iPhone 5 May Get Text-to-Speech and Speech-to-Text Feature

So now, we might get a new feature of Text to Speech in the next generation iPhone by Apple. The Patently Apple reports, Apple has filed a patent application for a system that provides you the ability of converting text to speech and vice versa on iPhone. The system for Apple filed a patent, would be also helpful in loudy background environment and as well as at those places where user can't talk loudly.
According to a new Apple patent application that was published this morning by the US Patent and Trademark Office, future iPhone's are likely to provide end users with effective new ways of communicating in both noisy environments like a restaurant or even during a quiet office meeting without stirring a mouse.

For this purpose, Apple might add a new sensor in handset for noise detection. And the new system will work like this; when the user at loudy environment, the iPhone automatically convert the speech from the end into the text. And when user less noisy environment i.e meeting, iPhone will allow user to write text, which would be converted to speech and send to the other end. Here's more on the iPhone 5 news

[via hackphone]

September iPhone 5 release date: odds of 4G, redesign, white, colors

Don't expect the iPhone 5 to see a release date prior to September, as the recent arrival of the white iPhone 4 means Apple doesn't expect to have a new iPhone generation ready to go quite as soon as this summer. But the longer the iPhone 5 takes to arrive, the better the odds of certain features coming along for the ride. Here are the odds of various iPhone 5 potential features making the cut if September 2011 indeed ends up being the official release date.

4G: This is tricky because the two current iPhone carriers, Verizon and AT&T, both barely have any 4G rollout to speak of. For Apple to add 4G networking hardware to the iPhone 5, it would have to be confident that one or both carriers will have far more 4G LTE in place by the end of the iPhone 5 era than at the beginning of it. The odds of Apple including it are reasonable, but not great.

Redesign: Here's where the odds get better. Apple has used the current iPhone 4 body styling three times: first with the original iPhone 4, then with the Verizon iPhone 4, and now with the white iPhone 4. Sure, it's all been less than a year in the making. But Apple has used the styling one too many times (arguably two too many times) to be using it yet again, particularly at a time when many or most are expecting a full revamp for the iPhone 5.

iPhone 5 white : The iPhone 4 will stick around as the bargain bin model in the iPhone 5 era. The fact that Apple has released a white iPhone 5 at all means that both the black and white iPhone 4 models are likely to stick around in the iPhone 5 era. And while Apple could blow up the blueprint with an exposed brushed metal iPhone 5 design or some such, it's difficult to picture there being a white iPhone 4 but not a white iPhone 5. So the odds are strong, to say the least, that there will be a white iPhone 5.

Colors: The more colors Apple adds to the iPhone lineup, the more retail SKUs there are to deal with and the more inventory snafus (witness the current eighteen iPad 2 models, and that's for just two colors). But if the iPhone 5g is indeed to be a hybrid device which works on both carriers, that would mean a mere four SKUs total: 16 and 32 GB models in a choice of black or white. That would give Apple room to add colors to the mix, as a way to differentiate the iPhone5 both from the cheaper iPhone 4 and from competitors who have over-fixated on the color white. Here's more on the iPhone 5 news.

September iPhone 5 release date: odds of 4G, redesign, white, colors

Don't expect the iPhone 5 to see a release date prior to September, as the recent arrival of the white iPhone 4 means Apple doesn't expect to have a new iPhone generation ready to go quite as soon as this summer. But the longer the iPhone 5 takes to arrive, the better the odds of certain features coming along for the ride. Here are the odds of various iPhone 5 potential features making the cut if September 2011 indeed ends up being the official release date.

4G: This is tricky because the two current iPhone carriers, Verizon and AT&T, both barely have any 4G rollout to speak of. For Apple to add 4G networking hardware to the iPhone 5, it would have to be confident that one or both carriers will have far more 4G LTE in place by the end of the iPhone 5 era than at the beginning of it. The odds of Apple including it are reasonable, but not great.

Redesign: Here's where the odds get better. Apple has used the current iPhone 4 body styling three times: first with the original iPhone 4, then with the Verizon iPhone 4, and now with the white iPhone 4. Sure, it's all been less than a year in the making. But Apple has used the styling one too many times (arguably two too many times) to be using it yet again, particularly at a time when many or most are expecting a full revamp for the iPhone 5.

iPhone 5 white : The iPhone 4 will stick around as the bargain bin model in the iPhone 5 era. The fact that Apple has released a white iPhone 5 at all means that both the black and white iPhone 4 models are likely to stick around in the iPhone 5 era. And while Apple could blow up the blueprint with an exposed brushed metal iPhone 5 design or some such, it's difficult to picture there being a white iPhone 4 but not a white iPhone 5. So the odds are strong, to say the least, that there will be a white iPhone 5.

Colors: The more colors Apple adds to the iPhone lineup, the more retail SKUs there are to deal with and the more inventory snafus (witness the current eighteen iPad 2 models, and that's for just two colors). But if the iPhone 5g is indeed to be a hybrid device which works on both carriers, that would mean a mere four SKUs total: 16 and 32 GB models in a choice of black or white. That would give Apple room to add colors to the mix, as a way to differentiate the iPhone5 both from the cheaper iPhone 4 and from competitors who have over-fixated on the color white. Here's more on the iPhone 5 news.

iPhone 5 May Get Text-to-Speech and Speech-to-Text Feature

So now, we might get a new feature of Text to Speech in the next generation iPhone by Apple. The Patently Apple reports, Apple has filed a patent application for a system that provides you the ability of converting text to speech and vice versa on iPhone. The system for Apple filed a patent, would be also helpful in loudy background environment and as well as at those places where user can't talk loudly.
According to a new Apple patent application that was published this morning by the US Patent and Trademark Office, future iPhone's are likely to provide end users with effective new ways of communicating in both noisy environments like a restaurant or even during a quiet office meeting without stirring a mouse.

For this purpose, Apple might add a new sensor in handset for noise detection. And the new system will work like this; when the user at loudy environment, the iPhone automatically convert the speech from the end into the text. And when user less noisy environment i.e meeting, iPhone will allow user to write text, which would be converted to speech and send to the other end. Here's more on the iPhone 5 news

[via hackphone]

September iPhone 5 release date: odds of 4G, redesign, white, colors

Don't expect the iPhone 5 to see a release date prior to September, as the recent arrival of the white iPhone 4 means Apple doesn't expect to have a new iPhone generation ready to go quite as soon as this summer. But the longer the iPhone 5 takes to arrive, the better the odds of certain features coming along for the ride. Here are the odds of various iPhone 5 potential features making the cut if September 2011 indeed ends up being the official release date.

4G: This is tricky because the two current iPhone carriers, Verizon and AT&T, both barely have any 4G rollout to speak of. For Apple to add 4G networking hardware to the iPhone 5, it would have to be confident that one or both carriers will have far more 4G LTE in place by the end of the iPhone 5 era than at the beginning of it. The odds of Apple including it are reasonable, but not great.

Redesign: Here's where the odds get better. Apple has used the current iPhone 4 body styling three times: first with the original iPhone 4, then with the Verizon iPhone 4, and now with the white iPhone 4. Sure, it's all been less than a year in the making. But Apple has used the styling one too many times (arguably two too many times) to be using it yet again, particularly at a time when many or most are expecting a full revamp for the iPhone 5.

iPhone 5 white : The iPhone 4 will stick around as the bargain bin model in the iPhone 5 era. The fact that Apple has released a white iPhone 5 at all means that both the black and white iPhone 4 models are likely to stick around in the iPhone 5 era. And while Apple could blow up the blueprint with an exposed brushed metal iPhone 5 design or some such, it's difficult to picture there being a white iPhone 4 but not a white iPhone 5. So the odds are strong, to say the least, that there will be a white iPhone 5.

