Why Apple Should Put The Brakes on 3D Technology For the iPhone 5

A schematic in Apple's patent for a 3D camera. Could it end up on the iPhone 5?

A recent Apple patent for a 3D camera and other rumors suggest that Apple might be toying with 3D technology for the iPhone 5. Read why Apple and Steve Jobs should be careful about wading into the 3D waters with their next big iPhone.
You may have heard some faint rumors of 3D camera technology someday coming to the iPhone by way of some mind-blowing Apple patents that have surfaced over the past year or so. It’s no wonder that Apple would be exploring 3D technology in its research and development efforts: we continue to see the application of next-generation 3D technology in motion pictures, such as James Cameron’s Avatar, as well as the new Nintendo 3DS. In addition, television and computing sectors are beginning to invest vast resources into deploying 3D effects into a wide range of different media outlets.
Apple has two intriguing recent patents that focus on 3D: a 3D screen that would allow users to see the effect without 3D glasses, and a small 3D camera, which, by way of three separate camera sensors (see schematic to the left) would allow users to actually create and render 3D images themselves. Once deployed in a mobile device like an iPhone, this tandem of 3D inventions would most certainly turn mobile computing on its head: combined with gesture control as seen on the iPhone and iPad, it could even allow users to navigate their gadgets in a third dimension. That’s some futuristic stuff!
Whether or not 3D technology could show up on the iPhone 5, however, remains to be seen.
I have postulated for the past few months that the iPhone 5 may in fact offer a groundbreaking new feature that few if any of us have even speculated on. Could this pairing of 3D technologies — the 3D screen and 3D rear-facing camera — be the hook that boosts the iPhone 5 into legendary status? After all, given Steve Job’s ill health, for all we know, the iPhone 5 could be his swan song. He may be inclined to make the iPhone 5 a total game changer in mobile computing.
However, given the recent intelligence on the increasing possibility of an 8 megapixel camera for the iPhone 5 — served up by the folks at Sony — it would seem unlikely that Apple would be able to keep the lid on the additional components needed to construct a 3D camera. It could be possible that the iPhone 5 could debut its 3D screen without the pairing of a 3D camera — Nintendo 3DS already has a 3D interface, after all — but it should also be noted that, just because Apple has a patent for a 3D screen doesn’t mean that the technology itself is imminent: it can take years for new ideas to become reality, as highlighted in this other article about a possible changeable topography touch screen for the iPhone 5.
And then there’s also the possible dangers of 3D technology as a whole.
3D Technology Is A Possible Health Hazard
For as much as 3D technology seems like the wave of the future, Apple should be wary of deploying it in the iPhone 5. Ever since the debut of Avatar, 3D has been fraught with averse, well-documented side-effects that call into question whether man was meant for 3D technology. Remember: this isn’t the 3D technology of old, complete with the funny-looking 3D glasses. Next-generation 3D technology renders images in holographic fashion by projecting images in staggered frames, so that each eye is processing images at different intervals, thus creating a three-dimensional image in the brain.
When Avatar was released, the use of 3D imagery, together with the larger-than-life, computer-generated landscapes, drove a portion of viewers to experience a broad scope of side-effects, from short-term nausea and dizziness to more serious long-term side-effects like depression and suicidal thoughts. TechRadar has an article that documents the phenomenon, with writer Marc Chacksfield reporting on how the realism of the film, combined with the utopic landscape of Pandora, left many moviegoers feeling empty and depressed. This combination of realism with other-wordliness has been attributed to 3D imagery.
In short, James Cameron opened Pandora’s Box.
Cameron and other filmmakers tried to shrug off the early criticism of the dangers of 3D technology, but newer news of the ill effects of 3D in Nintendo’s 3DS has corroborated the claims that not enough is understood about the effects of 3D imagery on the brain. A recent article in the Sun reports on how sickening side-effects have plagued Nintendo’s wondrous new portable game console, reporting on Nintendo’s damage-control disclaimer that “the console is not safe for under-sevens and advised playing in 3D mode for less than 30 minutes.”
Considering that the whole point of buying the 3DS is to play games in 3D, this development should give Apple pause if they were thinking of releasing the iPhone 5 with any kind of 3D technology.
The fact of the matter is, the research on the effects of 3D has not yet caught up with the actual technology. It is a temptation to think that as humans, if we can build it, then it must be safe. After all, there are plenty of human developments over the past century that are both groundbreaking and unwieldy (nuclear energy and that scary supercollider in Switzerland immediately come to mind). Apple is most likely looking to hit a home run with the iPhone 5, but they should be careful playing with 3D tech right now — it is an unknown quantity.
And if the iPhone 5 does end with a 3D screen and/or camera, my advice would be to consider waiting to see the effects on users first before buying it.

