Apple is once again offering a desktop dock for the iPhone.  Strangely, Apple did not provide a dock when the iPhone 5 was released but has relented and is now providing 2 different docks for both the 5/S (this review) and for the 5C. Obviously, the different thickness of both devices is why Apple is offering two separate docks.  I am not sure why Apple could not offer a single dock that would accommodate both devices as they both have lightning ports.  I suspect that Apple wanted each dock to fit exactly the proportions of each phone.

The iPhone 5s dock is a simple piece of high quality white plastic as most (if not all) of the previous docks have been. The dock does not come with anything except the built in Lightning connector built in to the base of the dock.  Don't be fooled, however, a lightning cable is still required in order to run the electricity to the dock to charge the iPhone.  Most third party docks require you to thread the lightning connector through the dock and prop it vertically to connect the phone.  With the Apple dock, you plug your existing lightning cable to the back of the dock.  The dock also has a line out jack in the back which can accommodate headphones for any outgoing sound.  

The cutout on the base of the dock assists in propping up the phone vertically.  The iPhone sits in the dock pretty much vertically with just a hint of tilt backward to provide a bit of viewing angle.  I found the the angle at which the iPhone is situated a little too vertical and would have preferred a little more angle back similar to the 3rd party docks like the Belkin I have at work. The base cutout is very slim and can only accommodate a naked iPhone  (i.e. without a case).  The fit is very tight and requires a bit of effort to line up and push down the iPhone to get a charging connection.  On my iPhone 5s, I have the very thin Ghost Armor skins on both the back and the sides and the phone is still able to fit properly.   I am not sure why Apple didn't increase the size of the cutout to allow thin cases (including Apple's own 5s case) to work with the dock.  The lightning connector itself allows for a pretty solid connection and is certainly strong enough to keep the phone in an upright position.  Putting the iPhone in takes a bit of effort and pulling it from the dock certainly requires two hands, one to hold the dock down and the other to pull the phone from the dock.  While there are some docks that are heavy enough to not require a two-hand extraction, I think the lightning connector is the primary culprit as to why two hands are needed.  

Overall, my opinion of this dock is "meh".  There are certainly nicer solutions on the market at various price levels.  Unless you have to have official Apple accessories for your iPhone, do a little research before putting down the 30 bucks for this dock.

The desktop dock retails at Apple for $29.00.  

I love using the iPhone without a case.  Sure, it's taking a chance without any major drop protection on the phone but with Applecare+ and a minimal expense to replace a busted or damaged device, it's worth the risk.  I usually go for the minimal scratch protection of the the Ghost Armor matte skins.  Here are some pics: 

Oh by the way, maybe #GoldIsBetter, but #SilverIsSleeker!  

The iPhone 5s and iOS 7 is in the house so here goes the latest installment of the apps I am using on my home screens. There have been quite a few changes since I was using iOS 6. 

iPhone

• Pocket Casts ($3.99 Universal) - A podcasting app totally redesigned from the ground up for iOS 7.  A brand new interface and tons of new features including those that take advantage of iOS 7's auto download capabilities.  It's been a little rocky with the sync service between the iPhone and the iPad, and some issues with the episode downloading but Shifty Jelly has released version 4.1 to Apple and it should be on the app store any day now. Overall, this is a very nice looking app.  I have tried Downcast and Instacast on iOS 7 and Pocket Casts won out based on it's UI and feature set.  
• Perfect Weather ($6.99 iPhone Only) - A great looking weather app with lots of useful data in a tab format.  Check out my review here.  Looking forward to a Universal version.
• Pocket Informant ($12.99 Pro / $3.99 PI Go Universal) - Quite simply the most complete and powerful personal information manager (PIM) available on the iOS platform .  It received some minor interface updates to look good on iOS 7.  One of the really nice features of the latest version is if you enter an event with a location, Pocket Informant will query map data and provide you with a time to arrive at the event location.  The Pro version includes calendars, tasks, notes (Evernote too!), and contacts while the Go version has only events and tasks.
• The iOS stock music app once again makes an appearance on my home screen, primary due to iTunes Radio which I am really enjoying. 

iPad

• TeeVee 2 ($1.99 - iPhone Only) - This is a very slick Television episode tracker and notification app.  The app is currently iPhone only but still looks great in 2x mode.  The developer is working on an universal version which is hopefully due out soon.  TeeVee 2 does have iCloud sync so any new shows that I add on the iPhone version will get synced over to the version running on my iPad.  Since I usually have my iPad in front or around me when watching TV, I am keeping this app loaded on my iPad home screen.  I would like to see the developer use better data sources for episode information which is supposedly coming in a next update. 

So the next time you pick up Android device, pay attention to how the device responds to your touch.  Then pick up the iPhone and see/feel the difference.  Now the numbers back it up.

Read more about Agawi and the benchmark results at Venture Beat.  Link

Contrast Software (formerly App Cubby), the company that brought iOS users Launch Center Pro, Trip Cubby, @Timer, and Mirror have released Perfect Weather - NOAA Radar and Forecast for the iPhone. Perfect Weather might not exactly be perfect, but it sure is one hell of an app for the iPhone and feels right at home on iOS 7.  

The main screen of Perfect Weather displays locations that you add (including your current location) in tabs similar to Apple's Passbook application.  Adding new locations is extremely easy, just press the Edit button and you are presented with a search screen that accepts both city or zip code.  Once your city or location is selected, it is added as a colored tab in the location list.   The tab colors seem to be random and there currently is no way to customize them.  When a tab is selected, the information for that location is brought to the forefront and that's when the app magic begins.

Once the location tab is selected, a weather card is displayed which contains current conditions and tempurature, a 6 day forecast with high and low temperatures , percentage of precipitation for the day, and an interactive radar image of the surrounding area customizable to show clouds or rain patterns.  However, what is first shown by default is not all the information offered by the app.  A quick horizontal swipe on the forecast area reveals a temperature line graph and another swipe shows information such as sunrise/sunset, humidity, wind speed, and barometric pressure.  It is amazing how much information is packed into a card.  Kudos to the Perfect Weather design and development team for making the information readable and very accessible in a small amount of screen real estate.  My only complaint, and one that might be prevalent in many iOS 7 apps, is the use of a light and thin font which against a white background can be a bit difficult to see at times.  From my interaction with the Perfect Weather team, subsequent updates to the app might include changes to these fonts for better readability.

The information displayed on each card can also be customized by a press and hold on the tab "carat" which when dragged with your finger will collapse and expand the data sections accordion style to show as much information you care to see. 

Overall, Perfect Weather is a slick weather application that deserves a look from those who appreciate finely crafted (and certainly accurate) applications.  The application is certainly not perfect (is any app?), and I have only minor complaints.  In addition to the font changes for readability, I would like to see the city name displayed in the current (Your Location) tab, 
Also, as its full name suggests, Perfect Weather pulls weather data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). which means that it is only for use in the United States. Aside from these minor quibbless, the application is a wonderful balance of design and functionality.