Colors: The more colors Apple adds to the iPhone lineup, the more retail SKUs there are to deal with and the more inventory snafus (witness the current eighteen iPad 2 models, and that's for just two colors). But if the iPhone 5g is indeed to be a hybrid device which works on both carriers, that would mean a mere four SKUs total: 16 and 32 GB models in a choice of black or white. That would give Apple room to add colors to the mix, as a way to differentiate the iPhone5 both from the cheaper iPhone 4 and from competitors who have over-fixated on the color white. Here's more on the iPhone 5 news.

iPhone 5 myths abound: five concocted reasons to avoid next gen party

The iPhone 5 is no different than the previous four in that detractors will have no difficulty in coming up with reasons not to buy one, ranging from irrelevant to imaginary. "Don't buy the first iPhone," say said, "because it's not 3G." Nevermind that AT&T's 3G network barely existed in 2007. "Don't buy the iPhone," they said in 2007, "because there are no third party apps." Then they turned around in 2008, after third party apps had been launched in a big way, and said "Don't buy the iPhone 3G because third party apps aren't 'open' enough." Nevermind that what they really meant was that the iPhone wasn't enough of a geek-leaning tinker toy. Then came the iPhone 3GS. "Don't buy it either," they warned, "because it's just like the previous one." Nevermind that the hardware specs of the 3GS outshines that of the 3G in every category. So heading into the iPhone5, what will the geeks and other detractors come up with this time by way of trying to talk you out of the iPhone you want and into the Android-based geekphone they're desperate for you to buy instead? A look back at all the reasons they told you not to buy the iPhone 4 is a good start.

First it was the supposed iPhone 4 antenna issue, which turned out to have been completely fabricated on the part of geeks and never existed – but not before a good chunk of the population had been irrevocably convinced otherwise. Apple even had to hand out free iPhone 4 cases just to get the geekholes who created the controversy to shut up, knowing that they'd "won" and gotten a free case as a trophy. Then it was the fact that the iPhone 4 wasn't a 4G phone; nevermind that 4G AT&T's 4G network literally didn't exist back then and still basically doesn't to this day. Then they made up the imaginary "scratching" controversy, which unlike with the imaginary antenna controversy, relatively few fell for. And then later Apple released the Verizon iPhone 4, which the geeks attempted to create another phone antenna controversy around before finally settling on the mantra that it wasn't 4G (still largely irrelevant) and, humorously enough, that it wasn't the iPhone 5 4G. So now that the iPhone 5 is only a season away from arriving, here's what the geeks will point to this time as to why you shouldn't buy one. The validity of their reasoning doesn't matter; keep in mind that geeks get out of bed in the morning in the hopes of being able to convince the non-geek majority to buy geek-leaning products, and Apple's products are the least geeky on the planet. So here's a sampling of the anti-iPhone 5 nonsense they'll come up with, if they haven't already.

1) If the iPhone 5g doesn't have 4G, they'll label it as being outdated. If it does have 4G, they'll say it's the wrong kind; if it's 4G LTE a la Verizon and AT&T, they'll point out that the 4G offerings from Sprint and T-Mobile are more widespread. But if the iPhone 5 instead offers the kind of 4G which Sprint and T-Mobile are using, the geeks will say that it's not "real" 4G because it's slower. And if the iPhone 5 pulls a hat trick and offers every kind of 4G under the sun, the geeks will warn that it might be too much drain on battery life. No matter what Apple does regarding 4G, the anti-Apple geeks will be able to spin it into some kind of negative you should fear. And that's a trend that'll continue down the list.

2) If the iPhone 5 uses the same glass material for its body as the iPhone 4 did, the geeks will say that it's too fragile; nevermind that the iPhone 4 has been the most bulletproof iPhone design yet. And if the iPhone 5 moves to something else, the geeks will say that Apple should have stuck with the bulletproof glass.

3) If the iPhone 5 gets thinner, the geeks will claim that it's too thin and therefore perhaps too fragile.

4) If the iPhone 5 body style remains the same as the iPhone 4, the geeks will claim that it's last year's model, regardless of how improved the specs are (see the iPhone 3G / 3GS era).

5) If the iPhone 5 screen gets bigger, geeks will claim that its edge to edge design will be too difficult to use; if the iPhone 5 screen size remains the same as the iPhone 4, those same geeks will say that it's too small.

If you see a pattern here, you're not the only one. No matter what Apple does with the iPhone 5, those geeks whose entire sense of self worth comes from steering people away from Apple products and toward geekier products will find a way to spin it into a negative. They'll misrepresent the facts, misplace the relevance, and if it comes down to it, flat out make things up; they've done it all before with previous iPhone generations. Your job, then, is to tune these lunatics out and make your own decision. If you want an iPhone, get an iPhone. It's as simple as that, anti-iPhone geek wanking be damned. Here's more on the iPhone 5 news.

Apple iPhone 5 Release Date – Is it Worth Waiting?

Rumours are circulating as to when the iPhone 5 release date will be. Is it worth waiting for the new iPhone which is rumoured to have HD gaming?

Originally we were expecting the iPhone 5 to be released some time in late June, early July. This would have been consistent with Apple's previous iPhone launches. However the recent release of the white iPhone 4 has led to suggestions that we may not see the iPhone, or iPhone 4GS as it also may be know, until September at the earliest. This is certainly a blow for those who were holding out for the iPhone5.

The question is, is it worth the wait? We can only know for sure when the iPhone 5 features are announced. It is looking very positive for us gamers. Our wish for Flash support is not expected to be granted, as Apple continues in their believe that Flash is a security risk. What we can certainly expect is a higher resolution screen, hopefully HD. The camera is also expected to be significantly improved once more, rendering the need for a separate camera for anyone other than a keen photographer needless. Rumours are that it may be as powerful as 8 MP. Yet what excites us the most is the new dual core processors that will introduced. They will allow significantly more CPU hungry games to be developed. This can only increase the quality of iPhone games further. Before we know it standalone consoles will be needless. We will be able to plug our iPhone into the TV and use it as a console. Well maybe we can dream….

What are you hoping for in the iPhone 5 news?

iPhone 5G Case Design Shows Redesigned Camera Flash

GadgetsDNA points to a new Chinese case design found on Alibaba that claims to be for the "iPhone 5G".
1.100% brand new high quality crystal case for iphone 5g .
2. Provides a comfortable grip, added protection against accidental drops .
3. Perfectly fits the iPhone 5 g, easy to insert and remove .
What's unusual about the case is that it seems to depict a very thin-bezel design as well as a distinct camera design. (It should be noted that their iPhone 4 "crystal" designs also have little in the way of bezels") The camera flash appears to be on the opposite side of the case rather than adjacent to the camera itself.

While there's been talk of these more dramatic changes, the most recent reports have claimed that the next iPhone will actually only contain minor cosmetic differences over the iPhone 4.

It's possible we could see these design elements in the future if not the next release, as the iPod Touch camera was found in case designs a full release cycle ahead of the ultimate release.

Update: It should be noted that their iPhone 4 "crystal" cases also share the same thin edge, so the camera design alone may be main difference in the new iPhone case design. This would fit with the "minor cosmetic differences" described in the previous report.

iPhone 5G Case Design Shows Redesigned Camera Flash

GadgetsDNA points to a new Chinese case design found on Alibaba that claims to be for the "iPhone 5G".
1.100% brand new high quality crystal case for iphone 5g .
2. Provides a comfortable grip, added protection against accidental drops .
3. Perfectly fits the iPhone 5 g, easy to insert and remove .
What's unusual about the case is that it seems to depict a very thin-bezel design as well as a distinct camera design. (It should be noted that their iPhone 4 "crystal" designs also have little in the way of bezels") The camera flash appears to be on the opposite side of the case rather than adjacent to the camera itself.

