Friday, July 15, 2011

The iPhone 5 News Blog News Feed

The iPhone 5 News Blog News Feed

Maybe No Smart Bezel On the iPhone 5, But Plenty of New Gestures

Posted: 15 Jul 2011 02:44 PM PDT


iphone 5 ios 5 assistive touchIt remains to be seen if the iPhone 5 will receive new gesture functions alla the fabled “smart bezel.” But the new beta version of iOS 5 is revealing a new set of gestures that could prove to replace traditional buttons.

Rumors and prognostications about the fabled “smart bezel” have faded over the months, as the iPhone 5 becomes more and more of a reality. Almost from the very beginning of the iPhone 5 rumor cycle, the smart bezel rumor was coupled with related rumors that Apple would get rid of a physical home button and look to diversify gesture control areas on the iPhone 5, as well as open up new ways to control the device.

It very well may be that significant hardware changes like smart bezels and moved home buttons may not make their way onto the iPhone 5, but the newest beta version of iOS 5 has revealed that the platform itself — once it is released in its full regalia in the fall — will equip the iPhone 5 with new gestures to play around with.

The latest beta build features Assistive Touch. Apple Insider reports that, “With Assistive Touch, an overlay menu is displayed that presents the user with commands that usually require certain physical actions, such as rotating the screen or shaking the device. This new feature allows for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch to be more accessible to those who may not be able to accomplish these tasks.”

At present, Assistive Touch offers limited functionality, only allowing for basic functions, such as locking the screen, adjusting volume, rotating the screen, and pinch/swipe movements.

But perhaps what is most interesting about Assistive Touch is the ability to customize gestures to complete otherwise complex gestural tasks on the iPhone. As Apple Insider explains, “Users can also create custom gestures, tracing certain patterns or movements with their fingers on the screen to accomplish some tasks that may be difficult. These gestures can then be given a name and accessed from the Assistive Touch menu.”

New Gestures for a Bigger Screen on the iPhone 5?

We already know that iOS 5 will work fully with the iPhone 4, and will even offer somewhat limited functionality with the iPhone 3Gs. But in spite of iOS 5′s flexibility to work on legacy iPhone devices, it has clearly been developed with the iPhone 5 in mind. After all, it was released after the iPad 2, but before the iPhone 5.

Perhaps the crux of Apple’s Assistive Touch is to make the gestural interface of the iPhone 5 more immersive due the inclusion of a larger screen? It would seem that adding more sophisticated gesture control to a sprawling new iPHone 5 screen would be an ideal way to further boast of the iPhone 5′s new dimensions.

We really won’t know how Assistive Touch works (and feels) until we see how it fits on the iPhone 5. But in the end, it could prove to be just as impressive as a smart bezel.

iPhone 5 On Fire: Why Rumors That An Overheating A5 Chip In the iPhone 5 Caused Its Release Delay Are Promising

Posted: 14 Jul 2011 04:43 PM PDT


A rumor from China suggests that the release date delay for the iPhone 5 came as a result of an overheating A5 chip problem. Read why this rumored flaw in the iPhone 5 prototype suggests that exciting new features are on their way:

It's hard to get excited about bad news.

But in the strange world of the iPhone 5 rumor mill, even seemingly bad news may in fact have a silver lining.

9to5Mac broke a story today that came from a Chinese-language tech website, which alleges that the long production delay for the iPhone 5 was not caused by the Japan tsunami or the Verizon iPhone release, but rather by an early problem on the iPhone 5 prototypes: an overheating A5 chip. They report that "The story has it that Apple's silicon team is facing difficulties keeping the dual-core A5 chip cool in the iPhone's tiny enclosure where space and battery are at premium."

We have details of the problem up on the iPhone 5 News Ticker. Click here to read more about the 9to5Mac report, and click below to read why this rumor is perhaps the best bit of news we've received about the iPhone 5 yet!

What An Overheating A5 Chip Could Mean For the iPhone 5

The 9to5Mac article hints at what I'm driving at: typically, heat issues result from a smaller chassis and/or bigger battery. But it also may mean that the A5 chip is working its tail off as well, due to some heavy-duty new feature. Simply put, new hardware drives a battery harder and hotter, and the same can be said about the chip.

The 9to5Mac article stipulates that "The A5 chip that goes into iPad 2 is manufactured on Samsung's 45-nanometer process and is almost twice the size of the iPhone 4′s A4 processor." While it remains to be seen if the A5 chip in the iPhone 5 will be the same size, chances are, Apple would not diverge from the original A5 dimensions, if for no other reason that to keep production costs down. Bigger chip + bigger, hotter battery suggests something to me:

4G?

It is well-documented that a 4G radio needs a lot of juice to run. In point of fact, there have even been recent articles about the concern over 4G and its battery-sucking qualities. Overheating in the early iPhone 5 prototypes could have been a result of a better, beefier battery pack (which Apple is always happy to R&D) pushing a 4G radio. This, combined with a bigger chip and thinner, smaller, more cramped chassis due to a new form factor could be the product of making the iPhone 5 4G.

Now, bear this in mind: I'm speculating heavily here. That's why this piece is squarely filed under "iPhone 5 Opinion." But let's first assume that the overheating rumor is true, and then use our deductive reasoning here . . .

If the iPhone 5 was merely a "simple refresh" of the iPhone 4, then why would there be overheating issues? That is to say, if little changed from the iPhone 4 to the iPhone 5 other than iOS 5 and the A5 chip, then why all the heat?

Thus, the iPhone 5 would have to have new features that make more heat.

What could these features be? My vote is for 4G, but maybe there are some other explanations for this heat issue. Any theories?

 

What If The Rumored “iPhone Lite” Counterpart to the iPhone 5 Is A 3G iPod touch?

