Wednesday, August 17, 2011

The iPhone 5 News Blog News Feed

The iPhone 5 News Blog News Feed

Elongated Gesture iPhone 5 Home Button Contradicts Apple Patents

Posted: 17 Aug 2011 10:07 AM PDT


iphone 5 elongated gesture home button

Photo from 9to5Mac.com

A new, purported photo of iPhone 5 screen production at the Wintek facility reveals new iPhone screens with elongated, ovular cutouts for a possible multi-touch, multi-gesture home button. But Apple patents over the past few years show the desire to move away from the home button altogether.  

In the midst of a filed of very blurry, nondescript photos, complete with dithery, photoshopped wierdness, a set of remarkably clear, crisp photos of workers in what is purported to be Wintek’s iPhone touchscreen factory reveal sheets of what look to be larger-than-normal iPhone screens — complete with elongated cutouts for a possible multi-touch, multi-gesture home button.

Leading the way as usual on iPhone 5 rumordom is 9to5Mac, who, along with others, captioned the photo with “note the elongated gesture home button.”

The notion of an iPhone 5 with an multi-touch home button is not a completely never revelation to the rumor mill. Ever since the release of the iPhone 4, tech pundits have imagined Apple outfitting future iPhone iterations with either a multi-touch home button or a smart bezel, which would give users gestural control over functions like volume, app switching, and unlocking that currently are either relegated to hardware controls or altogether nonexistent on the iPhone device itself. Along with these rumors have also been the discussion of the iconic home button disappearing from the iPhone 5.

While there may be some excitement over the prospect of Apple revealing a multi-gestural home button on the iPhone 5, the Apple patents suggest that it is highly unlikely.

When researching Apple-related patent sites like Patently Apple, it becomes “patently” obvious that Apple’s long term direction for the iPhone when it comes to gesture and controls is to lose the home button and all other manual buttons and hardware for a next-generation smartphone that makes use of even more complex and nuanced gestures to control navigation. Aside from Apple’s landmark patent for the original home button, you’ll be hard-pressed to find patents that suggest the kind of elongated home button we’re seeing suggested in these new photos.

On the other hand, there are a slew of Apple patents filed in 2010 that suggest Apple has plans to introduce hidden controls and drop the physical home button in an attempt to create a sleek, button touch surface.

This story from SlashGear reveals a patent with no home button whatsoever. And along these same lines, Patently Apple produced a wonderful piece on Apple’s recent smart bezel patents and their viability on future iPhones.

In this way, it is safe to say that there is more likelihood of seeing smart bezels, hidden controls, and no home button in the iPhone’s future, rather than a multi-touch home button on the iPhone 5. And if it does come to pass that these new photos are accurate and the iPhone 5 will indeed feature a gestural home button, it would seem to contradict what Cupertino has been developing over the past couple years in terms of next-generation controls and navigation for the iPhone.
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October iPhone 5 Release Still Puts Announcement On Track For September

Posted: 17 Aug 2011 07:43 AM PDT


While it may be hard for some people to understand, the elongated iPhone 4 sales cycle and delayed release of the iPhone 5 has taken its toll on passionate smartphone users. From legacy iPhone 3/3Gs users who are eagerly awaiting an upgrade, to disgruntled Android and RIM users who are finally resigned to making the switch to the iPhone, a lot is at stake with the iPhone 5′s release.

To that end, today’s new rumor — that the iPhone 5 will released sometime in early October — may do some psychological damage to those who already are at wit’s end about the seemingly endless wait for the next iPhone.

After this long wait, the difference between the iPhone 5 being released in September or October is relatively insubstantial compared to the wide gap between the iPhone 4 announcement at the WWDC in June of 2010 and now. And yet, because anticipation over the iPhone 5 is so high and nerves are worn thin, even hair-splitting over whether the iPhone would be announced on September 7th or 12th has stressed out the tech community, as we reported yesterday in another article. To be sure, the new news breaking today from 9to5Mac — that “Apple has been weighing between launching the new iPhone on October 7th or October 14th, but with the product's latest stages of pre-mass-production currently moving along nicely, Apple is presently shooting towards a launch on the 7th” — is enough to push some iPhone users to the brink, and perhaps jump ship to competing devices, such as Samsung Galaxy S 2 or Nexus Prime, both of which are slated to be released before the purported release of the iPhone 5.

But there’s good news, folks: even an iPhone 5 release in October doesn’t necessarily ruin the prospect of the next iPhone being announced in early September.



Stevie J Will Make It All Feel Better

Often times when tech enthusiasts talk about the iPhone 5, they tend to conflate the announcement and release together into one event. In point of fact, Steve Jobs and Apple have a well-established track record of buffering the release of a new device by a few weeks after its official announcement. And there are a few practical reasons for doing this: it allows Apple to get a better gauge of supply and demand factors, since many people commit to buying the iPhone only after it has been officially unveiled.