While there's been talk of these more dramatic changes, the most recent reports have claimed that the next iPhone will actually only contain minor cosmetic differences over the iPhone 4.

It's possible we could see these design elements in the future if not the next release, as the iPod Touch camera was found in case designs a full release cycle ahead of the ultimate release.

Update: It should be noted that their iPhone 4 "crystal" cases also share the same thin edge, so the camera design alone may be main difference in the new iPhone case design. This would fit with the "minor cosmetic differences" described in the previous report.

iPhone 5 May Get Text-to-Speech and Speech-to-Text Feature

So now, we might get a new feature of Text to Speech in the next generation iPhone by Apple. The Patently Apple reports, Apple has filed a patent application for a system that provides you the ability of converting text to speech and vice versa on iPhone. The system for Apple filed a patent, would be also helpful in loudy background environment and as well as at those places where user can't talk loudly.
According to a new Apple patent application that was published this morning by the US Patent and Trademark Office, future iPhone's are likely to provide end users with effective new ways of communicating in both noisy environments like a restaurant or even during a quiet office meeting without stirring a mouse.

For this purpose, Apple might add a new sensor in handset for noise detection. And the new system will work like this; when the user at loudy environment, the iPhone automatically convert the speech from the end into the text. And when user less noisy environment i.e meeting, iPhone will allow user to write text, which would be converted to speech and send to the other end. Here's more on the iPhone 5 news

[via hackphone]

The Data Plan Dilemma Gets Uglier: Verizon To Drop Unlimited Plans Ahead of iPhone 5 Release

Data transfer is the lifeblood of smartphone usage — and the thing that sends mobile phone bills (and tempers) through the roof. New news of Verizon canceling its unlimited data plan ahead of the iPhone 5 release joins a recent report that AT&T is overcharging for data usage on the iPhone and iPad 2 review. When will the data gouging stop?

As the summer heats up, people might have more to stress about than the rising price of gasoline — a pair of news stories have surfaced this week concerning data plans on America's top mobile carries — AT&T and Verizon — and how iPhone users are systematically getting as gouged at the "data pump" as they are the gas pump.

The iPhone 5 News Blog posted an article earlier in the week about a class-action lawsuit filed against AT&T for purportedly overcharging all 20 million of their  iPhone and iPad users for "phantom" data transfers when the devices are not even in use, leading to bills that are anywhere from 7% to 300% higher than what they should be. Clearly, stories like this raise the level of concern on the part of prospective iPhone 5 customers, who fear that new features such as a cloud storage, NFC, and the 4G network (likely to debut in the iPhone 6), will only exacerbate data transfer usage. In our previous article, we postulated that the next shoe to drop on this developing story would focus on Verizon.

Well, the second shoe has dropped.

Tech media outlet ZDNET is reporting that, according to Verizon CEO Fran Shammo, their "unlimited data plans would be replaced by tiered service plans aimed at heavy users. Verizon's tiered data plans would likely mimic AT&T's own, which offer 250MB of data for $15 per month and 2GB for $25." This news comes ahead of the eventual release of the iPhone5 (or "iPhone 4s" as some have suggested it will be called), as well as several new Android phones that will have 4G LTE functionality. While consensus still remains that the next iPhone will now be a 4G smartphone, there are other possible features, such as cloud storage and NFC, which could lead to exponentially more data usage from iPhone users. It would seem that, in light of these possible new features, Verizon is positioning itself to gouge iPhone 5g users as they are potentially forced to swap data at much higher rates.

Data Plans: Moving In the Wrong Direction

Over the years, telecom-related plans have always moved from incremental billing to flat rate billing. Think about it: early Internet access on services like AOL were billed hourly, but eventually were forced to move to a flat rate billing model. The same has been true with long distance phone calls, with most land line voice plans replacing minute-by-minute billing with a flat rate.

Data plans, however, seem to be moving in the opposite direction.

With this news of Verizon abandoning unlimited data plans, smartphone users will be forced to scrutinize their own mobile Internet usage (particularly in our weak economy), much in the same way that mobile phone users have struggled to keep track of their "minutes" of phone usage. But as more and more mobile plans include either unlimited or high-level voice usage allowances, it is clear that carriers like Verizon and AT&T are looking for new ways to raise revenues, and hitting smartphone users up for data usage is clearly the new cash cow.

What the larger companies like Verizon and AT&T are failing to recognize is that they are giving price-leading mobile networks like Sprint the opportunity to undercut them on data plan pricing in the future. In the past, when Internet providers like AOL switched from hourly billing to flat rate pricing, it was a viable and necessary move, since more and more people were getting "online" every month; there were enough newcomers to the Internet experience to allow AOL to make more money with flat rate pricing, since it would attract more new customers.

But with an already established smartphone customer in place worldwide, carriers like Verizon would seemingly have more to lose by nixing their flat rate data plan, ostensibly losing that edge over their fiercest competitor, AT&T, and encouraging their own iPhone users to conserve and script on their data usage. And what if Sprint gets the iPhone 5? In spite of the fact that Sprint uses the slower CDMA technology, wouldn't the iPhone 5 paired with Sprint's Simply Everything plan look attractive compared to Verizon and AT&T nickel and diming iPhone 5 users on data?

Data plans are getting increasingly ugly for iPhone users, and it looks like the trend toward data gouging is only going to increase as the iPhone 5 looms closer.

Here's more on the iPhone 5 verizon

iPhone 5 Jailbreaking

One of the features that many never liked the IOS iPhone 5 Jailbreaking is the fact that Apple does not allow software upgrade without having to connect to iTunes. So, in fact, need to download the new firmware, connect to the computer and wait for the update.

According to the words of 9to5Mac however, with the introduction of iPhone 5 Jailbreak IOS 5.0 everything should be just a "bad" memory.
5.0 Obviously the same can not be introduced without wires, as unsupported by the current version of IOS, but all his successors should instead take off without having to require a link to your computer.

This seems iOS push beyond its famous closing time, which requires the transition from iTunes to many, if not almost all, functions. In short, taking place a kind of "androidizzazione" of IOS, which is an update that introduces features similar to those of the OS from Google, which allows devices to upgrade the mountain without the need for a PC / Mac.

Of course, this sounds very interesting, if not for the iPhone 5 Jailbreaking fact that updates introduced by Apple always have a sufficiently large weight. For as you have noticed, the firmware for different devices weigh average 500MB or more and make them available over the air "could lead to use of its 3G network really hard. It would be interesting to see what could be the move to Apple about it: If you decrease the size of the updates, or update, allows the cordless, but only in WiFi.

iPhone 5 Will Be Thinner and Smaller Says Orange CEO

Ah the continuing speculation over what the next generation iPhone will look like carries on today, this time in regards to the earlier rumour of Apple working on a smaller SIM card for their Apple gear and apparently whilst chatting in an interview the CEO of France Telecom/Orange made mention of the iPhone 5 being smaller and thinner.

According to an article over on 9to5 Mac, Stephane Richard, CEO of Orange in an interview with AllthingsD, apparently stated that the next generation iPhone would be smaller and thinner, although the CEO didn't say the iPhone5, he actually referred to the device as the next iPhone.

But as the "next iPhone" is presumed to be the iPhone 5g or iPhone 4S that's being bandied about one can assume he was referring to the iPhone 5 apple, but he didn't say how much smaller and thinner the iOS smartphone would be.

Although this latest rumour does give credence to the possibility of a smaller SIM card, a rumour that came about because Apple wants to make future iPhones thinner and needs the space. Having said that, the only people who really know what Apple is up to is Apple so as usual this should be taken with a pinch of salt.

