At $700+ the sun shines on Apple; the only cloud is that danged Maps app
Apple shares reached a record high for the fifth consecutive session yesterday , as iPhone 5 and iOS 6 reviews began to roll in.
Shares zoom past $700
The shares went over $700 for the first time on Tuesday and rose as high as $703.99 yesterday before finishing at at $702.10.
Critics who have now been able to get their hands on the iPhone5 hav generally give it good reviews - apart from the new Maps app.
The New York Times' David Pogue wrote : "If you have an iPhone 4S, getting an iPhone 5 would mean breaking your two-year carrier contract and paying a painful penalty; maybe not worth it . . .
" But if you've had the discipline to sit out a couple of iPhone generations -- wow, are you in for a treat."
CNET's Scott Stein reported : "The iPhone 5 completely rebuilds the iPhone on a framework of new features and design, addressing its major previous shortcomings. It's absolutely the best iPhone to date, and it easily secures its place in the top tier of the smartphone universe."
The Guardian's Charles Arthur said : "What really catapults the iPhone 5 past its rivals is the combination of features and services. In particular Siri, the voice-driven 'assistant,' is transformed ... into a real virtual assistant."
Time's Harry McCracken gave his verdict: "It's the most polished version yet of what was already easily the most polished phone on the market."
The Wall Street Journal's Walter Mossberg: "I've been testing the new iPhone for nearly a week and I like it a lot and can recommend it, despite a few negatives, such as a new maps app."
The mapping app was felt by many to be inferior to the Google product it replaced. Fortune's Philip Elmer-DeWitt summed up the reviews by saying "Compared with Google Maps, Apple's map app sucks."
The Mercury News said the overhauled Maps application was "buggy and disappointing."