Posted: 13 Jul 2011 10:40 PM PDT


The Netherlands-based blogsite AppleSpot’s Roy Wijkstra predicts that a new iPod touch will be marketed in September along with the launch of the new iPhone, and with one of his sources telling him that the iPod touch will get 3G wireless support, making it able to work like the iPhone.

Get a 3G subscription from your ISP, pop a SIM card into your iPod touch, and you’ll be good to go, so they say.

The France-based (English-language) HardMac Apple-watcher site’s Lionel expands a bit on the rumor, which speculates that at least some new models of iPod touch will have provision to accommodate a SIM card and incorporate new antennas that would allow them to connect to 3G data — essentially equivalent to the top-of-the-line 3G iPads.

Lionel suggests that such an iPod touch enhancement might be the basis for rumors that Apple might release two iPhone models — an iPhone Lite along with a standard iPhone — of the next-generation Apple handset by leak informants confusing the the iPod touch 3G with a lower-priced iPhone (or for that matter a smaller-screen version of the iPad, which has also been rumored). As with the 3G iPad, a 3G iPod touch would lack the ability to function as a regular cellphone for voice calls, and only be able to communicate with the Internet via a mobile data network with a subscription from your ISP.

9To5 Mac observes that Apple has pitched the iPod touch as an iPhone without a phone, and cautions that the proverbial fly-in-the-ointment with this concept is that it might go over like the proverbial lead balloon with the wireless carriers, since it would result in more usage of VoIP apps like Skype for phone calls.

On the other hand, the idea makes a good deal of logical sense — perhaps more than Apple adding a data-only iPhone LIte and/or a downsized iPad would, given that the makings of the equivalent of either/both is already embodied in the iPod touch.


 

Cool Stuff: New iPhone 5 Production Intel Reveals Larger, Lighter Screen

Posted: 13 Jul 2011 04:23 PM PDT


AMOLED screen technology for iphone 5Recent iPhone 5 production rumors also shed light on new screen components, suggesting that the next iPhone may leverage some of Samsung’s exciting, new AMOLED screen technology.

You could say that, since user interaction is what makes having a smartphone so invigorating, a smartphone’s greatness is measured by its screen. And since multitudes of iPhone 5′ers have been pining for a larger, cooler screen for the iPhone 5 for well over a year now, it’s safe to say that an iPhone 5 with any screen upgrade will be an epic win for Apple.

Lost in today’s iPhone 5 cycle, amidst reports that preliminary iPhone 5 orders from Apple are being split between both the Pegatron and Foxconn iPhone components facilities, is an intriguing bit of news from UBM TechInsights, a kind of tech thinktank and investigative body that informs investors and tech influencers on what’s going on in the smartphone market. Their recent report reveals that Apple’s next screen for the iPhone 5 will indeed be quite impressive.

According to the report, “Samsung will continue to make the A5 processor for Apple, despite legal wrangling between the cell phone rivals.  Also, Apple has recently filed patents around OLED touch screens, which could suggest iPhone 5 will include a larger, sharper display, also improving visibility in sunlight and reducing power consumption.”

We’ve collected all of the article that relate to the iPhone 5′s rumored production progress in an article on the iPhone 5 News Ticker. Check it out here, or read on:

As I’m sure you’re aware, Samsung continues to be a major product leader when it comes to OLED touch screens. At the 2010 CES, “Samsung demonstrated a laptop computer with a large, transparent OLED display featuring up to 40% transparency and an animated OLED display in a photo ID card” (from Wikipedia), and are now rolling out their Super AMOLED Plus displays, which utilize “real stripe matrix (50% more sub pixels), thinner form factor, brighter image and a 18% reduction in energy consumption.”

It seems apparent that the iPhone 5 is bound to get an impressive new screen, and one that could very well be curved — as some rumors have suggested — due to Samsung’s new technology that allows their screens to be incredibly flexible, thin, and even transparent.

A Side Note: Changeable Topography Screen

A long while back, I referenced one of Apple’s immensely cool patents for a changeable topography, a fancy term for a screen that takes on the shape and feel of whatever it is displaying. Not only would a shape-changing screen be a monumental breakthrough in gesture control and mobile computing, leading to tons of fun with gaming, social networking — even giving people the opportunity to “touch” each other through their screens — it would also give the sight impaired a seat at the table of the smartphone game.

It occurs to me that the current AMOLED screen technology is getting to the point where realizing Apple’s patent may be possible. I’m not predicting it for the iPhone 5, but who knows? Maybe for the iPhone 6?

 

A 4G iPhone 5: Why Should Apple Bother?

Posted: 13 Jul 2011 08:18 AM PDT


Many passionate iPhone users think they’re owed 4G capabilities n the iPhone 5. But a recent survey shows that nearly ont-third of iPhone users believe that the iPhone is already 4G. With this kind of 4G confusion, why would Apple even bother making the iPhone 5 4G?

While geeks and educated iPhone users prognosticate over whether the iPhone 5 will indeed feature 4G capabilities, it seems that the “unwashed masses” of current iPhone users already perceive their beloved smartphone to be 4G. This revelation comes as a result of a new study being widely reported on today that 34% of iPhone users think the iPhone is already 4G. The new study conducted by Retrevo reveals this surprising statistic, and suggests that “maybe the "4" in the iPhone 4 name gives iPhone owners (34%) the false impression that they already own a 4G phone but the fact is Apple doesn't offer a 4G phone at the moment.”

Are you rolling your eyes yet?

But there’s more: what the iPhone 5 community is not reporting on is the second part of Retrevo‘s study, which also reveals that 29% of all Android users suffer from the same delusion. Even Blackberry users are suffering from 4G confusion as well: “BlackBerry owners (24%) are almost as confused as iPhone owners,” which is almost as striking as the iPhone user findings, “since RIM doesn't currently offer a 4G phone.”

