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 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 iPhone 5 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 5. 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.

No 4G iPhone 5

Apple is getting closer to revealing more about the new iPhone 5 aka iPhone 4S because it is about to cut iPhone 4 orders, hopefully the new smartphone will be announced at WWDC in June.

Digitimes have heard by supply chain manufacturers from Taiwan that iPhone 4 orders in the second quarter of 2011 will be dropped from 20-million to 18-million with most of them made up of 3G models, 2-million of them will be CDMA units.

Apparently there are 2 million iPhone 4 units floating around the market at the moment and because the new iPhone 5 (4S) is coming soon with better features such as new camera, new processor etc they need to make room and have enough time on their hands to produce the new handsets.

The new iPhone 5 also known, as the iPhone 4s will release in September, all speculation of course as no official announcement has been made. Cannot see it being that much different to the current iPhone 4 other than a few minor updates, time will tell when WWDC 2011 kicks of in June.

Please visit ITProProtal for more information; we would love to know what your views are on the next-generation iPhone.

Apple Cut iPhone 4 Orders, Making Room For iPhone 5 (4S)

Apple is reported to be introducing new standardised SIM cards that are smaller than the ones currently used in the iPhone and iPad.

Just how small that is we don’t know, but it’s likely to be teeny tiny because the current ones are pretty small.

Reuters has spoken to an Orange representative who confirmed Apple is proposing a new smaller standard of SIM card. The reason? It means Apple can make slimmer devices.
That said, the fact that the news comes via a network source means that Apple is definitely cozying up with networks. This is to be expected though, Apple does need the networks to subsidise its devices – so it’s a predictable theme.

So, how long before we see these new smaller SIM cards everywhere?

According to Reuters, ‘a spokesman for European telecoms standards body (ETSI) confirmed Apple had made the proposal for the new standard for SIM cards, but a decision on starting the standardisation work, which can take more than a year, was not yet made.’

He added: ‘This process may take some time, up to a year or more, if there is strong disagreement between industry players. However, when there is broad consensus among the companies participating in the standards committee, the process can be accelerated to a number of months.’

Guess we won’t be seeing this new smaller SIM card in the iPhone 5 then.

But what is the current perception of the idea amongst networks? Apparently, it’s quite good – in fact, they seem to welcome the idea.

Here’s the official line via StraitsTime:
‘We were quite happy to see last week that Apple has submitted a new requirement to ETSI for a smaller SIM form factor – smaller than the one that goes in iPhone 4 and iPad,’ said Anne Bouverot, Orange’s head of mobile services.

Apple - Smaller SIM That May Debut On iPhone 5

Apple’s iPhone 5 will be manufactured in the third quarter, hinting at a possible launch of a new version of the iconic smartphone later this year, a financial analyst firm said Tuesday.

The iPhone 5 will include an 8-megapixel camera and a single baseband chip that will work on both GSM and CDMA networks, FBR Capital Markets said in a research note, citing information from industry contacts.

The iPhone 4 has a 5-megapixel camera; GSM models use baseband chips from Intel’s Infineon wireless division, while Qualcomm chips are used in CDMA models. Having an single baseband communications chip will reduce the need for Apple to make different iPhone models for different 3G networks. Apple has not officially announced the iPhone 5, believed to be codenamed “N94,” and typically remains highly secretive about future products. It has shipped a new version of the iPhone every year since the first one started shipping in June 2007
About 20 million iPhones will be produced in the third quarter, FBR said, with the iPhone 5 accounting for about 8 million of those; the rest will be iPhone 4 models.

The iPhone 5 will use an 8-megapixel CMOS sensor from OmniVision, with Sony being a possible backup sensor supplier next year, FBR said in the research note.
FBR also expects Apple to move away from Intel as a possible baseband supplier, instead buying integrated CDMA-GSM communication chips from Qualcomm, it said.

“Our contacts have confirmed to us that Qualcomm is replacing Intel as the baseband supplier, selling an integrated CDMA/WCDMA baseband,” FBR wrote in the research note.

Analysts have said that iPhone 5 could also sport Apple’s internally developed dual-core A5 processor, which first appeared in the iPad 2 earlier this year. The chip could provide a performance boost to phone apps, and allow the smartphone to play back 1080p graphics. The iPhone 4 includes a single-core A4 chip, which was introduced in the iPad last year and is capable of playing 720p video.

Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Japanese manufacturer Toshiba showed off a new range of LCD screens for smartphones that have a pixel density of 367ppi, much higher than the iPhone 5 326ppi and ideal should Apple decide to up the screen size of the iPhone 5 to 4 inches.
At this size, Toshiba is able to deliver HD ready content, something unheard of for such a form factor. Furthermore, it ups the ante by delivering a rather head turning 1500:1 ratio. We did point out that one of the main technological issues that Apple would have to solve before rolling out a bigger screen on the iPhone 5, would be to up the display resolution in order to keep up with the retina display moniker.