<< Read Now >>

iPhone 5 Coming In June After All? Don’t Be Holding Your Breath In Anticipation

 

Charles Moore sorts out the conflicting reports about the iPhone 5 release date.

When it comes to the iPhone 5 release date, who are you going to believe? U.S. sources and Wall St. say it will come in late summer/early fall. Asian sources say the iPhone 5 is on track for June. How can you sort it all out? Charles Moore explains:
I’ve been following Apple new product releases attentively for nearly 20 years now, and I’ve concluded that the only certainty about them is that nothing is certain until the official announcement. Consequently, I think the best policy is to be interested, but not too impatient, or put much serious stock in rumors.
And so it is with the iPhone 5. Everyone knows it’s coming, but no one, except Steve Jobs and his coterie of closest confidants knows when. Indeed, it’s possible that even the Cupertino inner circle doesn’t yet know the precise release date, which may be partly contingent on renewed supplies of components that had been sourced in Japan prior to the earthquake/tsunami disaster.
Until about a month ago, it had been widely anticipated that Apple would introduce the iPhone 5 at the annual Worldwide Developers Conference that starts June 6 at Moscone West in San Francisco. This seemed a relatively safe guess based on past history, since iPhone releases and updates have been a tradition (if you can call anything that’s only been in place since 2008 traditional) at the WWDC over the past few years. However, this year maybe not so much.
As noted, about a month ago, some of the rumor mills began pulling in their horns a bit and suggesting that the iPhone 5 might be might not be ready in time for the WWDC after all, and that its release date might be pushed back until late summer or even into October or November. In any case, the arrivedat general consensus for the past couple of weeks has been pretty much that the iPhone 5 won’t be coming in June, especially after Apple posted a press release on March 28 saying that at this years five-day conference Apple will unveil the future of iOS and Mac OS, including demonstrations of the new kinds of apps developers can build using Apples advanced frameworks, and more than 100 technical sessions presented by Apple engineers.
At this years conference we are going to unveil the future of iOS and Mac OS, Philip Schiller, Apples senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing commented in the release. If you are an iOS or Mac OS X software developer, this is the event that you do not want to miss.
Nothing on the agenda about the iPhone 5 or any other hardware. That’s more unequivocal than Apple usually gets about conforming or denying major product releases and events. the inference I draw from it is a pretty categorical no iPhone or any other major hardware announcements at the WWDC, although it’s not completely beyond the realm of possibility, however remote, that Steve Jobs might be planning one of his patented one more thing surprise announcements in a keynote. I wouldn’t bet on it though, and it’s more likely that the ailing Mr. Jobs might not even show up at the conference.
However, on Tuesday, several news sites linked to a report on the Korean site ETNews.co.kr, declaring that Steve Jobs had confirmed a direct public iPhone 5 release coming at an Apple special event during the 4th week of June depending on how you parse the translation. My Korean is non-existant, and even Google Translate seemed to have difficulty producing coherent prose from the report. you can check it out for yourself here: http://bit.ly/gzTxtE
Anyway, the rumor mills cranked up, even though it would be peculiar, to say the least, for Apple to “confirm” a release date for the iPhone 5 to a Korean Website before announcing it in the U.S. In counterpoint, The Loop’s Jim Dalrymple, a former MacCentral and Macworld staffer who is well-connected in the Apple orbit, posted a categorical rebuttal, declaring that his sources tell him that rumors of an iPhone 5 release at the end of June are completely false.
I have no insider insights to relate, but based on experience and deduction, I’m in Jim Dalrymple’s camp on this one. Speculating about unreleased Apple products is fun, and Oriental news vendors, being closer to and better connected with the actual production sites, are often sources of leaked information about forthcoming Apple hardware that turns out to have been accurate, or at least in the ballpark, but they’ve also been known to be spectacularly wrong at times, and it’s prudent to take anything they report about unreleased Apple products with a big grain of salt.

<< Read Now >>

Did Sony CEO Howard Stringer Spill The Beans About An 8MP iPhone 5 Camera?