For months, the iPhone 5 News Blog has written about the current pitfalls of 4G, and how the technology has not yet been successfully “mainstreamed” to make it worth Apple’s while to gamble with it on the iPhone 5. Now, this new study further proves the fact that the 4G infrastructure in the U.S. is simply not ready to be implemented for a high-profile smartphone like the iPhone 5.

4G Confusion — It’s The Mobile Carriers’ Fault

Some sanctimonious comments have already showed up here on the iPhone 5 News Blog about how all 34% of these iPhone users are unforgivingly stupid for not realizing that even the iPhone 4 is merely a 3G smartphone. But 34% is too big of a number to simply brush off as being “stupid.” And because the confusion transcends even the iPhone 4 community — similar percentages of Android and RIM users hold the same misperceptions — I think the erroneous thinking comes not from the “4″ in the iPhone 4′s name, but in the commercials and advertisements that AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint are currently running.

You, humble reader, have to realize that the vast majority of smartphone users are not tech savvy as you are — following up on the iPhone 5, 4G, and everything in between is not a daily passion for them. They may love their iPhone, but they are not fluent in the features and technology that makes their iPhone tick.

Adding to this, more and more of the American public are being exposed to commercials on television from the top mobile carriers that are boasting the roll-out of their 4G networks. If you look closely at these commercials, they don’t offer the common mobile phone user any clarification about whether or not their particular phone is running on 3G or 4G. Many users are simply assuming that the mobile carriers are simply upgrading the technology of their network, much like when the landline “Bells” upgraded from copper wire to fiber optics.

The fact is, very little has been explained to the general public about 4G, and what you need to do in order to get it. This is precisely what is leading to the confusion. And chances are, this is by design on the part of the mobile networks: because 4G still isn’t quite ready to go mainstream in the U.S., the networks aren’t ready to hard-sell 4G to the masses.

All the more reason to push 4G capabilities to the iPhone 6 in 2012.

Sprint Edges Ever Closer to Having the iPhone 5 – Which Is Good For Us All

Posted: 12 Jul 2011 12:11 PM PDT


More indications that the third largest mobile carrier will indeed be brought onboard by Apple in 2011 to offer the new iPhone 5 to its subscribers – all in a bid to compete with Android.

As you know, the iPhone 5 News Blog has reported on the prospects of Sprint getting the iPhone 5 for some time now. As we get closer and closer to the iPhone 5′s official release, more and more evidence is pointing to the reality that Sprint will indeed get the new iPhone along with AT&T and Verizon. The newest report comes today from CNET, which is reporting that “according to Piper Jaffray analyst Chris Larsen, the latest to weigh in on the mounting speculation that carriers beyond AT&T and Verizon Wireless will get the next iPhone, ‘While we remain uncertain regarding the next-generation iPhone’s specs and features, we believe the most noteworthy change could be the device’s ability to run on more networks, specifically Sprint and T-Mobile in the U.S.”

Larsen’s memo joins another recent analyst prediction from Citadel analyst Shing Yin, who said that “he believed Apple would begin selling the iPhone for Sprint later this year.”

The move by Apple to include Sprint in the list of U.S. mobile carriers who sell the iPhone 5 is significant, since it will give apple a leg up on Google/Android, which is always selling copious amounts of Android phones on Sprint’s network.

Read Why AT&T & Verizon iPhone Users Should Love Sprint

I’m gonna go out on a limb here: I like Sprint.

My wife is a Sprint customer, and while her new Android-based Kyocera Echo — for all of its dual-screened goodness — falls way short of the quality mark of the iPhone, Sprint is in itself a noble company, as far as mobile carriers go, and it is no fault of their own that Droids are crashy.

Sure, they are by no means a product-leading mobile carrier here in the U.S., but what they do offer is value pricing in a market that seems to be getting less and less competitive between carriers, thus driving the cost of mobile computing up. The mobile market in the U.S. is fast becoming a binary, with AT&T on one end and Verizon on the other. Even if you are not a Sprint customer, you should applaud the fact that Sprint exists: they essentially keep AT&T and Verizon from turning into Ming the Merciless when it comes to data plan pricing and other fees.

In fact, it can even be argued that Verizon dropping its unlimited data pricing this year is a result of AT&T’s acquisition of T-Mobile: while it may not seem that such a merger would directly impact Verizon, it does: by AT&T taking T-Mobile off the gameboard, all who is left is Sprint/Nextel, meaning that AT&T and Verizon can marginalize Sprint’s pricing by reaching data plan pricing parity with one another, since together they garner the lion’s share of subscribers.

In short, it creates a “binary monopoly,” also known as a “duopoly.”

It is for this reason that Sprint is petitioning against the AT&T/T-Mobile merger (did you know that?), making th point to the FCC. In Sprint’s petition to the FCC on May 31st, 2011, they state:

“The proposed transaction would turn back the clock on competition and innovation and bring this era of unprecedented wireless expansion and technological innovation to an abrupt, but avoidable, halt. The transaction would make AT&T the nation's largest wireless carrier with 118 million subscribers in total and 43 percent of the post-paid market. Coupled with Verizon's more than 94.1 million total subscribers and 39 percent of the post-paid market, the transaction would create a Twin Bell duopoly with 82 percent of post-paid subscribers, over 78 percent of all wireless revenues, and 88 percent of all wireless operating profits. The Twin Bells' market dominance would dwarf Sprint, the sole remaining national carrier, and the rest of the wireless industry, thereby creating an entrenched, anti-competitive duopoly.”

You can read the entire petition here. It is actually very compelling and an interesting read.