So what do our readers think, would you like the iPhone 5 to be smaller and thinner, or do you feel Apple shouldn't make the iPhone smaller when others are making their handsets larger?

Here's more on the iPhone 5 news

iPhone 5G Case Design Shows Redesigned Camera Flash

GadgetsDNA points to a new Chinese case design found on Alibaba that claims to be for the "iPhone 5G".
1.100% brand new high quality crystal case for iphone 5g .
2. Provides a comfortable grip, added protection against accidental drops .
3. Perfectly fits the iPhone 5 g, easy to insert and remove .
What's unusual about the case is that it seems to depict a very thin-bezel design as well as a distinct camera design. (It should be noted that their iPhone 4 "crystal" designs also have little in the way of bezels") The camera flash appears to be on the opposite side of the case rather than adjacent to the camera itself.

While there's been talk of these more dramatic changes, the most recent reports have claimed that the next iPhone will actually only contain minor cosmetic differences over the iPhone 4.

It's possible we could see these design elements in the future if not the next release, as the iPod Touch camera was found in case designs a full release cycle ahead of the ultimate release.

Update: It should be noted that their iPhone 4 "crystal" cases also share the same thin edge, so the camera design alone may be main difference in the new iPhone case design. This would fit with the "minor cosmetic differences" described in the previous report.

Apple iPhone 5: Two Models Coming – Pro & Normal?

The Apple iPhone 5 is something that many people want to see but we have recently learned that it won't be with us until around September. This is good if you are waiting for your contract to run out but bad if yours has already! Something we would point out is that the Internet is full of rumors about the new Apple device and we have another one to tell you about today.

We have just read over on iClarified.com that there may in fact be two models of the iPhone 5 Apple coming the Pro and Normal versions. It might seem to be quite farfetched at the moment but it's not beyond belief especially if you are one of the many that believes Apple needs to give the new device a makeover and a shake up.

The original source of this information is the iphonedownloadblog.com where their author has published an article talking about the reasons to believe there will be two versions. The only problem we have with some of the information that was shared is that when they say that Apple is ordering parts and then re-ordering them of a better quality, surely this relates to testing the device to get optimum performance out of it before releasing it.

We are thinking that if Apple is going to release the iPhone 5 then perhaps it won't be too dissimilar to the iPhone 4 but with updated specifications including the A5 chip and perhaps NFC. We believe that it will pretty much have similar specs to the new iPad 2 review with a few slight differences because of the size differences.

What do you guys think? Will there be two iPhone5 models? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Here's more on the iPhone 5 news

iPhone 5 May Get Text-to-Speech and Speech-to-Text Feature

So now, we might get a new feature of Text to Speech in the next generation iPhone by Apple. The Patently Apple reports, Apple has filed a patent application for a system that provides you the ability of converting text to speech and vice versa on iPhone. The system for Apple filed a patent, would be also helpful in loudy background environment and as well as at those places where user can't talk loudly.
According to a new Apple patent application that was published this morning by the US Patent and Trademark Office, future iPhone's are likely to provide end users with effective new ways of communicating in both noisy environments like a restaurant or even during a quiet office meeting without stirring a mouse.

For this purpose, Apple might add a new sensor in handset for noise detection. And the new system will work like this; when the user at loudy environment, the iPhone automatically convert the speech from the end into the text. And when user less noisy environment i.e meeting, iPhone will allow user to write text, which would be converted to speech and send to the other end. Here's more on the iPhone 5 news

[via hackphone]

The Data Plan Dilemma Gets Uglier: Verizon To Drop Unlimited Plans Ahead of iPhone 5 Release

Data transfer is the lifeblood of smartphone usage — and the thing that sends mobile phone bills (and tempers) through the roof. New news of Verizon canceling its unlimited data plan ahead of the iPhone 5 release joins a recent report that AT&T is overcharging for data usage on the iPhone and iPad 2 review. When will the data gouging stop?

As the summer heats up, people might have more to stress about than the rising price of gasoline — a pair of news stories have surfaced this week concerning data plans on America's top mobile carries — AT&T and Verizon — and how iPhone users are systematically getting as gouged at the "data pump" as they are the gas pump.

The iPhone 5 News Blog posted an article earlier in the week about a class-action lawsuit filed against AT&T for purportedly overcharging all 20 million of their  iPhone and iPad users for "phantom" data transfers when the devices are not even in use, leading to bills that are anywhere from 7% to 300% higher than what they should be. Clearly, stories like this raise the level of concern on the part of prospective iPhone 5 customers, who fear that new features such as a cloud storage, NFC, and the 4G network (likely to debut in the iPhone 6), will only exacerbate data transfer usage. In our previous article, we postulated that the next shoe to drop on this developing story would focus on Verizon.

Well, the second shoe has dropped.

Tech media outlet ZDNET is reporting that, according to Verizon CEO Fran Shammo, their "unlimited data plans would be replaced by tiered service plans aimed at heavy users. Verizon's tiered data plans would likely mimic AT&T's own, which offer 250MB of data for $15 per month and 2GB for $25." This news comes ahead of the eventual release of the iPhone5 (or "iPhone 4s" as some have suggested it will be called), as well as several new Android phones that will have 4G LTE functionality. While consensus still remains that the next iPhone will now be a 4G smartphone, there are other possible features, such as cloud storage and NFC, which could lead to exponentially more data usage from iPhone users. It would seem that, in light of these possible new features, Verizon is positioning itself to gouge iPhone 5g users as they are potentially forced to swap data at much higher rates.

Data Plans: Moving In the Wrong Direction

Over the years, telecom-related plans have always moved from incremental billing to flat rate billing. Think about it: early Internet access on services like AOL were billed hourly, but eventually were forced to move to a flat rate billing model. The same has been true with long distance phone calls, with most land line voice plans replacing minute-by-minute billing with a flat rate.

Data plans, however, seem to be moving in the opposite direction.

With this news of Verizon abandoning unlimited data plans, smartphone users will be forced to scrutinize their own mobile Internet usage (particularly in our weak economy), much in the same way that mobile phone users have struggled to keep track of their "minutes" of phone usage. But as more and more mobile plans include either unlimited or high-level voice usage allowances, it is clear that carriers like Verizon and AT&T are looking for new ways to raise revenues, and hitting smartphone users up for data usage is clearly the new cash cow.

What the larger companies like Verizon and AT&T are failing to recognize is that they are giving price-leading mobile networks like Sprint the opportunity to undercut them on data plan pricing in the future. In the past, when Internet providers like AOL switched from hourly billing to flat rate pricing, it was a viable and necessary move, since more and more people were getting "online" every month; there were enough newcomers to the Internet experience to allow AOL to make more money with flat rate pricing, since it would attract more new customers.

But with an already established smartphone customer in place worldwide, carriers like Verizon would seemingly have more to lose by nixing their flat rate data plan, ostensibly losing that edge over their fiercest competitor, AT&T, and encouraging their own iPhone users to conserve and script on their data usage. And what if Sprint gets the iPhone 5? In spite of the fact that Sprint uses the slower CDMA technology, wouldn't the iPhone 5 paired with Sprint's Simply Everything plan look attractive compared to Verizon and AT&T nickel and diming iPhone 5 users on data?

Data plans are getting increasingly ugly for iPhone users, and it looks like the trend toward data gouging is only going to increase as the iPhone 5 looms closer.

Here's more on the iPhone 5 verizon

Foxconn Plant Explosion May Delay iPhone 5

A massive explosion and subsequent fire at a Foxconn plant in China has killed two workers and injured 16 others, according to the Xinhua News Agency. The explosion took place at the Hongfujin Precision Electronics Plant, which is located just west of Chengdu, in Sichuan province. No other injuries or damage to buildings was reported.