Will the iPhone 5 have an 8-megapixel camera?

We’re recently reported that very few new features appear to be solid for the iPhone 5. But a recent slip-up by the Sony CEO suggests that an 8-megapixel camera might be a definite upgrade for the next iPhone. read Charles Moore’s new article:
MacNN, Appleinsider,, CNET, and several other Apple-watcher sites reported over the weekend that Sony CEO Howard Stringer may have inadvertently revealed that Apple is gearing up to equip the iPhone 5 with an eight-megapixel camera.
9To5Mac’s Seth Weintraub, who attended the event, reports that Stringer, in a Talking Tech with Sony event interview with The Wall Street Journal’s Walt Mossberg at Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall in New York, commented that his company’s camera sensor plant at Sendai, Japan, is among 15 of the company’s facilities damaged by last month’s catastrophic earthquake and tsunami, and that the supply interruption will delay shipments of sensors to Apple. Since Sony sensors are not used in the iPhone versions 4 and 3GS, which employ 5-megapixel and 3.2 megapixel OmniVision camera sensors respectively, it’s not a major deductive leap to infer that the higher-resolution CMOS sensors sourced from Sony would most likely be destined for the next revision iPhone 5.
A PhoneArena blog from six weeks ago notes that OmniVision shares nosedived last summer when a rumor spread that due partly to complaints about a yellowish color shift in still photos shot with the OmniVision sensor camera, Apple might be moving to Sony for its next generation iPhone camera sensors — possibly Sony’s Exmor R sensor unit that is used in the Sony Ericsson Xperia arc and Xperia neo. That 8MP sensor is backlit to help it finesse low light conditions, similar to the way the iPhone 4′s 5MP OmniVision sensor does. Indeed, rumors of Apple dropping OmniVision in favor of Sony as its iPhone camera supplier are longstanding.
PhoneArena also reports that OmniVision has announced that it has an 8MP camera sensor of its own coming, the OV8820, which incorporates the same low-light performance enhancements, plus HD video at 60fps, and Full HD at 30fps, and which had been projected to begin mass production in March, but that production problems have occurred.
Not everyone agrees that Apple will use Sony CMOC camera sensors in the iPhone 5. Analyst Yair Reiner of Wall Street’s Oppenheimer & Co. is quoted by Appleinisider isaying he expects OmniVision to remain Apple’s camera supplier for the fifth-generation iPhone, corroborated by checks with contacts in Apple’s supply channels, dismissing the notion an Apple-Sony hook-up as “rather silly.”
Whatever, regardless of whether the iPhone 5‘s camera supplier is to be OmniVision or Sony, it looks like camera sensor supply problems may be a significant factor in Apple’s evidently postponing the iPhone 5 introduction from an anticipated Worldwide Developer’s Conference release until some time later in the year. With the iPad 2′s camera performance being that unit’s most unanimously panned feature in reviews, Apple will want to get the camera right in the iPhone 5, where it is arguably a much more important feature than it is with the tablet product.
Also, with Sony Ericsson rumored to be getting 12MP+ camera equipped phones ready for summer release, Apple will need at least the 8MP sensors to remain even ballpark competitive in that context.

<< Read Now >>

Will Apple’s A5 Processor Be Enough To Satisfy iPhone 5 Users?

Will the A5 chip be enough to propel the iPhone 5 to greatness?