Folks, it’s a bad thing that AT&T is poised to subsume T-Mobile and put the finishing touch on AT&T/Verizon’s bid to create a duopoly. If they forced Sprint out of the picture enough, we could very well see a Verizon/Sprint merger in the near future (a hostile takeover), which would be horrible for us, the consumers. For as much as we may imagine AT&T and Verizon to be mortal enemies, don’t think for a second that they are not working together — albeit implictly — to destroy Sprint.

And I’m telling ya, if Sprint folds, the cost of being a smartphone user will necessarily skyrocket. Given the poor outlook of the American economy, this would indeed be a bad thing.

The iPhone 5 on Sprint: Apple Gets It

If Apple forges the deal with Sprint to give them the iPhone 5, for them, it’s all about competing with Android and RIM. But it also may be in Apple’s best interest to keep Sprint alive as well, since an increase in data usage costs in the wake of a Sprint-less vacuum in the future could hurt the iPhone more than Android, since now iCloud will be the defining feature of the “Apple ecosphere.” Since we still don’t know what data usage is really going to look like post-iCloud, if data usage pricing skyrockets, then the iPhone could become less desirable, since users will consider it to be too expensive to run. Kind of like how cars that have poor gas mileage tend to sell poorly in a strained economy.

It very well may be that giving Sprint the iPhone is Apple throwing them a lifeline in the event that the AT&T/T-Mobile merger saps competition even further. By giving U.S. subscribers an unlimited data plan option for the iPhone 5, it will force the Big Two (especially Verizon) to tread carefully when it comes to data pricing.

And for all of us who use AT&T or Verizon, that’s enough to thank Sprint for.

 

October/November iPhone 5 Release Rumor: Good For Apple, Bad For Us?

Posted: 11 Jul 2011 08:00 AM PDT


A new report from a top tech analyst suggests that iPhone 5 production hasn’t even started yet, and that the iPhone 5 may not hit the stores until October or even November. That might help Apple make the iPhone 5 the hottest-selling item for Christmas 2011, but it means an even longer wait for the iPhone 5′ers.

Just when it seemed as though the tech community had agreed on September as the arrival month for the iPhone 5, a new report suggests that the fabled iPhone may not hit the scene until October or even November. We have the full news story about this new development on the iPhone 5 News Ticker. You can check it out here.

Should the October/November trajectory turn out to be true, it will be yet another point of contention for those of us who already have been pushed past our breaking point on the release of the iPhone 5, as well as another example of how the iPhone 5 rumor mill creates expectations that Apple can not or will not fulfill. Now, it seems that every new release date rumor brings with it dozens of lamentations from readers who find even a September release date stressful. Imagine the ugly scene if its September 22nd and still no word of an iPhone 5?

But for Apple, it could be their move to corner the market on smartphone sales in the fourth quarter over its rival, the Samsung S II, and dub this year A Very iPhone 5 Christmas.

Recent rumors about an iPad 2 Plus/iPad 3 being co-released with the iPhone this year have been substantiated by a similar rationale: that Apple will look to garner big Christmas sales by offering a new iPad iteration to rival the more recent competition in the tablet market. But that theory doesn’t really hold water, since the iPad 2 still remains atop the tablet race in both performance and price — two factors that promise to make it a big seller at Christmas, in spite of the fact that it was released back in spring.

But the smartphone market is much more competitive.

Apple may very well assume that, by the time Black Friday rolls around in the U.S. and folks in Christendom start buying Christmas presents, the Galaxy S II may be a bit passé by then. Adding to this, if the iPhone 5 gets released with a six-week timeframe from the start of Christmas shopping, there could be an avalanche of sales at the end of 2011.

Could Apple lose a bunch of the iPhone faithful to Android in a move like this? It is definitely possible, since there is anecdotal evidence to suggest that it has already happened to some degree as a result of the iPhone-less WWDC. If Apple fails to meet the expectation of an iPhone 5 in September, then another wave of iPhone users could abandon Apple as well.

However, to think that the executives at Cupertino haven’t thought of this consequence would be ridiculous on our part; Apple knows how to make money, and they know the market better than all of us with our tech IQs combined. It very well may be that the release date, combined with the features and new technology that will be released on the iPhone 5, will make such an impact on the smartphone market and bring so many new iPhone users on board, that the slight run-off of iPhone users now will pale in comparison.

And who knows — if the iPhone 5 turns out to be cool enough, even those fallen-away iPhone users may come back to Apple after all.

Let us not forget that Steve Jobs remains frightfully ill. Little is known about his health, and for obvious reason: Apple must maintain the semblance of stability, and the sense that Jobs is still steering the Good Ship Cupertino. But frankly speaking, the iPhone 5 may very well be Steve Jobs’ swan song. And like every great visionary, Jobs would want to go out with a bang, and leave us with his tour de force.

If all of this comes to pass, perhaps an extra month or so is worth the wait for greatness?

 

 

Purported Leaked Photo: Is This The iPhone 5? And Is That a 3D Camera?

Posted: 10 Jul 2011 07:28 PM PDT


iphone 5 leaked photo

Leaked photos of the iPhone 5 are a dime a dozen. This new leaked photo coming out of China, however, reveals an interesting feature that was thought to be a long shot: a 3D camera. What do you think — is this a possible legitimate sighting of the iPhone 5? And if so, how excited would you be with a 3D camera on the next iPhone?

In a long list of possible features, the prospect of a 3D camera on the iPhone 5 has been low on the list. Few if any iPhone prognosticators believed that Apple would foray into the 3D technology this time around. The iPhone 5 News Blog wrote a piece back on May 18th about how an earlier leaked photo of an iPhone 5 case could indicate a dual camera sensor array on the next iPhone. This new photo, however, features the two camera sensors closer together than original photo. The link was sent to us by iPhone 5′er Ethan, a commenter to this blog who has contributed other newsworthy links and articles in the past. Many thanks, Ethan!

iphone 5

 

The photo comes from Chinese-based 175wan.com, who purports that the photo is from Shenzhen, home of Apple’s components manufacturers, and admits that the chassis closely resembles the look and dimensions of the iPhone 4, and is not bearing the marks of an enlarged screen.