As Foxconn is the largest manufacturing partner of Apple and is currently producing the iPad 2 review and ramping up for production of Apple's next iPhone 5, investors are worried that the explosion could cause delays or worse. Reuters reports that shares of Apple stock, traded on the Nasdaq, were down over 1.5 percent to $335.22 at closing.

It is currently unknown what is actually in production at the plant. Foxconn International Holdings, a subsidiary of Hon Hai Precision and the largest contract manufacturer on the planet, owns and operates a large number of factories in China with a wide variety of high-tech electronics produced at each.

Edmund Ding, a spokesperson for Foxconn, emailed Bloomberg that "the fire was under control, and full cooperation had been given to investigators." Ding also pointed out that Foxconn had "halted production at the site of the explosion until the investigation is complete," but wouldn't comment on which products were affected.

Foxconn has been in the news quite a bit recently – including making headlines over the past year for worker suicides caused by the high levels of stress that come with working at the plants. The company has worked hard since then to improve both working conditions and its brand image – something that may suffer a minor setback due to these recent events.

Apple issued a brief comment through spokesperson Steve Dowling, stating "We are deeply saddened by the tragedy at the Foxconn plant in Chengdu and our hearts go out to the victims and their families. We are working closely with Foxconn to understand what caused this terrible event." He would not comment in regards to any possible disruptions in production of Apple products, including the iPad 2 or iPhone 5g.

One analyst, Brian White of Ticonderoga Securities, told Reuters that he is confident that the plant did produce iPads in Chengdu. He referred to the shifting of iPad production from Shenzhen to Chengdu recently as an indication that Apple may suffer some supply issues down the road due to this fire, however Apple has yet to confirm or deny this as fact.

Here's more on the iPhone 5 news

iPhone 5 Features

Dear Apple please be upstanding while we take you through a few pointers of the top 5 most wanted iPhone 5 features that will make us applaud you.

There are so many new features customers would love to have on the next generation Apple smartphone and if the iPhone 5 expected to release in September incorporated any of the ones we mention below then happy days all round as they say.

iDB have given a few features and we have a few more, 1080p video capture would be a fantastic addition if Apple could give users this on the new iPhone 5 because seeing 1080p streaming to the Apple TV would be amazing.

Many have the GSM iPhone 4 and Verizon has the CDMA version so it makes sense to give all a world phone, basically the new iPhone 5g should have both GSM and CDMA capabilities. The third feature has to be a 720p front-facing camera, which would be perfect for FaceTime as the video call would be of superior quality.

Number four has to be a brand new design, please get rid of the glass back and bring us the old aluminium back cover or push the boat out and make it carbon fibre.

The Apple Mac Pro and Mac Airs feature the Thunderbolt port so surely the new upcoming iPhone 5 should have the same port. So far that is the top 5 most wanted iPhone 5 features 2011, if you have any more features you would like the iPhone5 to have please let us know.

Pushing The Boat Out (More Features): Edge-to-Edge display, 3D cameras, 4G technology, Smaller SIM cards, better battery life, 8-megapixel camera or better, Speech to Text Conversion

Here's more on the iPhone 5 news.

iPhone 5 Will Be Thinner and Smaller Says Orange CEO

Ah the continuing speculation over what the next generation iPhone will look like carries on today, this time in regards to the earlier rumour of Apple working on a smaller SIM card for their Apple gear and apparently whilst chatting in an interview the CEO of France Telecom/Orange made mention of the iPhone 5 being smaller and thinner.

According to an article over on 9to5 Mac, Stephane Richard, CEO of Orange in an interview with AllthingsD, apparently stated that the next generation iPhone would be smaller and thinner, although the CEO didn't say the iPhone5, he actually referred to the device as the next iPhone.

But as the "next iPhone" is presumed to be the iPhone 5g or iPhone 4S that's being bandied about one can assume he was referring to the iPhone 5 apple, but he didn't say how much smaller and thinner the iOS smartphone would be.

Although this latest rumour does give credence to the possibility of a smaller SIM card, a rumour that came about because Apple wants to make future iPhones thinner and needs the space. Having said that, the only people who really know what Apple is up to is Apple so as usual this should be taken with a pinch of salt.

So what do our readers think, would you like the iPhone 5 to be smaller and thinner, or do you feel Apple shouldn't make the iPhone smaller when others are making their handsets larger?

Here's more on the iPhone 5 news

iPhone 5 To Possibly Feature Curved Glass

The speculation continues about what the next generation iPhone may or may not feature today with the rumour that the iPhone 5 could possibly come out to play packing a curved glass display like that seen on the Samsung Nexus S, and as Apple has previously used curved glass on the previous generation of the iPod Nano there is a possibility that this rumour could hold some substance.

According to an article over on Cult of Mac by way of Macrumors, this latest iPhone 5 speculation comes via DigiTimes claims that according to unnamed industry sources Apple is going to adopt curved glass for the iPhone 5g, or iPhone 4S as some are calling the device.

Apparently the word is the high cost of the tech to product curved glass makes glassmakers reluctant to adopt the tech but apparently Apple has forked out for 200 to 300 glass-cutting machines to do the task and apparently are being stored at "associated assembly plants."

As for just when we are likely to see the iPhone5, with or without curved glass, the article states…" There has been no timetable yet for the volume production of iPhone 5 as Apple is currently still working with related suppliers including those involved in cover glass, glass cutting, lamination and touch sensors to improve yield rates, the sources commented."

Having said all this, previous rumour has it that the next generation iPhone wouldn't be that much different from the iPhone 4 when it comes to design, so for now at least this latest rumour should be taken with a spoonful of Apple sauce.

Rapture postponed over iPhone 5; God says he's waiting for the upgrade

God has announced that the Rapture has been postponed from tomorrow until at least the summer or possibly the fall, as he's waiting to get his hands on the new iPhone 5 before proceeding any further. The news comes as a disappointment to millions who were expecting to be swept up tomorrow, but could be seen as good news for those who have high hopes for Apple's fifth generation device. John Meisterman, analyst for tech research firm Punter Johnston, pointed out that the almighty's willingness to wait for the iPhone 5, coupled with his apparent clairvoyance, could be a sign that the upcoming phone's feature list is impressive enough and worth bypassing the current white iPhone 4 in favor of waiting.In a conference call with journalists, God confirmed that he switched to the iPhone after it was released on Verizon ("AT&T's reception up here isn't so great"), and admitted off the record that the whole "rapture" thing was something he made up and was just his way of killing time while waiting for Apple to finally get the iPhone5 to market. Asked whether his iPhone suffers from the supposed "iPhone 4 antenna issue," God made clear that there is no such issue, and that the entire antenna thing and was a hoax was perpetrated by the devil himself, who apparently works for Gizmodo. Asked why Apple is taking so long to bring the iPhone 5g to market, God had no comment. Off in the distance, William Shatner could be heard asking, "What would God need with a cellphone?"Here's more on the iPhone 5 news.

Moved Camera Flash Another "Fix" For the iPhone 5, or a 3D Camera?

Thanks to a purported leak of an iPhone 5 case, new rumors of the iPhone5 featuring a repositioned camera flash could be the result of yet another flawed design on the iPhone 4. But could that other cut-out also be for a rumored 3D camera?

iPhone users eager for a sneak peak at the iPhone 5′s form factor have been abuzz3D in conjecture over a recently-discovered iPhone case being offered on the trade site alibaba.com that purports to be for the "iPhone 5G." While the iPhone inside the photo is most definitely a mock-up, the case itself is possibly believed to be the product of a design leak from one of Apple's China-based component manufacturers, giving the tech community a kind of "outline" of what the form factor of the iPhone 5 may end up being.