Although many new features for the iPhone 5 have been speculated on, few seem to be set in stone — with the exception of the A5 processor. but if the A5 turns out to be the “crown jewel” of the iPhone 5 upgrade, will that be enough to excite iPhone users?
There’s no doubt that the most talked-about piece of news concerning the iPhone 5 has to be the release date. But a close second is the swirling debate about which features the iPhone 5 will boast. There has been a steady stream of reports about a wide range of different purported features, such as a larger screen, 8 megapixel camera, NFC technology, a non-existent home button, aluminum chassis, and more.
However, there seems to be no agreement on whether any of these features will actually materialize on the iPhone 5 — they seem to “here one week and gone the next.” Even the next iOS 5 operating system has been called into question as to whether or not it will appear on the iPhone 5, with analysts suggesting that it might not be ready until the Fall of 2011.
The only new development for the iPhone 5 that all of the reports and tech pundits seem to agree on is the A5 chip.
And this, of course, is the easiest feature to predict, since it has already seen mainstream application in this year’s new iPad 2. Thus far, the A5 processor has gotten rave reviews from analysts and users alike: tech-oriented folks appreciate the bold power of the A5 and foresee it as a trailblazer for even better things to come, while the average iPad 2 user just feels the improved speed and functionality.
That being said, there was more to the iPad 2′s successful launch than just the A5: the addition of a front- and rear-facing camera, cool gyro feature, industry-leading price, and a thinner and lighter chassis all contributed to the robust sales that the iPad 2 continues to enjoy. The A5 was the “under the hood” improvement from the original iPad, and one could argue that, while it is a key upgrade to the iPad, it isn’t the most “marketing friendly” feature for un-geeky tablet users.
With this mind, what if the A5 chip turns out to be the only significant upgrade for the iPhone 5? Will that be enough to energize iPhone users to the point where they’ll shell out big money to upgrade?
Probably not.
No matter how powerful the A5 processor may be, without some accompanying “bells and whistles” on the iPhone 5, few mainstream iPhone users will see the point in putting to rest their iPhone 4. This reality is precisely why Ferrari, Lambourghini, Porche, and other exotic car manufactuers put a beautiful body on their high-performance sports cars; if their cars looked like a Prius on the outside, no one would buy them at their price point, no matter how big their engines are. (And apologies to all you Prius drivers out there.)
Truth be told, iPhone users will be looking for one big feature to get excited about. Last year, it was the addition of the front-facing camera on the iPhone 4 that excited people. Apple was able to recycle that feature on the new iPad 2. But for the iPhone 5, the A5 processor alone won’t be enough to propel it past this year’s Droid offerings — and at this point, the A5 is the only feature we can bank on.
Let us know what you think about the A5 chip, and if it would be enough to get you excited about buying an iPone 5!

What You Need To Know About the A5 Processor
One way to get excited about the iPhone 5 — even if its only major upgrade from the iPhone 4 turns out to be its chip — is to fully understand and appreciate the power and performance of the A5 in its glory. First, some of the basic stuff: the A5 chip follows in the tradition of all Apple’s mobile processors in that it is a a package on package (PoP) system-on-a-chip (SoC). This means that the whole operating system fits on the chip itself, as compared to personal computers, where the OS is stored and runs off of the hard drive.
The A5 chip is manufactured by top-notch Samsung, and although Samsung has allowed Apple to keep their production costs down, all indications are that the A5 chip is pretty pricey to make. While Apple seemed willing to eat the extra cost of the A5 processor on the iPad 2, it remains to be seen if that will be the case for the iPhone 5 — it could see an uptick in its price point at the expense of a faster mobile computing experience.
The other cool thing about the A5 is that it is a dual-core processor. This means that the CPU has two independent cores that are integrated on one circuit. What does that mean for the layman? The dual-core set-up lets you multi-task at greater speed and fluidity — it’s like having “two computers in one.”
Speaking of speed, the A5 has lots of it. It has been rated at  1 GHz on the iPad 2. However, the chip can dynamically adjust itself to save battery life. The result is that the A5 processor is basically twice as fast as the old A4, and said to be nine times faster than the A4 on graphics. So if you love your graphics on the iPhone 4, wait until you see them running on an A5-powered iPhone 5!

<< Read Now >>

Will Google Beat Apple’s iPhone 5 To Market With Smartphone NFC Mobile Payments?

Will an Android phone like the Nexus S get NFC before the iPhone 5?

