are relatively slow. Downloads will be more than 10 times faster where LTE is available. For AT&T users, downloads speeds should double or triple.”
Wow.

Sold yet? Thought so.

Features that matter, matter daily.

Introducing things like Facetime and Siri generate buzz and excitement. They can make it feel more “worth it” to upgrade.

Don’t be fooled.

Improved battery life, larger screen size, an upgraded camera and faster data/processing speeds are infinitely more important to a phone than being able to ask it for directions and get a clever answer.

Falling mortgage rates and tighter credit may force state housing finance agencies to issue even fewer mortgages to low-income borrowers this year, according to Standard & Poor’s research.

State HFAs finance the purchase of affordable housing as long as the rate on their debt is less than the mortgage rates the agencies charge. The downgrade of U.S. credit — by S&P — and other factors drove up the costs on state agency debt. At the same time, mortgage rates continue to plunge to new lows thanks to the Federal Reserve.

The return between their debt and rates is still positive, according to S&P, but thinning.

“The low rates on borrowed money have made the spreads increasingly thin, leaving the agencies with reduced profitability and diminished debt service coverage,” analysts said. (Click on the graph below to expand.)

Issuance of HFA multifamily bonds shifted above $200 billion in 2011, more than doubling from two years prior.

Before the downgrade of the U.S. debt, S&P rated more than half all affordable housing issuance AAA, but as of July, only 8% of these bonds hold the gilded rating, because of the agencies’ link to the U.S. rating.

The loans themselves perform better than the average mortgage, even though borrowers generally have lower FICO scores and a small, if any, down payment. The delinquency rate on HFA loans was roughly 6% in the third quarter, less than the average rate across the entire mortgage space.

Some are already looking to the secondary market to fund future affordable housing loans, according to Moody’s Investors Service.

“Some HFAs have also diversified somewhat and receive revenues from other sources, such as servicing fees,” S&P analysts said. “As long as interest rates remain low, agencies that can exercise these options will remain more strongly capitalized and, in our opinion, have stronger credit quality.”

Warsaw, Poland July 3 , 2012 – The Polish residential real estate market is in a slow decline as people have expended their savings, credit has dried up, and the incentive program for young people in Poland to buy has expired.

Those selling the smaller apartments report that there are very few buyers. The buyer is that there are, are cash buyers and quite often foreign. Owners of larger apartments , which owners paid 15,000 zloty per square meter and more, are having trouble renting their apartments and there are no buyers. Those who bought with 110% financing as prices were rising now find themselves underwater.

 

 

Despite the declining prices, there are still a large number of projects under construction in Warsaw. But people who have been considering buying into these new projects are having some second thoughts.

There is a growing sensation that the end of the euro 2012 football championships may mark the end of the booming Polish economy. The money spent in building stadiums, roads and upgrading infrastructure created jobs that will now disappear.

There is no doubt that there are many more roads in the queue to be built. But the future of funding for these roads is really a question.

How much of an impact this real estate slow down is having on the rest of the rate economy is not known.

Are You A Lasuszek?

But perhaps when one considers that one of the major wholesalers of home appliances has reported sales declines of up to 50% and more, the slow down is definitely having an effect.

This wholesaler says that he has never seen anything like this before and is very concerned as to what would have will happen after Euro 2012.

His fears seem to reflect the general feeling of the Polish population as they cut back on their vacation plans. See Vacation Cutbacks