Thursday, February 3, 2011

Apple Bringing iPhone 5 to Verizon and AT&T in July?



Sounds like there may be some very unhappy Verizon iPhone 4 owners come this July.  David Pogue in the NY Times is predicting a July release on both AT&T and Verizon: "Remember, too, that so far, Apple has released a new iPhone model every July. Apple won’t say if there will be an iPhone 5 for Verizon this summer. (“Let’s put it this way: We’re not stupid,” is all an Apple rep would say.) But if it does, and you buy an iPhone 4 now, you’ll be stuck with an outdated phone in only five months."

What can we expect from the iPhone 5?  While some have predicted a mere "maintenance release", there's going to have to be some solid improvements to gain ground against Android.  So far there seems to be strong indications of a multi-core processor called the A5 (possibly as much as 4 times as fast as the current A4 chip), as well as a separate processor for video and graphics, increasing those capabilities as well.  There are rumors of an upgrade to a longer-lasting Lithium-Ion battery.  Near Field Communication (NFC) technology seems to make sense, allowing the phone to be "swiped" to exchange information or even to make payments. 

While the current rear camera is pretty nice at 5 megapixels, there is talk that the new graphics processor will be paired with an 8 megapixel camera and 1080p video recording - hope there's a storage increase to go with that!  Other likely contenders: 4G or dual GSM/CDMA support, FaceTime over 3G/4G, and expanded voice control/dictation.  

A skinnable/customizable home screen, Biometric (fingerprint) security locks, an IR transmitter for universal remote control, SD Card support, and Flash support are among the less-likely features that have been cranking through the rumor mill.  While we are making wish lists, I would love to see a  better antenna to ensure call quality!

No matter what features make it - it looks like we will have a new iPhone to marvel over this summer, and it looks likely that it will be available to Verizon users as well as those on AT&T.

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