Another Recent Report Indicates iPhone 5 Debut in October
While we officially don’t know anything about the iPhone 5 or its release date, 9to5mac was able to obtain information which indicates that the iPhone 5 could go on sale on October 7th. The source of this rumor also mentions that Apple will take pre-orders for its fifth generation smartphone starting on September 29th or 30th. These new rumors counter other reports that claim that the new Apple phone will be launched in September.
This latest report doesn’t say if Apple will release more than one iPhone, as some rumors said a while ago. In case those rumors are true, then we might see two iPhones released in 2011. One would be called iPhone 4S and will be a cheaper, prepaid version of the current iPhone 4. It is also believed that iPhone 4S will not offer a lot of improvements, if it’s going to be one of the 2 phones released this year. The other smartphone would be theiPhone 5 and it’s supposed to sport a new design, a better 8 megapixel camera and the A5 dual core chip, which is currently found in the iPad 2.
Apple Sued by HTC and Korean iPhone Users
In other Apple news, it seems that the Cupertino based company is being sued over patent infringements and privacy invasion.
Firstly, the Taiwanese smartphone maker, HTC, is apparently trying to stop sales and imports of several Apple products, like iPod, iPad and iPhone because of purported patent infringements. They are also asking for reparations and lawyer fees. HTC is accusing Apple of using three of their patented technologies: a method for order wire modulation, a circuit and operating system for integrated interface of PDA and wireless communicating system, multi point to point communication which uses orthogonal frequency division multiplexing. This is the latest step in the legal dispute between the two companies, and it comes after the International Trade Commission ruled in July that HTC violated two Apple patents.
Apple is also sued by about 27,000 South Korean iPhone users, who complain that Apple has been invading their privacy by storing and tracking user location. Each one of these people is seeking ~ $930 (1 million won) in damages. Apple had complaints about privacy invasion earlier this year, as well, but if the company loses this case, will have to pay the disgruntled customers a total of 25 million US dollars.
Our only hope is that these lawsuits will not keep Apple from releasing the iPhone 5 soon, because we have been waiting for it for too long already. The company is still keeping mum about its new gadget, but this seems to have fans even more excited about it.
Will the iPhone 5 Support 4G LTE?
Reasons Why We’ll Only See an LTE iPhone in 2012
With Verizon expanding its LTE network and AT&T launching their LTE service this year, many iPhone users are hoping that the iPhone 5 will offer LTE capabilities. There were even leaked AT&T documents that hinted to an LTE iPhone 5, but other than that, there is no reason to think that we will see an LTE device this year.
Why? First of all, there isn’t enough 4G coverage in the U. S., at the moment. Both AT&T and Verizon are 1 year away from offering maximum LTE coverage, so it would make sense for Apple to wait until 2012 to release an iPhone with LTE capabilities; this way, all iPhone users will be able to take advantage of everything 4G has to offer.
Second of all, and this is no secret, smartphone users are complaining about the battery life while on 4G. Until the battery issue is resolved, it is very unlikely that Apple will adopt this technology that will cause iPhone users to be unhappy.
Also, we heard plenty of rumors about a slimmer iPhone 5. If Apple is getting ready to launch a thinner phone, then the extra chip set that is currently required by 4G will not be able to fit inside the case. Qualcomm is expected to produce a single chip LTE in the third or fourth quarter of 2012, and this will allow LTE smartphones to have a slimmer, elegant design. The single chip will be used by Apple’s 6th generation iPhone, but not by iPhone 5.
Of course, all these are just speculations, since Apple is being so secretive about its new handset. The latest rumors are saying that the fifth generation iPhone will be announced in the first week of September, at Apple’s iPod event. If this is true, then we can expect the new iPhone 5 to be released in October.
Apple Boosts iPhone 5 Orders for the Fourth Quarter of 2011
Apparently, Apple is lowering the number of orders for iPhone 4, iPhone 4 CDMA and iPhone 3GS units from 20 million in the third quarter to 8 million for the fourth quarter. This can indicate that, indeed, Apple is getting ready to introduce a new iPhone in the fourth quarter of 2011. This report comes from sources inside Apple’s supply chain in Taiwan. The same sources claim that Apple has decreased the number of orders for iPhone 5 for the third quarter to about 6 million units, down from 7 million, but has increased the fourth quarter orders to 20 million units. This raise in the number of orders may indicate that Apple is very confident that their new mobile device is going to be a hit, and the company is probably expecting the gadget to sell remarkably well during the holiday season.
The overall number of iPhones orders in the second half of 2011 has increased also, from 50 million to 56 million units, and, according to the Taiwanese sources, out of the 56 million orders, 26 million are for iPhone 5
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