While many have focused on the sloped shoulders of the purported iPhone 5 case's chassis and seemingly-edge-to-edge screen, new reports are taking notice of a considerable shift in the position of the rear-facing flash. As opposed to the positioning of the iPhone 4′s LED flash — which sits just to the side of the camera sensor — the mysterious iPhone 5 case features a cutout on the other side of the rear face of the design.

If this indeed is an inside peak at what the iPhone 5 features, what would a repositioned camera flash mean? Given some of the issues with the camera flash on the iPhone 4, would this not constitute yet another "fix" on the iPhone 5?

Or, could that circular cutout be for something revolutionary for the iPhone 5, such as a 3D camera?

iPhone 4 Camera Flash Issues: a History

Camera flash issues are nothing new for the iPhone 4. Early on in the release of the iPhone 4 in the Summer of 2010, there were numerous reports of the iPhone 4 taking yellowed photos. Heather Kelly at Macworld did a thorough investigation of the issue way back in July of 2010, most of which was inconclusive, stating: "Hopefully, this isn't a hardware issue involving the camera's lens, and Apple can fix the problem with an update to the iPhone 4′s firmware."

It still remains to be seen what the culprit of the camera flash issues on some iPhone 4s are: while some believed that it was a software issue, others suggested it was a design flaw in the LED flash, or even an effect of shoddy, poorly-designed iPhone 4 cases.

More recently, Apple purportedly had to deal with similar problems with the white iPhone 4′s chassis. Cult of Mac, which predicted the release of the white iPhone 4 perfectly, indicated in a report from October of 2010 that the white plastic was letting too much light into the case, affecting the clarity of photos: "The handset's semi-translucent glass case leaks light in, ruining pictures taken with the internal camera, especially when the built-in flash is used." It was this flaw that caused the delay in the release of the white iPhone 4.

While Apple only made nominal changes to the positioning of camera components to compensate for the white iPhone 4, the iPhone 5 could feature a dramatic repositioning of the camera flash, particularly if it is looking to invest in an 8-megapixel camera and upping the ante on the iPhone being consider a serious picture-taker.

Is that a repositioned camera flash, or another 3D camera sensor?

Of course, if this is the case, it will be yet another "fix" for an iPhone 4 flaw: first the antenna, now the camera flash. As we've commented before, Apple cannot sell fixes like these as "new features," and raise conjecture about the quality of the previous device.

Could Two Cutouts on the Purported iPhone 5 Case Be For a 3D Camera Array?

There is another more exciting possible feature that the two cutouts on the iPhone 5 case could suggest: t a 3D camera array. Rumors of a 3D camera have gained little traction over the past year, with most reports focusing on a relatively nondescript Apple patent, which outlines the schematics for taking 3D photos. Typically, patents such as there are years away from seeing mainstream introduction, but the purported iPhone 5 case design features several elements that conform to the schematics of the 3D camera patent.

Could that cutout be for a second camera sensor with integrated LED flash?

To achieve a 3D image, two offset photos would need to be taken to create a "stereo" image.

All accounts of the Apple 3D camera patent's schematic show the placement of three sensors, whereas the purported iPhone 5 case only accounts for two. But other elements of the patent explain that Apple's approach to achieving 3D would be accomplished not through software alone, but through hardware as well, as Neil Hughes at Apple Insider explains, noting that current 3D software "must 'guess' at how to perform stereo disparity compensation for 3D images. Those guesses, Apple said, can result in images with artifacts in a composed 3D image that would result in a poor quality photo. Apple's method would instead employ a hardware-based approach with a 'deterministic calculation for stereo disparity compensation.'"

The notion of a "stereo" image, together with an example photo from the patent, suggests that perhaps Apple has managed to capture 3D photo-taking technology with just two sensors.

there's no doubt that 3D technology is a hot commodity right now, and even though we've written about how Apple Should Put the Brakes on 3D Photo Technology for the iPhone 5, 3D photo capabilities would be a mind-blowing new feature that would define the iPhone 5 not as a simple refresh, but rather as a next-generation device. It could also make up for the lack of 4G capabilities.

Chances are, 3D technology is still a way's off for the iPhone, and a shady iPhone 5 case design isn't nearly enough to put a 3D camera into the "probable" column for iPhone 5 features. But if that case is real, it's time to start think out of the box for what else it could be.

Apple Slows Production of iPhone 4 In Anticipation of iPhone 5/4S

In what is now actually being deemed the 'iPhone 4S' (albeit to the disagreement of many tech analysts), Digitimes has reported that Apple has reduced their production of the iPhone 4 in anticipation of the iPhone 5 release this fall.Although Apple hasn't come out and outright said that they're not releasing the iPhone 5 this summer, the release of the white iPhone 4 earlier this month was more than enough to confirm that it won't be.

According to Digitimes, Apple is preparing for a Fall 2011 launch of the iPhone5 or "iPhone 4S" as they've put it and has lowered their expected shipment volumes for the iPhone 4 accordingly.

The report goes on to state that the "iPhone 4S" will feature the rumoured 8 megapixel camera that tech industry analysts have been buzzing about and also went on to confirm that it will also include an A5 dual-core processor that is also featured in the iPad 2 review (pretty powerful for a smartphone eh?).

The report also agreed with a handful of rumours that have been circulating recently about the re-locating of the LED flash and that the iPhone 5g/4S will not carry LTE (an unsubstantiated rumour that we didn't report on for just that reason).

The biggest news from this report is definitely the confirmation of the iPhone 5/4S and the growing likeliness of it having an 8MP camera, which is definitely a huge upgrade from the iPhone 4′s 5 megapixel camera. We're pretty excited about Apple's upgrading of the camera as it was an issue that was pretty unanimously targeted by Apple consumers, tech analysts and their competitors alike.

Catch up on previous iPhone 5 news here

Apple Slows Production of iPhone 4 In Anticipation of iPhone 5/4S

In what is now actually being deemed the 'iPhone 4S' (albeit to the disagreement of many tech analysts), Digitimes has reported that Apple has reduced their production of the iPhone 4 in anticipation of the iPhone 5 release this fall.Although Apple hasn't come out and outright said that they're not releasing the iPhone 5 this summer, the release of the white iPhone 4 earlier this month was more than enough to confirm that it won't be.

According to Digitimes, Apple is preparing for a Fall 2011 launch of the iPhone5 or "iPhone 4S" as they've put it and has lowered their expected shipment volumes for the iPhone 4 accordingly.

The report goes on to state that the "iPhone 4S" will feature the rumoured 8 megapixel camera that tech industry analysts have been buzzing about and also went on to confirm that it will also include an A5 dual-core processor that is also featured in the iPad 2 review (pretty powerful for a smartphone eh?).

The report also agreed with a handful of rumours that have been circulating recently about the re-locating of the LED flash and that the iPhone 5g/4S will not carry LTE (an unsubstantiated rumour that we didn't report on for just that reason).

The biggest news from this report is definitely the confirmation of the iPhone 5/4S and the growing likeliness of it having an 8MP camera, which is definitely a huge upgrade from the iPhone 4′s 5 megapixel camera. We're pretty excited about Apple's upgrading of the camera as it was an issue that was pretty unanimously targeted by Apple consumers, tech analysts and their competitors alike.

