Friday, September 2, 2011

The iPhone 5 News Blog News Feed

The iPhone 5 News Blog News Feed

Totem To iPhone 4 Owners: “Sell Now, Get Top Dollar”

Posted: 02 Sep 2011 09:44 AM PDT


Here’s something to ponder over the long, holiday weekend. With the debut of Apple’s fifth generation iPhone anticipated to be just around the corner (at least so we hope!), Totem, self-described as “a simple, no-risk service that offers fair pricing and an easy process to cash in unwanted devices,” is encouraging iPhone 4 owners to sell their old handsets soon before an inevitable price drop when the new iPhone is announced. Totem says it has the resources to resell, refurbish and recycle large quantities of outdated or broken mobile devices.

The way it works is that customers tell Totem the make and condition of their phone device, and get an instant provisional quote. If the offer is acceptable, the customer selects a payment mode preference (Pay Pal or check) and Totem mails out a postage-paid mailer to ship the phone to them. As soon as the device arrives at Totem, it’s inspected, vetted to confirm that it’s consistent with the quote they provided online, and if everything checks out, the company says payment will be processed within 48 hours, and that customers choosing to partner with Totem will receive a cash deposit into their PayPal account or be sent a check in the mail within 72 hours of the transaction’s confirmation.

As regular readers of this blog are amply and perhaps painfully aware, the fifth generation iPhone, variously speculated to be branded iPhone 4GS or a 5, is late-coming and expected to debut this fall, with most industry insiders projecting release some time from late September to mid October. With that time frame in mind, Totem is encouraging anyone who plans to purchase the new iPhone 5 to start making plans to sell their old iPhone now before prices drop.

Of course, that could involve the sticky complication of possibly unacceptable phoneless inconvenience in the interim for many users while they wait for the new Apple handset to ship.

Totem observes that one detail not up for speculation is the improved operating system that will be included in the next iPhone. Revealed at Apple’s annual WWDC industry conference in June, iOS 5 is slated to launch this fall alongside Apple’s new iCloud online service that will, among other things allow all Apple products to be activated and updated wirelessly.

iOS 5 is also expected to introduce a user messaging service similar to BlackBerry’s BBM that supports picture, video, and contact sharing as well as group messages, increasing the iPhone’s potential to become a true business device. Users can also expect an updated notification center, new entertainment features like a newsstand and game center, built-in support for Twitter and Safari, as well as upgrades to photo editing software and email programs. It should be noted, however, that iOS 5 will support the iPhone 4 as well as the new model coming in a few weeks.

Totem notes that the iPhone 5 is rumored by some to be completely redesigned, perhaps sporting a curvier, slimmer figure, and suggests that with the quirks having been been worked out with the famous delay in getting a white iPhone 4 to market, both black and white iPhone 5s should be available at the outset. Enhanced voice features that control music, text messaging and FaceTime applications are also expected, as is support for full 1080p HD videos, a faster dual-core processor highly likely, with many hoping for a larger display, additional memory, and possible larger storage capacity as well.

Whatever Apple eventually rolls out, Totem anticipates that the iPhone 5 will be sufficiently compelling for many smartphone users to want to upgrade, maintaining that smart consumers will prepare now while they can still get top dollar on their earlier-generation iPhones, and pitching sale of your existing phone to an established phone buyback program like Totem as a quick and easy to earn quick cash toward funding an iPhone 5 purchase, as well as responsibly disposing of the old phone in environmentally friendly manner.

Being one who’s inclined to hang on to older hardware long past its best-before and fully-depreciated dates, I’ve had no first-hand dealings with Totem, but it sounds like a low-hassle option for upgrading.



For more information, visit:
http://www.hellototem.com/

Sprint Expounds On Oct 7th Media Event That Could Feature the iPhone 5

Posted: 02 Sep 2011 06:48 AM PDT


An iPhone 5 News Blog exclusive: Sprint has offered another detail about their October 7th media event in New York City. Read about what they had to say to us, and what it could mean for the release of the iPhone 5.

The iPhone 5 News Blog has obtained a bit more information about Sprint’s October 7th media event, which may help to put the release date of the next iPhone into better perspective. We contacted Sprint’s PR department on Wednesday to request a media invitation for the event. One of Sprint’s PR department managers responded promptly and courteously, explaining that there are no extra spots in the media pool for us, and that the event “is primarily an event for financial analysts, and we have limited space for reporters.”

Sprint’s October 7th media event was originally reported on by BGR, who surmised that Sprint would roll out its audacious plans for 4G service. They also commented that “Sprint is also set to launch Apple's next-generation iPhone 5 handset this fall, and while we couldn't get a peep out of the carrier while we were visiting its corporate headquarters back in July, we wouldn't be surprised if Sprint is a bit more talkative in October when it comes to Apple smartphones.”

