How successful might an iPhone 5 be on Verizon’s LTE, or 4G, network? Although the new handset with support for the faster technology isn’t expected until late this year, we can get a glimpse via Verizon’s recently-introduced Android-based Thunderbolt from HTC. Nearly a third of Verizon stores report the Thunderbolt is outselling the iPhone.
While 61 percent of the 150 Verizon stores polled by BTIG analyst Walter Piecyk said both the iPhone and the two-week-old Thunderbolt are selling equally well, 28 percent of the locations report more customers are asking for the Android-based smartphone. Just 11 percent said the iPhone is preferred.
Yesterday, Apple opened up registrations for 2011’s WWDC, and within ten hours had already sold out of tickets. The more interesting rumor from yesterday, though, was that Apple would refrain from unveiling the iPhone 5 at this year’s WWDC, instead focusing entirely on software. That would mean that instead of the iPhone 5 shipping in June, as it has historically done, the iPhone 5’s launch would be pushed back until later in the year.
After the initial shock, the rumor sounds extremely likely. The report came from Jim Dalrymple over at The Loop, whose sources are solid. Moreover, the early year launch of the Verizon iPhone and Apple’s continued delay in shipping the white iPhone 4 (while repeatedly promising it’s still coming) all imply that Apple’s not planning the iPhone 5 in June, but will push it until later in the year, to debut before the holiday shopping season.
Over at Slashgear, Chris Davies brings up one interesting point: a late 2011 debut might give Apple more flexibility in making the iPhone 5 4G compatible. Qualcomm’s next LTE chipsets are due out at that point, and will allegedly boast improved power efficiency… the very issue that led Apple to leave LTE support out of the Verizon iPhone earlier this year.
If Apple does delay the iPhone 5 until later in the year, it’s all the more likely we’ll see a sizable update boasting 4G capability. For Verizon users, that means LTE; unfortunately, on AT&T, their HSPA+ “4G” smartphones are actually throttled to be slower than their regular 3G phones. If the iPhone does go 4G later this year, the Verizon iPhone 5 is going to be the clear winner: AT&T’s 4G network is a disgrace, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to get substantially better anytime soon.
Apple’s annual developers conference takes place June 6-10 in San Francisco. The conference will focus on iOS 5and Mac OS Lion — and Apple seems to be setting expectations that there’ll be no iPhone 5 at the show. In past years, Steve Jobs has used to the WWDC stage to introduce new iPhone hardware.
Apple has been using Liquid Contact Indicators(LCI) in practically all of their devices for as long as I can remember, but it looks like with the iPad 2 they’ve stopped using them.
This makes sense because these sensors have not been all that reliable and subject to a lot of false positives from something as mundane as sweat. In 2009 this was a big news topic that I covered for CNET and I spoke to local Channel 2 news in Houston, Texas about complaints they had received from iPhone users. Even CNN had something to say about it.
It was so easy to trip these sensors that there was even a lawsuit over it.
According to two “solid sources” for TechCruch, Apple’s forthcoming iOS 5 software may bring with it a major revamp of the operating system built around the cloud, but we’ll have to wait for a fall release to enjoy its new features.
A fall release would break the pattern of previous iOS releases, which have typically been unveiled in early spring and released alongside a new iPhone in the summer. However, it’s believed iOS 5 may come with a third-generation iPad rumored to launch later this year.
The TechCrunch sources say that:
iOS 5 will launch in the fall and will be a major revamp of the OS.
It could well be previewed at WWDC, it just won’t be released then.
The iOS 5 launch is also likely to coincide with the release of the iPad 3.
The new iOS will be heavily built around the cloud, and we could see several new services launch from Apple that take advantage of this.
Yes, one of those is very likely a “music locker” service. There is also a fall launch aim for this, during Apple’s annual music-themed event.
But much of the cloud stuff will first be talked about at WWDC, Apple’s developer event which will take place in June.
One of the new cloud service elements is likely a location service that focuses on finding friends and family members.
OS X Lion is still on pace for a summer release — some of the new cloud components are likely to be baked into it as well.
Earlier reports had suggested that iOS 5 would be previewed at Apple’s iPad 2 keynote earlier this year, and when that didn’t happen, new reports then rumored that another event in April would take place to talk about iOS 5 and a revamped MobileMe. If the TechCrunch sources are correct, it seems this event won’t go ahead either.
Unfortunately, these sources didn’t provide any details on the iPhone 5, but we’re guessing the device is still on track for its unveiling at WWDC with a launch this summer. Of course, if that is the case, the device will launch with the latest version of iOS 4 and not iOS 5.
In what appears to be an effort to persuade users to not switch over to Verizon, AT&T is sending out marketing materials elaborating why their network is the perfect match for your beautiful iPhone.. Have the recent estimates that Verizon has snagged 10% of the US iPhone market-share after only a few months gotten AT&T a little bit worried that a lot of users will switch networks once the iPhone 5 comes out? Coupled with their recent gift of 1,000 free rollover minutes to customers, maybe AT&T is finally trying to put forth some legitimate efforts to satisfy their customers after years of complaints. I’ve been an AT&T subscriber since June 29th, 2007 (the day the first iPhone was released). Never once has AT&T decided to send me their seasonal magazine title “AT&T Magazine.” Yet for some reason I was greeted by their 12-page mag when I received my mail today.
The reasons AT&T says you should stay with their network are as follows:
Apple’s supply of iPad 2s is clearly constrained, and it doesn’t look like that’s likely to change anytime soon. In fact, Apple’s ability to build more iPad 2s is expected to become even more constrained as at least two of the company’s core component suppliers in the region have temporarily shut down operations to assess damages caused by the March 11th earthquake and tsunami.
The two component suppliers in question appear to be the Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company, who provide resin to Apple for iOS device circuit boards, as well as Toshiba, which provides Apple with its flash supplies.
The end result is it looks like Apple’s going to have an even harder time making new iPads, iPhones and iPod Touch’s for the rest of this quarter, and possibly well into next quarter. If true, that might make the iPhone 5 launch even more problematic and line-crazy than the iPad 2’s was.
Phil Schiller has promised us that the white iPhone 4 is going to be coming this spring after long delays, but previous reports have suggested that it might be a GSM-only affair, leaving Verizon customers with no options but to buy the black iPhone 4.
iTunes 10.2 begs to differ, though. Within the resource files of the latest version of iTunes, you can find icons for the white iPhone 4 in both CDMA and GSM flavors, as differentiated from one another by their different antenna banding.
That’s no guarantee of a CDMA white iPhone 4, of course, but it certainly implies that Verizon customers will be able to get their hands on one in the coming months… just a couple months ahead of the launch of the iPhone 5.
The iPad 2 might cost the same as the first-gen tablet… but several components used to make it have actually increased in price: most notably, the price of the iPad 2’s touch display and the cost of manufacturing its new, dual-core A5 SoC.
The biggest component cost increase is for the touch display, which shot up almost $32 in price to $127, compared to the first-gen iPad’s $95 touch display.
Everyone out there that wants a white iPhone it looks like you can keep all your hopes and dreams alive, because Phil Schiller from Apple, Inc. says that you’ll be able to get one soon.
Eric Anderson, asked Phil, via Twitter about how he could obtain a white iPhone and Phil replied, “The white iPhone will be available this spring (and it is a beauty!). ”
What kind of iPhone? iPhone 4? iPhone 5? Will it work on GSM or CDMA networks?
It seems peculiar that Apple would release a white iPhone 4 model with the iPhone 5 allegedly around the corner. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