Catch up on previous iPhone 5 news here

iPhone 5 fire impact up in air as iPad 2, iPhone 4 availability steady

The impact on the iPhone 5 release date, initial availability, and even feature set from this week's factory fire is still up in the air, but the mishap has yet to impact availability of Apple's existing iOS 4 products including the iPad 2 review, iPhone 4, and iPod touch 4. With observers having spent all of 2011 scratching their heads as to just what Apple has up its sleeve for the iPhone 5 after watching the company uncharacteristically release a Verizon iPhone 4 and then a white iPhone 4 precariously close to what most thought would be the calendar end of the iPhone 4 era, the factory fire adds another level of intrigue. By all accounts, Apple has not yet begun manufacturing the iPhone 5, which dovetails with the common-sense assumption that the end-of-April white iPhone 4 means the iPhone 5 is more likely to be a fall than a summer 2011 product. But while factories don't rebuild themselves overnight, Apple's considerable financial resources suggest that it can find another way to get the iPhone 5 to market when it's ready to. Then again, this is the same company which couldn't deliver the original iPhone 4 or the iPad 2 to market in quantity during their respective launches, as evidenced by the fact that the iPad 2 is still up to two weeks backordered after its launch in March.For those who believe that the last minute white iPhone 4 means that the iPhone 5 isn't coming until the fall, easy logic says that Apple plans for the iPhone 5 to be a total revamp; if it were to merely be an unchallenging iPhone 4S, it would have been ready by summer and thus there would have been no April white iPhone 4. In that scenario, does this fire impact Apple's iPhone 5 plans? Doubtful. Apple is going to need a factory to manufacture the next iPhone in regardless, so it's not as if suddenly switching to a less-revolutionary iPhone 5 design would change those prospects. On the other hand, for those who still believe that Apple is about to recklessly launch an "iPhone 5g″ or an "iPhone 4S" at next week's WWDC conference, a mere six weeks after launching the white iPhone 4, the fire would make a bigger impact in that scenario. But common sense says that scenario went away the minute the white iPhone 4 surfaced anyway. So what's the real impact of the mishap on inventory? Keep an eye on iPhone 4 and iPad 2 availability on apple.com in the next few weeks. As of yet their lead times have held steady, as the store burns through in-house inventory. If those numbers begin to slip after existing inventory has been exhausted, then that says that the fire has had a major impact on Apple's ability to get product out the door – and would suggest that Apple will need to find alternate avenues for ramping up for the iPhone5 in the fall if the factory hasn't been repaired by then. But if those ship dates never do slip, then that'll imply that Apple had a Plan B in place already and there's little to worry about. Here's more on the iPhone 5.

iPhone 5 May Get Text-to-Speech and Speech-to-Text Feature

So now, we might get a new feature of Text to Speech in the next generation iPhone by Apple. The Patently Apple reports, Apple has filed a patent application for a system that provides you the ability of converting text to speech and vice versa on iPhone. The system for Apple filed a patent, would be also helpful in loudy background environment and as well as at those places where user can't talk loudly.
According to a new Apple patent application that was published this morning by the US Patent and Trademark Office, future iPhone's are likely to provide end users with effective new ways of communicating in both noisy environments like a restaurant or even during a quiet office meeting without stirring a mouse.

For this purpose, Apple might add a new sensor in handset for noise detection. And the new system will work like this; when the user at loudy environment, the iPhone automatically convert the speech from the end into the text. And when user less noisy environment i.e meeting, iPhone will allow user to write text, which would be converted to speech and send to the other end. Here's more on the iPhone 5 news

[via hackphone]

five iPhone 5 alterations worth waiting on extended clock for

The iPhone 5 is still on the clock, and those waiting for it will begin grading the results on a curve if it takes longer to arrive than previous iPhone iterations. From the fact that Apple is still launching new iPhone 4 iterations to the various claims of iPhone 5 delays to the lack of any production information, it's increasingly probable that the fifth generation iPhone will launch closer to fall 2011 than to summer. And that means that it had better be worth the wait in the eyes of those who will consider such a delay to have been pointless otherwise. Here are five features which would, if not by themselves then all combined, make the iPhone5 worth waiting for, even on an extended countdown clock.

Curves: The simplest trick Apple can pull off with the iPhone 5 is not just to make it thinner overall, which requires miniaturization of internal components, but to simply round off the corners. The flat-sided iPad 1 gave way to the curved-sided iPad 2 review, and it's been one of the most praised features of the second generation tablet. Apple can do the same with the iPhone 5g, rounding off those flat iPhone 4 sides which have always made the otherwise svelte model look and feel thicker than it actually is.

Colors: Forget just black and white. While other smartphone makers are limiting themselves to the two extremes of the greyscale spectrum, Apple could bust out additional colors. It already does so with the iPod nano. Imagine an iPhone 5 in green, blue, or purple – or at the least, a (PRODUCT)RED iPhone 5 special edition.

Capacity: There's a 64 GB iPod touch but not a 64 GB iPhone. That's simple enough for Apple to rectify with the iPhone 5, and almost shocking that it hasn't fixed this discrepancy earlier.

Screen: Can the iPhone 5 really be a more useful device simply by stretching the screen of the iPhone 4 screen width a few millimeters out to the outer edges of the device? Let's find out.

Software: iOS 4 was at least half of what made the iPhone 4 a worthy upgrade. iOS 5 should be the same story with the iPhone 5, and in fact may be the reaso for the delay. If Apple ensures that iOS 5 makes the iPhone 5 worth waiting longer for, then all could be enthusiastically forgiven. Here's more on the iPhone 5 news.

iPhone 5 4G to take its place with other pseudo-4G experiences

All the debate over whether the iPhone 5 will or should offer support for 4G networking misses the overriding point: 4G is a fraud. It doesn't exist. Not really. Whether it's Verizon with its barely-there 4G network, or AT&T whose 4G network exists only on paper, or T-Mobile and Sprint pushing pseudo-"4G" networks which are so much slower than what 4G is supposed to be that competing networks have adopted the "4G LTE" moniker as a way of distinguishing themselves from it, there is as of yet no legitimate 4G experience to be had. It's why Apple didn't add 4G to the iPhone 4 last year, and doesn't want to add it to the iPhone 5 4G this year either. Yet the march to 4G is well on its way, at least in the marketing departments of the carriers, which leaves Apple in the awkward position of not wanting to add mostly-useless 4G hardware to the iPhone5 due to the various ways in which it could be a net-negative for the overall experience. But Apple may have to give into 4G hype anyway, effectively offering a worse (for now) product in the name of staying in the game.

The challenge of delivering a 4G iPhone 5 starts with the issue of which "4G" variant Apple would start with. AT&T and Verizon are both betting on 4G LTE, and it's the best (fastest) flavor to date. But Verizon's 4G LTE network is mostly not yet built, and AT&T's network 4G LTE network doesn't exist. The latter is complicated by the fact that AT&T is in the process of acquiring T-Mobile and its nationwide pseudo-4G network, meaning that Apple could be looking at needing to support multiple kinds of 4G within the iPhone 5g. And that's before Sprint and its brand of pseudo-4G come into the equation, with Sprint being the only carrier Apple doesn't have to worry about. But even in attempting to play along with the Verizon and the AT&T-T-Mobile 4G experiences, Apple could end up with an inferior iPhone 5 product in the process.

Support for multiple types of wireless technology means more drain on battery life. The iPhone 5 is already looking at supporting AT&T's 3G GSM, Verizon's CDMA, and presumably, AT&T's aging EDGE since AT&T never did finish building its 3G network. On top of that, add support for 4G LTE plus maybe T-Mobile's brand of 4G, and along with wifi that's half a dozen different types of potential receivership going on. And unless Apple has figured out how to build a single antenna which can interact with all the various cellular networks, 4G support could mean more networking hardware packed into the iPhone 5. That either means it has to be thicker than Apple wanted, or other features (capacity? battery?) have to be reduced in order to make room. Suddenly, in the worst case scenario, you're looking at an iPhone 5 which, for the sake of supporting 4G for the relative handful who would actually be able to use it, would be a worse-off product for everyone else. But with the entire cellular marketplace from carriers to hardware vendors all pretending that 4G is for real at a time when it's still a little-understood pipedream, Apple will have a hard time remaining the only honest player with regard to 4G amidst an industry-wide fraudulent representation of what 4G is and isn't. In other words, a 4G-enabled iPhone 5 could bring with it more bad news than good, even though it would likely outsell a non-4G iPhone 5 by quite a large margin. Here's more on the iPhone 5 news.