At the top of the list for the iPhone 5 is Near Field Communication (NFC) — the ability to “wave and pay” using your smartphone. But will Google’s Android phones beat the iPhone 5 to market in the NFC race?
Business Tech watcher RedHerring, citing a Bloomberg news report, noted this week that Google is close to the testing stage with its prospective near field communication (NFC) “wave-and-pay” mobile payments service for Android devices, which will first be tried experimentally in San Francisco and New York over the next four months. NFC technology will allow smartphone users to swipe their devices over a receiver/reader to effect quick credit card payments, provided their phones are equipped with NFC chips as Google’s recent Nexus S smartphone has been since last December.
Meanwhile, RedHerring unequivocally states that Apple “has abandoned plans to include NFC mobile payments in the upcoming iPhone 5,” suggesting that we most likely won’t see NFC support on the iPhone until 2012, by which time Jupiter Research projects a NFC Mobile Payments volume exceeding $30bn annually, and which will allow Google a substantial headstart in that market. Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s has disclosed that the next version of Android, 2.3, also known as Gingerbread, scheduled to be rolled out in April, will support NFC, although reportedly, the software development kit for Android 2.3 apparently does not yet support either card-emulation or peer-to-peer communication, and Research in Motion co-CEO Jim Balsillie has affirmed that RIM is also working on NFC for future BlackBerry models.
NFC or no NFC remains one of the hottest topics of debate as we wait for the iPhone 5 rollout. I’ve blogged about it a couple of times here previously, and those columns continue frequent forum comments. If it’s true that Apple will not include NFC support in the iPhone 5 — at least in its initial release — a lot of iPhone fans will be disappointed, especially if Android phone users get the capability first. However, The NFC Times’s Dan Balaban reports that according to unnamed sources, Apple has informed to one or more U.S. mobile operators in the Isis joint venture that it will not adopt NFC this year, and an executive at France Telecom-Orange had earlier also expressed doubts about an NFC-enabled iPhone at February’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, telling NFC Times she was less likely to believe Apple was ready to adopt the technology at the end of the event as she was at the beginning, after talking to sources.
A recent report from market consulting firm Frost & Sullivan notes that the NFC market has moved from the ‘innovator’ stage to an ‘early adopter’ phase and from trial development to the first commercial roll outs, and observes that the key driver for that market will be wide adoption of the NFC solution in mobile phones, cautioning that without a massive number of NFC-enabled mobile phones in use, the market will not be able to realize its immense potential.
The Frost & Sullivan study “NFC – When Will Be the Real Start?” predicts that by 2015, NFC will “clearly be the most-used solution for mobile payment,” and the analysts expect that the total payment value for NFC globally to reach €111.19 billion (equivalent to $155.26 billion at today’s exchange rate) that year, forecasting a five-year NFC compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 118 per cent between 2010 and 2015. In that context, Android early-adoption and iOS laggardliness will be huge. You’ve gotta’ wonder what the holdup or hangup is for Apple. Dan Balaban observes that based on the information he has, it’s not clear what NFC standards Apple believes are lacking, but speculated that if Apple does, in fact, pass on the technology again this year, it might be because in believes NFC is still not yet mature enough to embrace.
What do you think? If the iPhone 5 doesn’t offer NFC capability, will that be a deal-breaker for you? Will you defect to an Andriod phone, like the Nexus S? Let us know what you think!

<< Read Now >>

iPhone 5 Wish Lists From Around the World

A great map that shows the popularity of iPhone searches on Google worldwide.

The U.S. and Europe often dominate the discussion when it comes to the iPhone 5. But don’t forget that there are iPhone users all around the world. Read about which features people in the developing world are hoping for with the iPhone 5.
There’s no doubt that the news, rumors, and opinions about the iPhone 5 centers culturally and geographically around North America. And for a good reason: a large segment of iPhone sales come from the U.S. and Canada, with Europe as a close second. As a result, it can be argued that the iPhone is designed with the westerner in mind; the features, performance, and platform is conceived of by Americans and/or engineers who live in the U.S. and understand American culture.
That being said, there are millions of iPhone users around the world who are far-removed from western culture. For many of them, they use their iPhone and other mobile devices in developing countries that simply do not have the infrastructure that the west enjoys.
I went on a mission to uncover how the iPhone empowers globally-minded people in the developing world. I was amazed to discover how a device like the iPhone — which oftentimes is just one mobile gadget in an arsenal of electronics for the average American — becomes the sole technological link to the global community, a way to better their life, and a tool to overcome some powerful political, economic, and cultural barriers that might otherwise keep them isolated.
Interestingly enough, many of the features these remarkable individuals are pining for in the iPhone 5 are similar to us westerners. The difference is that these desired new features for the iPhone could make a world of difference for them. I spoke with several iPhone 5 News Blog iPhone users from Thailand and Saudi Arabia to get their perspectives on the iPhone 5. Read about their stories, and their wish lists for the iPhone 5, below:

When Your iPhone Is Your Most Reliable Computer: A5 Chip, Slide-Out Keyboard, and Larger Screen
Many people have been prognosticating about the prospect of the iPhone 5 being much faster, thanks to the same A5 chip in the current iPad 2, as well as rumors of a slide-out keyboard and larger screen. While all of these purported features for the iPhone 5 stoke plenty of debate and hurt feelings in the comment threads of blog articles, the stakes are much higher for some people in the developing world, where often times their iPhone is the most reliable computing device.

