Apple fans….take a bow, the iPhone5’s finally here! There have been a lot of buzz about what Apple might deliver interms of display, LTE, etc. Now that Apple’s spilled the beans on its features, it’s time to put to rest all these rumors. Things are a lot different from the time when Steve Jobs (best known as the co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Apple Inc) introduced the first iPhone in 2007. It’s a lot more crowded now with mobile phones and millions of apps from iOs, android and blackberry.

Will the new iPhone deliver in terms of innovation or is just a refined and reengineered version of the older phones?

Here’s a roundup of popular opinion on the web:

1. CNET, the tech guru has given it a mixed review. The Editorial feature has appreciated the phone for its taller and thinner look, and also commended the supposed battery life. But David Carnoy, the Executive Editor at CNET also ran a feature explaining the letdowns.

He’s disappointed that there’s no mention of NFC (the Samsung Galaxy already has it). Of course, there’s Passbook, the cutting edge technology that lets you access e-tickets, boarding passes, and merchant cards. But no NFC is still a disappointment. They’re currently running a poll asking people if they’re open to buying the iPhone5. The last time I checked almost 31% of people have replied in the positive, and naysayers comprise of almost 24%.

2. Technorati too has come up with mixed reviews. They’ve also discussed about the skeuomorphic details that have now become a feature of iPhones.

3. Mashable, the social media news site runs a feature where they compare the iPhone5 with its main competitors, viz. Samsung Galaxy SIII, the Motorola Droid RAZRHD and the Nokia Lumia. iPhone comes across as the most expensive. In terms of networking features, storage, all of them seem to the same.

4. Techcrunch has written an article about how people are bored about the same old concept where Apple promises to turn a simple phone into something iconic.

5. There are plenty of other sites who aren’t too excited about the new features and changes in form, design, processor and 4.6-inch retina display. Some are unhappy that even after launching the sixth version of the phone, the user interface looks like what it looked back in 2007. They haven’t changed their hardware as well for the last two years.

But beyond all this, there’s a view that counts the most- the end user. Going by the reader comments on all the sites that I mentioned above, users are still excited about the new iPhone5. The pre-order for the phone starts today and in a few hours from now, we’ll know how the Apple fan community reacts. More on the iPhone5 and its features in my upcoming posts.