Apple iPhone 5: Two Models Coming – Pro & Normal?

The Apple iPhone 5 is something that many people want to see but we have recently learned that it won't be with us until around September. This is good if you are waiting for your contract to run out but bad if yours has already! Something we would point out is that the Internet is full of rumors about the new Apple device and we have another one to tell you about today.

We have just read over on iClarified.com that there may in fact be two models of the iPhone 5 Apple coming the Pro and Normal versions. It might seem to be quite farfetched at the moment but it's not beyond belief especially if you are one of the many that believes Apple needs to give the new device a makeover and a shake up.

The original source of this information is the iphonedownloadblog.com where their author has published an article talking about the reasons to believe there will be two versions. The only problem we have with some of the information that was shared is that when they say that Apple is ordering parts and then re-ordering them of a better quality, surely this relates to testing the device to get optimum performance out of it before releasing it.

We are thinking that if Apple is going to release the iPhone 5 then perhaps it won't be too dissimilar to the iPhone 4 but with updated specifications including the A5 chip and perhaps NFC. We believe that it will pretty much have similar specs to the new iPad 2 review with a few slight differences because of the size differences.

What do you guys think? Will there be two iPhone5 models? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Here's more on the iPhone 5 news

iPhone 5 Arriving Several Months Later Than Usual

Reports are surfacing from one of Apple's suppliers of iPhone manufacturing equipment that expected orders are "several months later than usual" – which could be pointing to a September launch for the new iPhone handset.

Analysts have been predicting for months that Apple's fifth-generation iPhone handset would be set to launch in September, as opposed to the usual June-July timeframe. On Friday, Apple analyst Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray became the latest to offer this prediction and updated his financial forecasts for Apple's stock, traded as AAPL.

Munster reported that previously, there had been an average of 99 days between an Apple iOS announcement and the ship date of the newest iPhone. This compares to an average of 79 days between the iOS announcement and the previewing of the new iPhone handset and all of its features.

Operating under this assumption, if Apple does the expected and previews the new iOS software at its annual WorldWide Developers Conference (WWDC) which begins on June 6, the trend would point to an iPhone 5 preview date of August 24 and a ship date of September 13. This is, of course, if the relatively-unpredictable Apple sticks to the way it has done things previously.

Munster also sees a September launch as "normal" for new iPhone hardware, as sales of the iPhone do not generally have a serious impact until the September quarter anyway. Apple's iPhone 5G was released in July, placing it in the September quarter, and the 3GS and iPhone 4 were released at the end of June, with very relatively few sales occurring before the start of the September quarter – beginning July 1.

Many analysts, including Munster, are anticipating the launch to focus around minor hardware upgrades and major software improvements. iOS 5 is expected to lead the improvements for the iPhone5, with the hardware potentially receiving a slightly larger display that serves as a "window into the software," according to Munster, among other small changes.

Rumors have been circulating about a larger, 4-inch display coming in the next iPhone for months. Munster believes that the larger screen is "more likely a 2011 feature" than one that would appear in 2012. However, Munster sees support for newer "4G" network technology – such as LTE – won't arrive until the sixth-generation iPhone or beyond.

Piper Jaffray has targeted Apple to sell 16 million iPhone handsets in the quarter ending June 30 and 21 million in the quarter ending September 30. Munster confirmed that a later-than-June launch for the fifth-generation iPhone wouldn't place their sales predictions "at risk".

Finally, Munster offered that many different issues could have delayed the new iPhone, including supply issues caused by the Japan earthquake, the decision of whether or not to support LTE technology, and delays in fully completing software- driven innovations that Apple wants to include with the handset's launch.

Here's more on the iPhone 5 news

iPhone 5 To Get Curved Display Glass And LTE 4G In 2012?

Read Charles Moore's new reflection on rumors that the iPhone 5 will feature a curved glass display and the coveted 4G in 2012.

I'm seriously dating myself by revealing that I remember well Volkswagen's introduction of the new Super Beetle model in 1971 with a curved, mildly wraparound windshield. All VW Beetles previously had had completely flat windshield glass, so the curvature was considered highly revolutionary.

I took a new Super Beetle belonging to a friend for a test drive and recall noticing how much better it rode and handled with its completely different suspension system, and the gracefully curved windscreen did much to eliminate the impression of viewing the world through a letterbox slot. The Super Beetle is my favorite VW Beetle of all time (I'll take a Cabriolet Champagne Edition by preference, thanks), the most recent example I've driven being a hotrod built by my daughter and her friend as a bare chassis up project, with a twin-Weber carburated Porsche engine and Porsche alloy wheels, as well as a rock hard suspension that makes it handle and corner like a go-kart — at least on smooth roads. It's seriously demanding to drive, but one seriously hot Beetle.

Curved glass: cool on the old VW Beetle — how about the iPhone 5?

Anyway, I thought of the curved-windshield VW announcement of 40 years ago when I read a DigiTimes report by Yenting Chen and Steve Shen noting that the latest scuttlebutt being circulated around the OEM componentry supply chain in Taiwan is that Apple is fixing to adopt a curved cover glass for the iPhone5 according to DigiTimes customary unnamed industry sources.

However, Chen and Shen report that cover glass makers are reluctant to invest in the necessary glass cutting equipment due to high capital cost, so, Apple itself has reportedly purchased 200-300 glass cutting machines to be used by glass makers, or so the sources affirm, currently storing them at associated assembly plants to be brought into production service once yield rates for curved glass reaches a satisfactory level, and further that there's still been no timetable set for iPhone 5g volume production, at least in part because Apple is currently still working out logistics issues with suppliers including ones involved in cover glass, glass cutting, lamination and touch sensors to improve yield rates.

So why would Apple want a curved iPhone display? Unlike the Super Beetle windscreen of yore, a curved iPhone screen would seem to not offer any obvious advantages, and actually seems sort of like a step backward, since the curved

Curved design concepts like this one from HTC can make for more ergonomic phone calls — but is it a good idea for a touch screen?

screen glass of CRT computer monitors long since gave way to flat plane displays almost universally acclaimed to be an improvement. One rumor I heard suggested it might have something to do with 3D, working like some sort of lens.

And while we're at it, DigiTimes' Amanda Liang and Adam Hwang have posted a new report sayingthat China Mobile, China's largest mobile telecom carrier, has reached an agreement with Apple for China Mobile to develop an iPhone model based on TD-LTE which to be offered in 2012, citing comments by China Mobile chairman Wang Jian-zhou at the company's 2011 shareholders meeting on May 19, according to a report in the Chinese newspaper Southern Metropolis Daily.

In an earlier report, Digitimes' Irene Chen and Steve Shen noted that Apple is unlikely to launch LTE-enabled iPhone 4S smartphones in 2011 as originally planned due to problems concerning yield rates of LTE chips offered by Qualcomm.

Many thanks to all of the folks yesterday who sent in links to stories about this rumored new feature for the iPhone 5! iPhone 5′ers are the best at keeping up on all things iPhone!

What do you think the purpose of a curved screen might be on the iPhone 5? Cool looks? Ergonomics? And how would it affect gesture control on the touch screen? Let us know what you think!

Here's more on the iPhone 5 news.