The iPhone doubles as a PC for many Thai users.

Take Thailand, for example. Like many Asia Pac countries, it is a mixture of opposites, with capital city Bangkok gleaming with skyscrapers, technology, and infrastructure, while much of the country remains largely agrarian and below the poverty line. Thailand has a burgeoning economy, but the technological infrastructure is lagging behind in certain areas.
When it comes to telecommunication, Thailand now has a much more developed mobile network infrastructure than it does a “landline” network. As of the last survey, there are only 9.1 million landlines in Thailand, but over 98 million mobile cellular users. In a country of 67 million people, one can quickly see that mobile is key to communication, with a third more mobile phones than there are people.
It is for this reason that a mobile device like the iPhone becomes more than just a smartphone — in many cases, it functions as a computer as well.
And believe me — the tech market in Thailand knows this. iPhones in Thailand run from $600 and up. It isn’t impossible to pay upwards of $1,000 for an iPhone 4.
For this reason, a faster iPhone 5 with the option of a slide-out keyboard excites many of the Thai iPhone and smartphone users who frequent the iPhone 5 News Blog’s comment threads and Facebook page. Generally, they want the iPhone 5 to have as much processing power and speed as possible so that they can be more productive. And the prospect of a QWERTY slide-out keyboard not only adds to the “computerization” of the iPhone 5, but also might give Thai iPhone users a backup to the touchscreen should it break or fail, and service is not readily available.
Finally, the addition of a larger touchscreen on the iPhone 5 — one that approaches the 4-inch mark — is also a welcome addition to Thai users, but not simply for the reason of having more touch surface to work with. Instead, a larger screen on the iPhone 5 would give Thai users who rely heavily on their iPhone a larger screen to enhance their computing experience at home. iPhone keyboards like the iHome iConnect Media Keyboard and other affordable bluetooth models are already quite popular. A larger screen on the iPhone 5 would give users a more comfortable screen for their eyes, facilitating word processing and work with net-based business solutions for people who work in the commerce and technology sectors.

In Saudi Arabia, Excitement Over An iPhone 5 With An 8 Megapixel Camera.
Somewhat lost in the iPhone 5 rumor mill is the report that the iPhone 5 could feature a beefed-up camera array. Several reports, such as this one from Jeff at the iPhone Download Blog, are talking about a new camera sensor that could increase to 8 megapixels. In a country like Saudi Arabia where picture-taking and profile photos can be a bit of a sensitive issue for women, having the ability to use their iPhones to video chat using FaceTime or simply to take photos of themselves to send to friends privately around the world is a crucial feature to being able to circumvent cultural norms.
Take ίƨнεεммωααн, for example. She is a 22 year-old, hip, educated Saudi woman studying law at the university and connecting with people throughout the world via Twitter, Facebook, and her blog. Get to know her a little more, and you learn how this remarkable young lady, who otherwise must remain modest and covered in public, dreams of becoming a model someday. She absolutely loves western fashion, and her knowledge of it — thanks to being able to connect to fashion websites throughout the world via her iPhone — surpasses even the average American.
ίƨнεεммωααн also uses her iPhone to clandestinely purchase western clothes, which she can only don in the privacy of her own home. But the digital age allows her to tastefully photograph herself — albeit with her face partially concealed — to launch her modeling career. In this way, having access to an 8 megapixel camera on her next iPhone will only empower her to do what she loves the most — connecting with people worldwide and sharing her perspectives on life, fashion, and culture.

NFC technology on the iPhone 5 -- is it important to you? Click to read more about it.