Also, the interim between the iPhone announcement and its official release is an integral part of the Apple ratcheting up the buzz machine for the iPhone: Cupertino is well aware of the fact that iPhone 5 hopefuls have only had conjecture and rumor to fill the smartphone void in their souls over the past year or so — a few weeks of digesting the new features will indeed solidify the excitement and demand for the iPhone 5. And this will be equally true if the next iPhone turns out to be something other than the iPhone 5 as well; three or four weeks worth of talking and ruminating over an iPhone 4Gs or iPhone 4s may be just enough time to convert initial users’ disappointments into renewed enthusiasm for buying the device in early October. If the next iPhone was released the day or day after it was announced, who knows how the initial perceptions of it could affect sales right out of the gate?

Which is why an October 7th release of the iPhone 5 may still place the announcement squarely in early- to mid-September. And I argue that once Steve Jobs walks out onto stage with it, people are going to feel a whole lot better about having to wait so long — even if it means waiting another three or four weeks.

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iPhone 5 Release Date Roulette: September 7th, 12th or None of the Above?

Posted: 16 Aug 2011 05:00 PM PDT


iPhone 5 announcement and release date rumors are igniting the rumor mill. But getting the exact announcement date right is little more than a game of roulette played by the tech media.

When it comes to the iPhone 5, there is what we know, and what we think we know. And when comparing these two fact sheets, the latter is clearly longer than the former.

Mainly, what we know about the iPhone 5 is already ancient history: is wasn’t announced in June at the WWDC, and it will most definitely have the A5 chip, iOS 5, and iCloud. We also know that it will be released in the U.S. on both Verizon and AT&T’s networks. That’s about it — and these facts are nothing new or revelational.

What we think we know about the iPhone 5, however, is a much longer list, supported by little more than rumor and conjecture. Features can be guessed at, thanks in part to the deductive reasoning of what technologies already exist in the smartphone market and what the iPhone 4 currently lacks. Names can be guessed at, too — especially when rumors of 4G LTE and conflicting reports about the next iPhone’s form factor are put into play by the tech media. But in the end, prognostications about iPhone 5 features will be easily forgotten once the new iPhone is released, with only the tech intelligentsia who guessed them correctly boasting of their prowess.

Yet, in an effort up the ante on predicting the iPhone 5, the tech media took to guessing not only the month of when the iPhone 5 will be released, nor the week, but rather the actual day itself. Like a degenerate gambler placing his sweaty stack of chips on the green “00″ at the roulette table, otherwise credible tech websites have staked out a claim on the day of the announcement. The first of these came from CNET UK not long after the WWDC proved to be a non-starter for the iPhone 5 announcement. They boldly proclaimed September 7th to be the exact date that the iPhone 5 would be released.

This prediction gained traction over the summer, with MacRumors recently claiming that there will be a major Apple media event on September 7th. but that rumor was quickly refuted by tech writer Jim Dalrymple, who cited a source who patently denies that Apple will announce the next iPhone on that date. Now, based on some intel from Europe’s Telefonica, the new rumor is that September 12th will be the announce date. You can read all about this new release date rumor here on the iPhone 5 News Ticker.

At the same time, other sources have claimed that September will come and go completely before the iPhone 5 in announced, and that October is more likely.



The Arbitrary Game of Guessing the iPhone 5 Announcement

As stated before, guessing iPhone 5 features is a practice in deductive reasoning: you look at what’s out there, and what Apple doesn’t currently offer on its iPhone, and what iOS 5 is hinting at, and you begin to piece together some reasonable possibilities. However, guessing the exact date of the iPhone 5 announcement is both an exercise in futility and a cynical game that some in the tech media are playing to move massive amounts of traffic to their websites.

From the Telefonica info that they are going to scale back iPhone 4 stocks between now and September 12th, to the rumored September 7th media event, anecdotal evidence that U.S. mobile carriers are blacking out late September vacation time for their employees, and beyond, these morsels of evidence never point to actionable intelligence that solidifies any particular date.

It’s a lot like guessing the day that the world will end — only more exciting.

Chances are, Apple is going to capitalize on the fever pitch of iPhone 5 excitement as much as possible, which will most likely be on a day that no reputable tech news agency will guess. After all, Apple need not be relegated to choosing one specific day to make the announcement; once the iPhone 5 is ready to go, they will have a “window” of  days — or even weeks — to make the announcement. Look for Cupertino’s PR and marketing departments to forecast a day when no big news is breaking, folks are back from vacation, back to school, back to their normal lives . . .

. . . and most importantly, a day that no one in the tech media has already predicted.