Let us know what you think! Is there anything about this photo that makes you believe that it is truly the iPhone 5?!

Apple Testing iPhone 5 In iPhone 4 Enclosures Behind “4S” Speculation?, And Why It Might Be Sensible To Wait For Next Year

Posted: 09 Jul 2011 09:10 PM PDT


Part of the confusion/disappointment over purported next-generation iPhone prototypes evidently looking a lot like the iPhone 4 could be attributable to iPhone 5 guts being stealth-tested inside iPhone 4 enclosures.

This Is My Next’s Joshua Topolsky has suggested that because the iPhone 5′s internal components are sized to fit inside a smaller and lighter device, they are an easy fit inside the familiar iPhone 4 housing and he maintains that is exactly what Apple has been doing according to his insider sources.

So what about screen size? Topolsky notes that a slight tweak of the size (say, to a 3.7-inch display), would be barely noticeable to the eye, but obvious in internal component design, and rumors of an iPhone 4S could be attributable to noting more than this bit of subterfuge.

Indeed, auto manufacturers routinely test future models in public with the new innards inside a current model body skin, or camouflaged with elaborate monochrome paint jobs or shrouding. Clever, eh?

If you’re interested, you can find out more on these sites:

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/03/pl_motor_prototypes/

http://bit.ly/hrNCaW

http://www.carandsuv.co.nz/articles/camouflage-and-disguise-the-fight-against-prototype-paparazzi

http://www.suite101.com/content/camouflage-and-disguise-of-cars-a48516

There’s even a firm in the business of supplying automotove camouflage:
http://www.autocanvas.com/services.html

Back to the iPhone 5. Topolsky ponders why Apple would be inclined to replace the relatively young (although many commentors on this blog evidently see it as getting long-in-the-tooth) iPhone 4 form factor, but says he’s heard that “the device is out of favor at the highest levels of the company,” and while he doesn’t elaborate, the famous antenna and glass back fragility issues would be good guesses as to why the powers at Apple would be ready to move on with a clean slate design. Sounds plausible.

Meanwhile, BeatWeek reads as a sure sign the iPhone 5 release date is coming sooner than later, being that both AT&T and Verizon are moving to sell off their iPhone 4 stock ahead of the new model’s launch, but says it’s the low end iPhone 4 that’s being fingered for the blowout with price cuts of as much as 25 percent, but not so much the high-end iPhone 4, from which they deduce that it looks like the deeper-featured model is the one that’s likely to stick around in the role that the iPhone 3GS has been filling for AT&T over the past year or so, and suggesting that’s an indication that Apple is so confident about the content and consumer attractiveness of what’s coming in the iPhone 5 (possibly 64 GB of data storage for he base model and 128 GB for the high-end?) that they’re not worried about competition from a price-cut 32 GB iPhone 4.

Well, maybe, but I’m highly skeptical about a 128 GB iPhone for some time yet. After all, the base MacBook Air only comes with 64 GB, although it will be interesting to see if its base line capacity gets boosted with the refresh expected to be rolled out next Thursday with the OS X 10.7 Lion release. Provisionally, I’ll be pleasantly surprised, although not shocked, if there’s a 64 GB iPhone 5.

Or maybe there’s just a glut of lower-end iPhone 4 stock, and price reductions there are unrelated to the iPhone 5′s release. The waiting game continues. Will the iPhone 5 be worth the wait? BeatWeek has some ideas about that as well, and in another article shares their top five reasons why they recommend waiting for the iPhone 5, even if it means spending the next couple months impatiently twiddling your thumbs. You can check out the top five by clicking here.

PC Mag’s Sara Yin cites a Wall Street Journal report that Apple will completely revamp the iPhone for its next-next-generation model (“iPhone 6″?) due in 2012, with a marquee feature being inductive charging, and reiterated rumors about a bare-bones iPhone model purportedly being developed for sale in developing countries. Others have scorned that notion, reasoning that the iPhone 3GS or even the carried-over iPhone 4 after the iPhone 5 debuts would be ideally suited to filling that demand.

And last but not least for today, AppAdvice’s Bryan M. Wolfe muses that with Apple having broken the annual iPhone upgrade in June mold — at least for 2011 — even if the WSJ is right about possible iPhone 6 goodies including induction charging and maybe an alternative to or switch from USB to Thunderbolt port connectivity, neither nor both of those enhancements in and of themselves would incline him to suggest skipping the iPhone 5 in favor of waiting for the iPhone 6.

However, in Wolfe’s estimation, induction and T-Bolt will probably be just the tip of the iceberg, and a stronger likelihood is that the iPhone 6 will turn out to be as revolutionary a device as the iPhone 4 was last year. His advice? If you’re in the habit of upgrading your handset hardware annually, go ahead and buy the iPhone 5 when it lands regardless of what model you currently own. However, in his opinion, if you are on more of a two-year replacement cycle, waiting until next year for the iPhone 6 is probably a better choice. Sensible counsel, I would say.

Yahoo, Bing Search Results Anticipate “iPhone 5″ As Name For Next iPhone

Posted: 09 Jul 2011 03:00 AM PDT


Apple iPhone 5 search results on Yahoo

Yahoo's search results for the "iPhone 5" keyword puts Apple as the #1 result, even though they don't mention the iPhone 5. Read why that is very strange.

The iPhone landing page at Apple.com strangely turned up as the first search result for the popular “iPhone 5” keyword on Yahoo and Bing, suggesting that the search engine giants anticipate that the next iPhone will be the “iPhone 5.” Google has not followed suit.