Engadget, which reported the story from the SID 2011 event, did not mention power consumption though or whether the screen can be scaled to iPad 2 display size.
Toshiba has not confirmed when the technology will be rolled out, whether it will be offered to third parties (like HTC or Sony Ericsson) or if it would be restricted to Toshiba products only.
Another smaller 3.3-inch screen with a 300ppi and a 480×864 pixel resolution was unveiled at the same event but is highly unlikely to make a big splash, as smartphone manufacturers seem to be focusing on the 3.5-inch and bigger models.
A few days ago, Samsung announced a 2560×1600 pixel display which would be perfect for the iPad 2 as it delivers retina display resolution.
 

Toshiba Unveils 367ppi LCD : Perfect For Hi-Res iPhone 5

Though the new iPhone 5 arrival is still far away, leaks are getting out about a possible November 21 launch date, a hardware change that'll render your current case unusable, the screen size, and NFC.

We've heard a few rumors before about the iPhone 5, most notably that its launch has been delayed well beyond a typical June/July release timeframe. But in recent days, so much information has bubbled up about the next version of the iPhone that we're almost be tempted to wonder if it's not due sooner rather than later. Almost.
November 21 Launch Date in U.K.
U.K. cell phone retailer Phones4U has hinted it's received word from Apple that November 21 is the launch date for the next-gen iPhone, a Monday. If this proves true, and Apple holds to its recent plan of launching new iDevices in the U.S., U.K., and a handful of other nations on its first launch day, then we can expect a November 21 arrival in the U.S. too. There're a few issues with this rumor, starting with the indirect nature of the data from Apple, and the fact that Friday is Apple's usually preferred launch day for the iPhone--presumably to maximize the weekend purchase windows--but Apple seems to be changing its plans for the iPhone this year, so we're not sure.
No NFC
Despite much speculation to the contrary, Bernstein Research is suggesting that the iPhone 5 won't support wireless NFC technology after all. Analysts suggest that despite the fact NFC could add $15 billion to $30 billion in revenues to high-end smartphone firms, the tech simply isn't ready enough to add to Apple's flagship device.

This contradicts many earlier rumors, and would leave Apple looking particularly isolated in terms of the on-rushing NFC revolution--a change that's seen Nokia and Google adopt NFC powers for their smartphone offerings.

iPhone 5 Leak: Late November Arrival – No NFC?

Apple has released the latest software update for the iPhone by way of operating system iOS 4.3.3 , following suit from a spate of upgrades which seem to have come along in a rather staggeringly short period of time. After a winter which passed without a single iOS update, Apple seems to have adopted a far more aggressive approach to bettering their already world-leading platform. Unfortunately, the new approach does little to substantiate theories regarding a summer iPhone 5 release date.

However, solace can be taken in the fact that Apple are showing a level of enthusiasm and determination regarding the bettering of their products in a way previously unseen, perhaps in response to the ever-increasing interest in Google’s Android platform, along with a number of other key players who continue to expand their horizons. Of course, the main question on the minds of most still rests with what we d or don’t know about the elusive iPhone 5.

In short, the appearance of the white iPhone 4 last month has all but confirmed that an imminent iPhone 5 launch is all but an impossibility. Apple have never in their history released two such products within close proximity and the likelihood of them doing so now is minimal at best. True, they may have stepped away from their tradition of summer launches, but it now seems save to hedge bets with a fall launch at the earliest.

The good news, however, comes by the fact that releasing a rather stunning white iPhone 4 just a few months (potentially) from the release of the iPhone 5 displays a level of confidence in their new product which should reassure and patient follower. New Apple products are always designed in a way which simply kills off previous models, therefore if the same proves to be true for the iPhone 5, it will certainly be worth the wait.

Apple’s Software Updates – iOS 4.3.3 pre-iPhone 5

Apple may indeed delay the next iphone 5 until later in 2011 or beyond, according to a new report. That would mean a radical adjustment from the company’s usual habit of releasing the latest version of its smartphone every summer.

MacRumors posted May 4 about an unnamed reader who “received word from an AT&T customer care representative” that the next iPhone 5 won’t be released in the next few months.

“Company has informed us that they do not plan to release the iphone 5 in the June to July ” the blog quotes the AT&T agent as telling its source, “there will be a newer version of iPhone, but so far there have not been given any future release dates.”

The Loop’s Jim Dalrymple suggested in March that Apple would delay the device until late in 2011. “Apple’s apparent focus on software in its WDC announcement backs up what my own sources are saying about the actual conference,” he wrote in a March 28 posting. “This is, expect a software show in 2011, not a hardware event.”

Some other sources have suggested to the blog TechCrunch that the actual release of iOS 5, the next type of Apple’s mobile software, could also be delayed until fall. Combined with an iPhone 5 launch in that period, it would represent a significant departure from the company’s previous release date.

Current rumors suggest the new iPhone 5 will feature higher-resolution cameras, Apple’s A5 proprietary processor, hardware upgraded to enable 3G FaceTime video conferencing, and NFC (near-field communication) technology that would enable the smartphone to act as an electronic wallet. In combination, those features could allow Apple to combat the growing (and increasingly sophisticated) family of Google Android devices.

iPhone 5 News