iPhone 5C iTunes:

There is no longer provided reliance in Apple’s desktop iTunes software when you come to starting up your iPhone for the first time – no physical connection ever needs to made to a computer during the 5C’s lifetime if you don’t fancy digging out your Lightning cable. If you have decided that it’s time for things to get physical between your computer and iPhone 5C then you’ll need to make sure you’ve got the latest version of iTunes (version 11.1) installed, otherwise it will refuse to play with your new phone.

Using iTunes is a rather hit and miss experience, with the software performing far better on a Mac than a Windows PC, but either way it’s usually a long, drawn out process which involves lots of syncing – so avoid it if you can or are tremendously regimented in your music organization. Maps is a contentious area of the Apple ecosystem since its rather embarrassing launch which saw the whole of the internet go about spotting the myriad of errors in the software. It leads to an Apple climb down and CEO Tim Cook recommending users try alternative solutions until a fix in place.

Some things have been fixed, Don Caster for example is now spelt correctly, but there’s still quite some way for Apple Maps to go before it can seriously challenge Google Maps, with elements like public transport integration not on offer. Of course it’s not always bad news and for the most part Maps works pretty well, and it’s able to comprehend where you are and where you wish to go. The color palette is very pleasing to the eye and everything is very easy to read with various points of interest marked on the map including restaurants, hospitals and train stations.

Maps load very quickly on the iPhone 5C, be it over Wi-Fi, 3G or even 4G, so there’s no awkward waiting around when you fire up the app, although you might find it taking a good five seconds or to locate yourself sometimes. One time you can turn your Wi-Fi off and try to locate yourself when indoors and the 5C struggles to really nail down your location, placing a large blue halo round the location dot, which is usually in the right vicinity.

As well as the stock map view you can also view the world in a series of satellite images or choice a hybrid option which sees roads laid on top of the satellite snaps. However unlike Google Maps, the Tom-Tom powered Apple maps doesn’t have the Street View option, nor does it sport any public transport information, so if you want to know which bus or train to get you’ll have to go elsewhere. The 3D Flyover option which Apple lauded at the launch of Maps last year is nice to view when you’re over a city which has actually supports it, but for the majority of the world there are no 3D renders present and thus the mode is merely there for aesthetic value.