The average Googler probably doesn’t pay much attention to the ever-shifting search engine results of the much-coveted “iPhone 5″ keyword. But when you’re in the business of reporting on the news and rumors of the iPhone 5, who’s on top and who’s not can mean the difference between being in the black or the red on any given day.

For the most part, the only search results that popped up for an “iPhone 5″ search on any of the top three search engines yielded results from top tech sites, like 9to5Mac and CNET, or iPhone-centric blogs, like the iPhone 5 News Blog. The assumption has always been that, once the iPhone 5 is released, Apple.com’s iPhone landing page would take its rightful position as the number one search result for “iPhone 5″ — should that turn out to be the next iPhone’s official name.

Recently, however, some interesting changes have taken place on Yahoo and Bing’s search results for the “iPhone 5″ keyword that suggests that both search engines are betting strongly on the belief that the next iPhone will be the “5.”

Currently, Apple’s iPhone category appears as the number-one search result, in front of the iPhone 5 News Blog on both Yahoo and Bing. Google has not followed suit. You’ll notice, however, that there is nothing in the search result itself that says “iPhone 5.” The relevance is justified by both search engines by putting in bold the word “iPhone” and the number “5″ from the “5-megapixel camera” phrase in the meta description tag.

While this may seem innocuous to the average searcher, take it from a guy who knows a little bit about SEO — it is revealing. Here’s why:

A Crash Course in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) — And Why Yahoo and Bing’s Results Are Interesting

Here’s what you need to know about Search Engine Optimization, or “SEO” as it is commonly referred to, in order to understand why it is clear Yahoo and Bing have purposely pushed the iPhone category page to the top of the “iPhone 5″ search results. All search engines crawl web pages and analyze their content to figure out what they’re about. There are many factors that go into this analysis, but mainly what these search “bots” read are the title tag, description tag, keyword tags — all part of what is called “meta data” — and the text on the page itself.

If you use a meta data tool to view the meta data of the iPhone 5 News Blog, it looks like this:

iphone 5 news blog meta data

As you can see, the title tag (the title at the top of a web page in the browser) as well as the description (which most search engines use to describe a page in search results) and keywords are all very “iPhone 5′ish.” Combined with all the times that we use “iPhone 5″ in our blog articles here, the search engines know that this site is all about the iPhone 5. That’s why when we come up in search results, the search engines put “iPhone 5″ in bold. I know — duh.

iphone 5 news blog on Google

Google's search result listing for the iPhone 5 News Blog -- a thing of beauty.

The thing is, there is no “iPhone 5″ keyword phrase in Apple’s meta data for the iPhone category page, nor is there anything on the page itself that says “iPhone 5.” Yahoo and Bing have done a sketchy thing: they’ve taken “iPhone” from one part of the meta data, and “5″ from another, and counted that as “iPhone 5.” Take a look:

 

Bing iPhone 5 results
Apple’s search engine result currently on Bing

Now, you might think that this is perfectly normal or understandable for a search engine company to do — but it isn’t. You will not find any other search engine result for “iPhone 5″ that is devoid of anything to do with the iPhone 5 discussion. Granted, sometimes search engines will transpose a keyword like “iPhone 5″ to include headlines that might feature “5 iPhone,” as in “Top 5 iPhone 4 Cases,” like this result:

But search engines do not bring together disparate words in meta data to form a keyword phrase like iPhone 5. If this were the case, then the iPhone 5 News Blog would show up in “iPhone 6″ search results, taking the “iPhone” and “6″ from our description meta tag and combining them to form “iPhone 6.”

But it doesn’t.

The fact is, once the iPhone 5 is released, Apple’s “iPhone” page is the category page that will show up as the number one result when you type in “iPhone 5!” It will be the way that Apple funnels in traffic from the search engines. The fact that Yahoo and Bing are already placing the iPhone category page on the “iPhone 5″ search results proves to me that 1) the next iPhone is the “iPhone 5,” and 2) it is most definitely coming soon!

Google — The Smoking Gun

Perhaps the final piece of the puzzle in this compelling SEO study of iPhone 5 search results is Google’s lack of compliance in ascribing the iPhone category page to the “iPhone 5″ search results. I doubt that this is just a coincidence, especially since Google and Bing’s results are often quite similar. In addition, Google has recently “junked up” the “iPhone 5″ top three search result spots with up-start iPhone 5-related blogs, as opposed to keeping more established sites like 9to5Mac, Engadget, and CNET in those positions.

It would seem that, given the fact that the Samsung Galaxy S II — the iPhone 5′s natural competitor — will be going toe-to-toe with the next iPhone soon, Google may not be inclined to funnel millions of potential customers onto Apple’s site. Just to give you an idea, when the iPhone 5 News Blog was in the first position for the “iPhone 5″ keyword in March and April, we raked in 1.6 million visitors — and that was more than two months ago!

you may think that “SEO theory” isn’t much to go on to determine that the next iPhone  will be the “5,” but I think this evidence — while clearly circumstantial — is a lot more logical and credible than most of the other rumors and theories that get floated about Apple.

Apple Orders 15 Million iPhone 5s From Pegatron; Sprint-Nextel iPhone By Christmas?

Posted: 06 Jul 2011 08:27 PM PDT


They’re coming, friends. Still can’t pinpoint a release date, but Taiwanese IT industry-watcher site Digitimes’ Monica Chen and Joseph Tsai are reporting that their unnamed sources say Taiwan-based notebook computer maker Pegatron Technology has landed orders from Apple for approximately 15 million iPhone 5s and is on track to start shipping in September. I should add here that Chen and Tsai hedge their bets a bit by adding parenthetically that it could be an iPhone 4S, since their insider sources tell them the device on order doesn’t seem to be radically different from the iPhone 4.

