To have no internet at home for the first weekend with your new iPhone 6 (*cough* 128gig *cough*) is something of a travesty, but ADSL aside, the new beast capitalised nicely on some good 4G and LTE Vodacom coverage and we’re smooth sailing now.

The first thing I noticed, besides the bigger size and seemingly lighter weight (it is lighter than the 5, right?) is the screen. Not just the size of it – but the fact that the glass portion of the phone runs as a miniscus above the frame of the phone. Then the placement of the actual content against that ‘glass’ is so flush that the letters and pictures seem to have nothing in between them and the outside – like the glass isn’t there. That’s the first thing I noticed.

The iPhone 6 and 6+

I also realised something which seems to happen every time Apple launch a new phone at the same time as a new operating system – the new iOS is clearly optimised for the new range of iPhones. I had just updated my old 5S to iOS 8 and she started to become sluggish. Granted, I had used up 60GB of my 5S’s 64GB memory – but that shouldn’t be an issue these days. iOS8 is quite clearly made for the 6.

And regarding the choice of the 6 over the 6 plus? I have an iPad MINI if I want to go the bigger route.. But it’s definitely a routine thing (requiring the iPad MINI – for meetings etc.), and not something I would need all the time – which is where the 6 plus would fall short for me. I think it suits hipsters with manbags and women with handbags. You can’t roll with that beast in your pants. I think one is enough.. Click here to see the differences between the 6 and the 6 plus.

With ADSL down at my house, I’ve been using the iPhone 6 as a personal hotspot in my study. I must say, I’m massively impressed. So much so that I did some research and it seems Vodacom is clearly the best network for smart phones like the iPhone 6 – having invested R1 billion in upgrading the network infrastructure to increase speed, capacity and range of the network in the Western Cape! The upgrade also includes new LTE enabled base stations that deliver high speed data services that provide 60% population coverage across Cape Town.

If you don’t know what that means, LTE stands for Long Term Evolution, which is a new generation of mobile technology and can operate at speeds multiple times faster than existing 2G and 3G. With LTE, video and music downloads can be accomplished in a fraction of the time of traditional 3G. And, as I discovered, using your phone as a personal hotspot also performs better than before.

JUST A HEADS UP: Vodacom is also offering iPhone deals for customers that are due for an upgrade. Customers can trade in their old iPhone and get a reduced contract fee in store. So get an iPhone 6 or at least find out if your existing phone has LTE, and if it does activate the service and enter this high speed new world. Available from all Vodacom and Cellucity stores in the Western Cape.

I’ll keep you posted as I get used to this puppy..