Tuesday, June 28, 2011

The iPhone 5 News Blog News Feed

The iPhone 5 News Blog News Feed

Lofty iPhone 5, iPhone 4s Expectations Set The Bar Too High For Apple

Posted: 28 Jun 2011 09:00 AM PDT


iphone 5The iPhone 5 rumor mill is a double-edged sword for Apple.

On one hand, the technology giant enjoys a buzz machine and media circus that rival companies like Nokia, Samsung, and even Google could only dream of. The excitement that surrounds an iPhone release is unprecedented in the marketplace — you’d be hard-pressed to find any other product that gets as much attention from the media and consumers.

And yet, the downside to such a media circus and consumer frenzy is that Apple is always at risk of failing to live up to the dreamed-up standards that it places on whatever the next iPhone is bound to be.

We see it playing out with the iPhone 5 right now: the expectations for the next iPhone have rollercoastered up and down for almost a year no, undulating between the breathless excitements of a totally redesigned iPhone 5 to a simply refreshed iPhone 4s. And for as much as the iPhone 4s in place of the iPhone 5 would be a disappointment for some, it would not come as a complete surprise, seeing as Apple has released a refresh model (the 3Gs) before.

However, these new rumors that Apple will indeed co-release an iPhone 5 and accompanying iPhone 4s places a great deal of pressure on Cupertino, and if in the end “only” the iPhone 5 is released, imagined expectations could once again be dashed and feelings could even get hurt.

There is already enough at stake with the iPhone 5: iPhone users desperately want a product-leading iPhone that they feel will either match or exceed what Android is currently offering. This speculation-driven expectation alone is hard enough for Apple to meet — though I think we can all agree that they are up to the task.

However, the rumor of the iPhone 4s is a trickier matter, because of the manner in which top tech analysts are framing it.

Deutsche Bank analyst Chris Whitmor put it this way in a recent article: “”[T]here are large swaths of the world — especially in Africa, Asia and Latin America, where iPhone penetration is low — where customers prefer to pay the full cost of the phone upfront,” This perspective, which joins further speculation that Apple will do what it takes technologically to make sure their new partner China Mobile gets on board the iPhone 5 train, puts a lot of pressure on Apple to make the iPhone 5 some kind of globalizing miracle gadget that the entire world must have access to. Now, instead of the iPhone being a premium smartphone, analysts are calling for Apple to make it accessible to anyone and everyone.

That’s a tough challenge for Apple to meet, and not because they are disinterested in the developing world. It’s just that the bread and butter of Apple’s business model has not ever succeeded on being price leaders in the marketplace. Sure, they’re trotted out the iPod Shuffle and Mac Mini — but those products are not the ones that consumers hunger for: they want the iPhone. the iPad. The MacBook Pro.

For all we know, apple has absolutely no plans or interest in offering a stripped down, value-priced, contract-free, el-cheap-o iPhone 4s for the developing world. It is worth stating again that there is no real evidence that the iPhone 4s will be mass produced. While it may have been a demo model crafted for a few of the top app developers, there really is no reason to believe that the iPhone 4s is imminent.

And yet, the iPhone 4s rumor is getting major traction. Even IBT is positively convinced that it is coming.

Now, Apple is put into a tough spot of failing to live up to expectations if the “only” new thing we get in September is an impressive iPhone 5.

Duelling Analyst iPhone 5 (And 4S) Predictions

Posted: 27 Jun 2011 10:45 PM PDT


There’s substantial disagreement about both the timing of release and the specification of Apple’s next iPhone, with agreement basically limited to it’s arrival sometime in September or October.

Apple to begin production of new iPhone in August — Both An iPhone 5 And An iPhone 4S?

CNET’s Lance Whitney reports that a new an investor’s note by Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty says she expects Apple to start ramping up production of the iPhone 5 “aggressively” in mid- to late August for September launch.

PC Mag’s Sara Yin predicts a fifth-generation iPhone launch by the end of September, based on the client note Morgan Stanley’s Huberty posted after a week of meetings with unnamed sources in Taiwan. Looking farther ahead into 2012, Huberty says she expects releases of both a 4G LTE iPhone and a lower-priced 3G model.

International Business Times also has an article out this morning that boldly proclaims that the iPhone 5 and iPhone 4s are both coming in September. Read our further coverage of the IBT piece on the iPhone 5 News Ticker.

Or Will It Be Just One New iPhone Model?

Meanwhile, Barrons’ Tech Trader Daily’s Tiernan Ray reports that BMO Capital analyst Keitch Bachman has cut his estimate for iPhone sales in Apple’s fiscal Q4, which ends in September, his reason being growing conviction that the next iPhone , which he thinks will be designated "4S" will come later than he'd originally thought, and implies that a rumored "low-end" iPhone will continue to be vapor and the existing 3GS will continue filling the low-end iPhone role, a stance that Ray notes is in diametric contradiction to that of Deutsche Bank's Chris Whitmore, who in a note on Friday opined that there will be two iPhone models debuting in September — a fully-featured "iPhone 5," and a "lower-end iPhone 4."

Two iPhones Landing In September Says Deutsche Bank Analyst

InformationWeek ‘s Eric Zeman also cites Deutsche Bank’s Whitmore commenting that “With Nokia and RIM struggling, the time is right for Apple to aggressively penetrate the mid-range smartphone market (i.e. $300-500 category) to dramatically expand its [total addressable market] and market share.” Whitmore believes the mid-range model will be a lightly revised version of the iPhone 4 called iPhone 4S at a price of approximately $349, and device would be available unlocked, with the mainstream version be a brand new device. called the iPhone 5 selling for $599 to $699 without carrier subsidies).

Apple Supply Chain Points To “iPhone 4S” in September Or October

Appleinsider’s Slash Lane notes that based on “recent Apple supply chain checks” with OEM component suppliers “like Broadcom, Qualcomm, and Omnivision,” FBR Capital Markets analyst Craig Berger is projecting”a late September or early October” for a new iPhone release, and in a note to clients on the matter says the new iPhone is presumed to be marketed as “iPhone 4S,” suggesting an evolutionary upgrade to the existing iPhone 4 rather than a radical redesign, and also reporting that his sources “see no near-term plans for a low-end iPhone for emerging markets.”

Who to believe? Take your pick. As InformationWeek’s Zeman observes, “no one but Apple knows for sure.”