The reporters note that on the strength of Apple orders for 10 million CDMA iPhone 4s in 2010, Pegatron was able to significantly expand its plants human power, and equipment infrastructure, but as it turned out Apple’s CDMA iPhone 4 sales were lower than expected in the first quarter of 2011, and the OEM actually shipped fewer than four million CDMA iPhone 4s, and has been running at 50 percent capacity, so they won’t have any backlogs to clear before getting down to business making the new iPhones.

In a separate Digitimes story, Yenting Chen and Joseph Tsai also report that
various Taiwan-based companies upstream in the supply chain for iPhone 5 (and iPad 3) have begun ramping up the production of components the new devices. The reporters’ sources are cited as saying Apple only plans to launch one model of the new iPhone, with production starting up slowly in August, and volume picking up through September and October.

The iPhone timeline sounds plausible enough, but I remain highly skeptical about an iPad 3 making an appearance before Q1 2012 earliest, although I have been hearing other rumors of a possible iPad 2 1/2 making an appearance in time for the Christmas buying season. I’m doubtful about that too, but will remain open-minded. However, having just purchased a new iPad2, I can state with confidence that if Apple does spring a significantly upgraded iPad inside of, say, 10 months after launching the 2, a lot of 2-owners are going to be annoyed, to put it mildly.
However, Chen and Tsai maintain that their sources tell them that with competitors rolling out new tablets, Apple is keen on mounting a counterattack with another wave of new devices before its rivals become too strong, and is considering laying on an even thinner and lighter tablet PC with panel resolution increasing to 250dpi. We’ll see.

In related news, Cult of Mac’s Ed Sutherland reports that Sprint-Nextel is about to join the growing club of U.S. carriers offering the iPhone, likely by by Christmas, with at least one analyst, Citadel Securities’ Shing Yin telling investors that "Sprint could capture more than its fair share of iPhone sales, especially if it gets the new model at the same time as AT&T and Verizon." A Sprint iPhone will loom even larger in importance for price-conscious iPhone users, what with Verizon expected to drop unlimited data service plans Thursday. leaving Sprint as the last remaining U.S. carrier offering an unlimited data plan that lets you surf without the meter running and the hoofbeats of passing time thundering in your ears.

Is It Actually Happening?! Disgruntled iPhone 5′ers Buying the Galaxy S II Instead?!

Posted: 06 Jul 2011 06:30 AM PDT


Ever since the WWDC came and went without the announcement of the iPhone 5, a steady stream of iPhone users — desperate to replace their aging iPhone — have sworn oaths up and down the blogosphere that they would finally jump ship on Apple and buy an Android. Each passing week of no iPhone 5 has prompted more and more commenters on blogs like the iPhone 5 News Blog to give up on waiting for the next iPhone.

Persistent rumors of a refreshed iPhone 5 haven’t helped, either: every time a fresh rumor emerges that the next iPhone will be a “simple refresh” or the “iPhone 4s,” Apple seems to lose another swath of devotees.

Now, it seems that the horde of people who have been swearing that they’d buy an Android instead of waiting too long for a refreshed iPhone 5 may actually be doing what they swore they’d do. A report from BetaNews yesterday claims that the Samsung Galaxy S II sold 3 million units in 55 days.

BetaNews reports that “regarding the 55 days: ‘Within the period, a unit of Galaxy S II was sold in every 1.5 seconds. This record shortens the record of 85 days of its predecessor Galaxy S, a ten-million global seller, by 30 days.’” The crux of the BetaNews piece suggests that this flood of Galaxy S II sales is the motivating factor behind Apple’s attempt to block sales of competing Samsung products in the U.S. While that remains to be seen, one thing is for sure: 3 million units in 55 days is an interesting number — especially as it pertains to the delayed release of the iPhone 5.

55 days ago, we were roughly at the beginning of May. If you return to the news cycle of that time, you’ll note that, with the exception of a few yahoos in the tech media, it had begun to sink in that the WWDC would be featuring new software only, and that the iPhone 5 would most likely not be announced. This was just about the time that iPhone 5′ers’ patience snapped.

55 days and 3 million sales later, the impressive, iPhone 5-competing Samsung Galaxy S II has perhaps sucked up a hefty percentage of iPhone users who were daring — threatening, even — to abandon Apple for Android.

So what kinds of features does the Galaxy S II offer the disgruntled iPhone user? BetaNews gives an apt briefing: “. . . a 4.27-inch Super AMOLED display with 800 x 480 resolution; dual-core Samsung processor; 8-megapixel rear-facing and 2-megapixel front-facing cameras; Android 2.3 (Gingerbread); 1080p video recording; Bluetooth 3.0+HS; and HSPA+ network support, among other features.” In a nutshell, the Galaxy S II is everything that iPhone users want the iPhone 5 to be from a hardware and performance standpoint.

All along, Google has claimed that they see the Galaxy class of smartphones as the natural competitor to the iPhone. It is no coincidence that the features list for the Galaxy S II reads like an iPhone 5 wish list. Even though the Galaxy S II is already out, expect to see a second wave of aggressive campaigning against the iPhone 5 once it is released. The possible slogan? Maybe “Hey Apple, we’ve got your users.”

The Dog Days of an iPhone 5 Summer

Posted: 04 Jul 2011 09:47 AM PDT


The iPhone 5 rumor mill has churned consistently for over a year now, and only up until now — on the eve of iPhone 5 production, are rumors and information beginning to wind down. And don’t think that’s a coincidence, either. Here’s why:

If you want to know how big of a business the iPhone 5 rumor mill is, just go on to Google and type in “iPhone 5.” Back in the day, the iPhone 5 News Blog was the first and only niche blog dedicated to covering iPhone 5 news. Now, there seem to be dozens of iPhone 5 rumor sites, all clammoring to pick up and profit on the buzz that the iPhone 5 generates.

