Tuesday, May 17, 2011

The iPhone 5 News Blog News Feed

The iPhone 5 News Blog News Feed

iPhone 5 Release Date November 21st? – NFC Unlikely; Larger Display Maybe

Posted: 17 May 2011 06:23 AM PDT


first iPhone 5 case?

New purported case design supposes the form factor of the iPhone 5?

The UK news site T3 Online reports that according to a sales rep. for Brit iPhone reseller Phones4U, the iPhone 5 is expected to be released across the UK on November 21st, the source cited commenting that “iPhone 5 has been delayed until November following an issue with the handset’s software.”

While he was at it, the chatty sales person also said that Apple’s next generation phone, will be pretty much the same as the iPhone 4 but with with new software (presumably the anticipated iOS 5). He’s still calling it iPhone 5, but if his information is accurate, my deduction would be that it lends more credence to the market analyst rumor we reported on last weekend that the next iPhone refresh will be called iPhone 4S, and it doesn’t sound promising for a 4 inch display on the fall release should it materialize (although see the report on a purported new iPhone 5 case design below for a possible contrarian argument).

Now note that the Brit source is calling for a November consumer release in the UK in November, which would not preclude the new model’s unveiling in September after production ramping up as early as July for a somewhat earlier consumer release in the U.S., since stateside customers frequently get first crack at new Apple hardware. Apple’s 2012 fiscal year also starts in October, which could tie into such a hypothetical timeline as well.

Another feature that’s unlikely to show on the new iPhone is probably an RFID near-field communications chip that would let the phone function as a sort of digital credit card. Appleinsider and Business Insider among others are reporting that based on highlights from a highlights from a Bloomberg news feed, Wall Street research firm Bernstein in a Monday note to investors is predicting that Apple will not be including an NFC chip in The iPhone 5, iPhone 4S, or what ever the next iPhone release ends up being called.

iphone 5 case camera cutout

On a more positive note, there is a smidge of new evidence of a significant iPhone case redesign, although don’t bet the farm or anything else of value on its accuracy),in the form of a Guangdong, China based iPhone peripherals trading site called AliBaba posting images, specifications and prices for a product it claims is a new design crystal case for iPhone 5G.

This case, which will come in blue, green, yellow,r ed, black,and white, is pitched to wholesale customers, with the minimum order quantity being 1000 units, and the pictures (which are obviously art renderings and not photographs) suggest a larger, edge-to-edge touchscreen display, and the the flash moved from directly beside the rear camera lens to the corner on the other side, which could conceivably be in aid of diminishing the dreaded red-eye effect in snapshots, long known to be exacerbated by close proximity between a camera lens and its flash lens.

However, given the narrow breadth of the iPhone case, it would be unlikely to make a big difference, and the move may just be part of a positional shuffling of internal components.