The BGR article never mentioned Sprint’s emphasis on inviting financial analysts to the event, though its location in New York may have implied it. But the inclusion of financial analysts suggests that Sprint will be looking to leverage big news at their press conference to drive financial investors toward investing further in Sprint, which in turn could further finance the company’s investment in 4G infrastructure. To be sure, both a robust 4G rollout and the addition of the iPhone 5 could make Sprint much more attractive on Wall Street heading into 2012.

In addition, Sprint’s PR manager also offered another potentially big detail about the October 7th media event that is still unconfirmed, and so she asked us to withhold posting it until it is confirmed at Sprint. Should we receive confirmation from Sprint on this piece of news, we will be sure to update this post accordingly.



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The iPhone Prototype Misplaced Again: What a Long, Strange Trip

Posted: 01 Sep 2011 04:57 PM PDT


As the release of the iPhone 5 ostensibly winds into the final stretch, the rumor mill that essentially began with an iPhone 4 prototype being misplaced will be bookended by yet another. What a long, strange trip is has been.

You’ll note that, contrary to usual form, the iPhone 5 News Blog has been conspicuously slow in reporting or reacting to the recent news that Apple has managed to misplace yet another iPhone prototype in a San Francisco bar. Sure, the details are a bit different this time: it was found in a Mexican cantina-style bar (mmm — fish tacos), and only sold for $200 on the black market, rather than the $5,000 premium that Gizmodo paid for the iPhone 4. But hey, the iPhone 4 was an overhaul; if the rumors are true, maybe a refreshed iPhone 4s can only demand $200 bucks. (Ouch.)

Also, this story doesn’t involve Jason Chen — yet.

All of that being said, the overarching story — that another iPhone prototype has gone missing in the final stretch of the new iPhone’s release — is eerily similar to the story that captivated us back in the early Summer of 2010. In fact, is has been so starkly similar that I’ve sat motionless in front of my MacBook Pro for well over 24 hours, mouth agape, drooling, trying to figure out if the mushrooms in my chef’s salad the night before were, you know, magic.

Perhaps you haven’t been following this blog since it’s inception, but we started it way back on August 6th, 2010. At that time, the tech media was ablaze in excitement over the iPhone 4, and antennagate and bumpers had somewhat eclipsed the prototype/Gizmodo story. That being said, it was still very much fresh in our minds as we began to contemplate the iPhone 5.

In this way, I see the losing of the iPhone 4 prototype last Summer as one of the progenitors of the iPhone 5 rumor mill since, once we had the initial glimpses of the iPhone 4, its mystique was spoiled. True, the Gizmodo prototype didn’t give us the whole picture — particularly in terms of the iPhone 4′s form factor — but it confirmed the eventual ascendency of the iPhone 4 as a reality. Once the iPhone 4 protptype saw the light of day, it was time to start prognosticating about the iPhone 5.

That’s why it took me a moment to catch my breath and wonder if I was having a healthy dose of deja vu, or if this was really happening again. We’ve written more than once about Apple’s draconian Worldwide Loyalty Team, which is responsible for keeping a lid on consumer products like the iPhone and iPad that beg to be leaked to the public before their initial release. And up until last year, they held an impeccable track record for policing Cupertino and fortifying it against missteps and snafus that could spoil Apple’s special brew of hype conjuring.

It seemed logical that the WLT would eventually let one get away, and it came in the form of the iPhone 4 prototype incident. That was a mulligan that most were willing to give them, and most assumed that it would never happen again — especially given reports that Apple majorly clamped down on iPhone prototype protocol.

But now that we find ourselves at this juncture again, it’s hard to know what to make of it. We’ve yet to see the iPhone 5 splayed on the cover of Gizmodo, and Apple hasn’t really responded in a way that makes them seem very concerned about the whole situation. No search warrants, no complaints filed, no swat teams beating down doors. No pasty geeks getting hauled off in cuffs.

In fact, Apple seems so complicit in the snafu that it is even prompting the media to see the snafu as a possible stunt by Apple. Computerworld has an article up entitled, “iPhone 5 lost in bar — or just a stunt?” IBTimes is even more sure of the conspiracy theory with their own piece, “iPhone 5 Prototype Left in a Tequila Bar: Apple’s Marketing Brilliance.”

It’s hard to imagine that Apple would feel the need to ratchet up the excitement of the iPhone one more notch, however.

One thing is for sure: once the iPhone 5 makes its debut into the limelight — whether it be in the hands of tim cook at a media event or in an ignoble, unauthorized exposé, will bookend the iPhone 5 rumor cycle. It’ll be the end of conjecture concerning the iPhone, and the start of the rumors surrounding the iPhone 6.


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