But for as much as the here and now would seem to be prime time for iPhone 5 rumorism, the fact is, very little has come out in the past few weeks that can be seen as actionable iPhone 5 intelligence. And the few rumors that have surfaced — such as the “new” iPhone 5 prototype photos, the iPhone 5/4s dual release in September, and now the iPhone 5/iPad 3 dual release in October — all of which have been exploded by the iPhone 5 News Blog, have really contributed very little to serious discussion about the iPhone 5.

And yet, here we are, practically on the eve of its release!

With only two more months until getting possibly the first announcement of the iPhone 5, the presses are going silent, and very little is to be said about the next iPhone that can be taken seriously. I for one don’t think that it’s a coincidence: I think that, now that we’re seeing indications that iPhone production is underway, Apple and its much-feared Worldwide Loyalty Team — have put the clamps down on leaks coming out of Asia. We are likely to get the silent treatment over the next two months.

But folks, that’s a good sign.

Up until this point, Cupertino has let the rumor mill run wild. While I think that’s somewhat of a bad idea on Apple’s part — since they allow irresponsible blogs and websites to set expectations that Apple cannot necessarily meet — when the silence around the iPhone 5 news cycle grows palpable, I think that’s when we know that Apple is busy.

In addition, the market climate is also suggesting that iPhone users and hopefuls are getting ready for the iPhone 5. BusinessWeek reported today that sales of the iPhone 4 are dropping dramatically at Verizon: “Verizon Wireless, the largest U.S. wireless provider, will probably say sales of Apple Inc.'s iPhone dropped when it reports second-quarter results, a Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analyst said.”

While we do not have similar reports from AT&T, it would suffice to say that they too are seeing a sharp decline in iPhone 4 sales as well.

As always, we will look to Asia for any new indications that the iPhone 5 is nearing release. But my guess is that Apple has its agents in place and are making sure to keep a tight lid on what is proving to be a potentially exciting iPhone 5 announcement in September!

Pure Conjecture: Is Apple Building the iPhone 5 In Two Sizes?

Posted: 03 Jul 2011 08:38 AM PDT


Doubtless you’ve heard the fresh rumors, which originated from DigiTimes, that the iPhone 5 production is in full throttle, and that Asian-based sources are claiming two new Apple devices are in the works at plants like Foxconn for an October release. One would assume that “two devices” would indicate some sort of credence to the old iPhone 5/iPhone 4s rumors, but DigiTimes and others have a different theory: the iPad 3.

Yes, believe it or not, the fresh rumor is that Apple will release the iPad 3 at the same time as the iPhone 5, just eight months or so after the iPad 2 and in the height of iPad 2 sales.

Does that notion seem completely insane to you? Wait, it gets insaner.

On June 30th, DigiTimes reported this: “As the IT market approaches the third quarter, the traditional peak season, Apple is turning more aggressive in placing orders for its iPad 2 and is set to ship 12-14 million units in the quarter, up from 7-9 million units in the second, according to market watchers.”

Then, the next day, they reported this: “Taiwan-based companies included in the supply chain for iPhone 5 and iPad 3 have begun to prepare materials for the production of the two devices, which are likely to make their debuts in September and to hit the market in October, according to industry sources.”

Do these two stories contradict one another? You bet they do: why would Apple be ordering 12+ million iPad 2s for the third quarter of 2011 if they were prepared to release an iPad 3 in October. It’s asinine. Assinine, even.

I’ve laid out the whole story on our iPad 2 News Blog. Read about my alternate theory below:

The iPhone 5 In Two Sizes?

Chances are, this rumor is completely bogus, much like everything else that spins out of the iPhone 5 rumor mill. With even “top” tech news sites like DigiTimes and CNET engaging in this kind of irresponsible journalism, it calls into question virtually every bit of “news” that they see fit to print. And the “early release” angle is nothing new: they tried it with the iPhone 5 last year, when tech sites were claiming that the iPhone 5 would be released just six months after the iPhone 4.

However, if the rumor turns out to be half correct, and people on the ground over in Asia are seeing two chassis being built in factories like Foxconn, and one of them looks tablet-like, could we in fact be seeing a two-size option for the iPhone 5?

There had been speculation that Apple might offer the iPhone 5 in two sizes back in the Spring. Some of these theories came in the form of the “iPhone 5 Nano,” which would be a smaller, pocket-sized version of the regular iPhone specs. Others, however, did conjecture that, since those humungous 4-inch Android screens are sort of “love it or hate it” with smartphone users, perhaps Apple would release an iPhone 5 with a standard iPhone-sized screen, and larger-screened iPhone 5 that would straddle the smartphone/tablet market segments?

This, of course, is just a question — and one that I’m posing to you, dear informed reader. After all, it was you (the collective “you”) who so vociferously argued the pros and cons of sticking a big slab ‘o 4-inch-plus screen on the iPhone 5. It very well may be that if the ideological divide so eloquently represented on blogs like this one represent a representative divide among smartphone users as a whole, maybe Apple’s market research has indicated to them that “two sizes fit all” with the iPhone 5?

From a production standpoint, it would indeed be complex, and costly, since we’d be talking about two separate chassis and two separate screens. Even if the rest of the hardware components could be interchanged, those two components are major, and in essence, it forces Apple to build two products.

Since there is an implausibility that beguiles all of these new “two device” theories surrounding iPhone 5 production, it takes us back to the inevitable: the reports are probably just bupkis. But at least if Stevie J. comes out onto some as-yet-unannounced stage in early September cradling two iPhone 5s in his arms like the proud father of two techno wonder twins, we’ll at least be able to say that we were conjecturing about the “two iPhone 5s” way back when DigiTimes was convincing everyone that an iPad 3 was on its way.