random // iPhone 5 madness

When I refer to "madness" in the title of this post, I'm really referring to myself.  About a month or so ago, I decided I was over my HTC (it turns itself off sporadically.  I can't stand it) and decided I was going to replace it with an iPhone.  I'm eligible for an upgrade through my wireless carrier, so it seemed perfect timing when I did a tiny bit of digging to discover the iPhone 5 was slated for release in October 2012.

Then, Apple provided a lovely surprise and released the iPhone 5 about a month earlier than some had speculated.

So, I went online and was one of those crazies who logged in to my service carrier as soon as it clicked over to 12:01 a.m. on Friday, September 14 and put in my pre-order for the new iPhone 5.  Frankly, I was a little taken aback that it was so easy -- I always see ridiculous throngs of people outside the Apple store for new product releases, so the fact that I could just clickety-click from the comfort of home was a pleasant surprise.

People waiting outside an Apple store for the iPad 2 in 2011

So, now that my iPhone 5 is secured and due to ship next week, I'm equally ravenous about accessories.  I know it makes me a little (maybe a lot) shallow to be so excited about the options for the case I'm going to snap onto my iPhone, but I have to be honest here: most Android phones have extremely limited options for stylish phone cases.  VERY limited.  Seriously.  And I get it: it's much easier to manufacture such a wide range of cases for iPhone, because so many people have an iPhone -- the market demand is there.  When you wander into Android territory, there are SO MANY different brands and models of phones in different shapes and sizes, so it doesn't make a lot of sense to invest in the mass-production of super-cute covers for them.  It's not the same market potential as iPhone.  So I get it.

That said, now that I am one of the many, many, MANY iPhone users, I'm going to capitalize on my ability to get cool stuff for my phone.  So there.

I applaud many online retailers for being smart enough to sync their release of iPhone 5 accessories with the release of the iPhone itself.  I was so excited to see that Society6 already has iPhone 5 cases on the docket (and that includes iPhone 5 cases for Anna Delores Photography images!  Yippee!).  And Photojojo also e-mailed their newsletter subscribers early this morning to announce they are ready for iPhone 5, as well.  

Check out the goodies offered for the iPhone 5 crazies like myself who already have their phones on the way and are looking for awesome accessories to go with them.

I am utterly overwhelmed by the sheer volume of options for iPhone cases (I guess I should've been careful for what I wished for in terms of choices, eh?).  I'm definitely picking up this bokeh photography one but was thinking of getting another one just for the sake of giving myself options, but I'm having a tough time deciding who makes the cut.

I really dig the idea of this set of phone camera lenses from Photojojo.  And if you're not getting a new iPhone, whether because you're sticking with your trusty iPhone 4 or Android, not to fear: this set of lenses fits on ANY camera phone, or on an iPad, Blackberry, etc.  You're ready!  Obviously this is really just for people like me who get REALLY into their phone photography (I blame it on the fact that I'm a photographer in real life, so when I hop on my phone, I get picky).  And it's like getting four for the price of three, as the wide angle lens twists off to reveal a macro lens.  Oooh!

If you're looking for some lens effects at a lower price point (the set above is $49.95 for all three), you can get a set of three jelly camera filters for starburst, kaleidoscope, and wide angle effects:

Examples of what your images can look like with the wide angle jelly lens from Photojojo.

Last but DEFINITELY not least, I am stoked to download VSCO CAM.  Seriously, I'm about as excited about VSCO CAM as I was when Instagram was released for Android.  I use VSCO in Lightroom for my professional photo processing, so I'm pretty excited to use it for my phone photography, too!  It integrates with Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, too, which is so much easier than some of the other phone photo apps I have now, in which I have to edit them, then exit the program, launch Instagram, upload the edited image to Instagram, etc.  Check out the video below to see how it works (the video is only a minute long).  The music is pretty rad, too:

Yes, please, and thank you.

Do you guys have any accessories or apps for your iPhones or Androids that you're simply obsessed with?  Or any new ones you're hoping to nab along with the new iPhone 5?