Friday, May 6, 2011

The iPhone 5 News Blog News Feed

The iPhone 5 News Blog News Feed

Software Developer Speculates On Likely iPhone 5 Features, Plus More Release Date Scuttlebutt

Posted: 06 May 2011 03:30 AM PDT


iPhone 5 News Blog columnist Charles Moore gives us the run-down on the latest iPhone 5 rumored features, plus some updated information on the iPhone 5′s release date:

Beijing-based 4Easysoft says that while the recent release of the long-delayed iPhone 4 in white has brought “much surprise and happiness to all Apple fans,” they are intensely interested in the next iPhone and whatever its new features turn out to be, observing that information on that continues to be frustratingly vague.

Nevertheless, they’ve compiled a list of prognostication picks gleaned from an array of iPhone rumor and commentary sites.

1. New iPhone’s Name: noting that most people are calling the next iPhone “iPhone 5,” but why not iPhone 4S a la the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS? Personally, I’m still thinking that “iPhone 5″ is the likeliest, since there are already three distinct iPhone 4 variants, and Apple wouldn’t likely want to get into the good name but stretched-too-thin dynamic that obtained with the Mac PowerBook G3 and PowerBook G4 brands, or what Chrysler did with the LeBaron nameplate back in the ’80s.

2. Faster Processor: iPad 2 now has an A5 dual core CPU, so 4Easysoft thinks “iPhone 5″ or “iPhone 4s” will also use this latest processor. Charles Moore agrees.

3. Support for 720p HD Videos or above: Currently the iPhone can’t display any 720p or 1080p HD videos. 4EasySoft hopes the new iPhone will add that capability. In my estimation this one’s a maybe. If they can successfully cram the same sort of faster graphics support as the iPad 2 has into the iPhone 5 along with the A5 chip, the enhanced video support should be a given.

4. Larger Storage Space: More people feel disappointed about that iPhone 4 only has 16GB and 32GB versions. We expect the 64GB iPhone could come soon. While I wouldn’t categorically rule it out, I’m skeptical about Apple offering a 64 GB iPhone. Realistically, how many users would buy one? There would be a stiff price premium. Opting for 64 GB storage exacts a $200 price premium on the WiFi iPad 2, and there’s no reason to imagine that it would be any less with a 64 GB iPhone.

Meanwhile, 4Easysoft offers a range of converter tools for iPhone users, including iPhone Video Converter, DVD to iPhone Converter, iPhone Manager, iPhone Software Pack and more. Using these products, users can convert DVDs and videos to iPhone compatible video and audio formats for enjoyment on the iPhone, as well as transfer videos, songs, photos between the iPhone and a computer.

For more information, visit:

http://www.4easysoft.com/products.html

For more details about 4Easysoft Studio, visit:

http://www.4easysoft.com

In any event, prospects for a new iPhone, whatever it’s called, coming in June, have dimmed a bit more with the school of thought maintaining that the iPhone 5 won’t go into production until late August for a September or later release has be a widely-cited comment attributed to an AT&T employee newly predicting a delay.

That squares with my own deduction that Apple’s February release of the CDMA iPhone 4 version for Verizon Wireless, and the late-April release of the white iPhone 4 will almost certainly derailed the Apple tradition (if you can call a 2-3 year old practice a “tradition” with a straight face) of rolling out new iPhone models in June.

Sci-Tech Today’s Adam Rickter reports that the unnamed AT&T employee told a blog reader that “Apple has informed us that they do not plan to release the iPhone in the June to July time frame, though there will be a newer version in the future. Unfortunately, we have not been given a release time for the new phone. We will release this information on our web site when it is available to us.”

It could be even later than the now penciled-in September or October release. Rickter cites a Reuters report that “three people with direct knowledge of the supply chain” are saying the iPhone 5 will not go into production during the summer for a September release, although the expected upgrade to iOS 5 should roll out that month along with a refreshed line of iPods, and MacRumors reader who contacted AT&T about eligibility for an upgrade of his iPhone but was told it could be as long as five months.

One thing that’s pretty likely is that the iPhone 5, whenever it appears, should become available in synchronized fashion in all of its carriers and color choices variants simultaneously, as opposed to the piecemeal way the iPhone 4 arrived, with the black GSM model in consumers’ hands nearly a year ago, the CDMA Verizon variant added last winter, and the white iPhone 4 finally out the door in the early-mid spring, nearly 10 months late. This time, iPhone fans should be able to get their hands on any model iPhone from the get-go, absent unforeseen glitches like the white iPhone delay.

Charles W. Moore is a columnist for PBCentral and Applelinks, Appletell, and LowEndMac, and an exclusive iPhone news contributor for the iPhone 5 News Blog.