Is NFC Important Outside of the Western World? Not So Much.
One of the most anticipated features for the iPhone 5 is NFC technology, which could potentially allow users to use their iPhone 5 to pay for goods, unlock and start their car, and even board planes electronically. There’s no doubt that NFC technology is an exciting advancement for Americans — we are, after all, hyperconsumers, and anything that enables us to spend money faster and easier, we love it. Mind you, this is not American self-loathing on my part — it’s just the truth.
But as buzz-worthy as NFC might be for folks in the U.S. and beyond, NFC technology isn’t nearly as sought after in developing countries.
The fact is, there is more to making NFC a mainstream technology than simply throwing it onto the iPhone 5. In order for it to work, commerce needs to buy into it on a wholesale level. The U.S. and Europe are already out in front on NFC technology in that infrastructure is either in place or soon-to-be-in-place. In developing countries, building an NFC infrastructure is a multi-billion dollar undertaking. And given the fact that world find itself in tenuous financial shape, NFC isn’t at the top of peoples’ lists.
The iPhone 5 — Coming To a World Near You
It remains to be seen how intensely Apple thinks about their iPhone designs beyond North America and Europe. To be sure, meeting the needs of western users is most likely the major focus when it comes to designing and redesigning. And interestingly enough, it isn’t as though people elsewhere in the world are looking for features on the iPhone 5 that are remarkably different from what we discuss here. The differences are less about the features themselves, and more about how those features can impact their lives in ways that are different from those of us in the western world.
If Apple remains true to form, their innovations for the iPhone 5 will continue to transcend culture, politics, and economics, paving the way for next-generation mobile computing and communication.

<< Read Now >>

Which New iPhone 5 Rumors Pass The Smell Test?

One of the newer iPhone 5 "sightings."

iPhone 5 rumors continue to drip out of the tech blogosphere. Read Charles Moore’s quick, easy round-up of what looks likely for the iPhone — and what is still up in the air.
China News Business Times Reporters Zheng Shufang and Liu Jiaxi report that industry scuttlebutt has it that the iPhone 5 has entered its trial production stage with Apple’s subcontractor Hon Hai Electronics, will have a, A5 dual-core processor, a metal chassis to improve antenna sensitivity, a scratch-resistant 4-inch capacitive touchscreen, and a 50 millon pixel camera, and will be equipped with “wave and pay” Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, and slated for release in 3Q ’11, although main Apple contract manufacturers don’t comment on rumors if they want to remain in Apple’s good graces.
The China Times columnists also report that Hon Hai plans to build a new plant at Sao Paulo, Brazil, specifically to manufacture Apple OEM products, but that’s not projected to begin production until 2013.
Meanwhile, it would seem that whatever feature set the iPhone 5 emerges with has been set, so here’s a rundown of what we may or may not see come the unveiling based on rumors out there:

Faster Processor and More RAM
it’s virtually certain that iPhone 5 will be powered by the same A5 dual core processor that Apple introduced in the iPad 2. Much less likely I think are suggestions that Apple might double the iPhone 5′s RAM capacity from the 512 MB in the current iPhone to two gigabytes of RAM. Apple has only taken the iPad to up to 512 MB, and there seems little reason to believe that they’ll go with more in the iPhone 5.
Bigger Display
There is a strong likelihood that the iPhone 5 will have a larger display, most likely somewhere measuring four inches diagonal. I’ll be surprised if this doesn’t materialize; the larger screen will be touted heavily my Apple’s marketing and promotion arms.
Higher-resolution Display
It is far less less likely that the iPhone 5 will have greater resolution than the current, excellent Retina display in the iPhone 4.
Case Design
Most prognosticators expect the iPhone 5 to look a lot like the iPhone 4 although as noted, many expect a larger display and possibly a brushed aluminum back panel replacing the current glass back. A virtually sure thing is that a white iPhone will finally be offered with version 5. However, rumors that the iPhone 5 could have a physical keyboard can be safely considered someone’s wishful thinking.
Carbon Fiber Case
Carbon fiber composites are the structural engineering material of the future, and thanks to recent advances in production efficiency, they’re going to be more and more common in mainstream as well as high-end products like the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner’s fuselage and wings, and the new McLaren MP4-12C, exoticar, which features a one-piece molded carbon fiber composite chassis tub. They will be especially well-suited to making computer and igadget enclosures, being extremely lightweight, amazingly strong, non-conductive, and not blocking RF signals. I don’t think we’ll see a carbon fiber iPhone 5, however.
Antenna Moved Inside
After the press feeding fender frenzy over the antenna in the iPhone for losing gain if touched by the hand holding the iPhone, it’s quite probable that Apple will move the antenna back inside in a more conventional configuration, most likely similar to the way the antenna is configured in the iPad.
64 GB Storage / The Cloud
There’s a possibility that Apple could offer 64 GB capacity as an option with the iPhone 5. At the other end of the spectrum, some have suggested that Apple may also offer a bare-bones version of the iPhone 5 at a lower price, possibly with cloud data storage and only enough internal RAM to run the machine and perhaps serve as a temporary buffer. Something is brewing with Apple building a major data center in Tennessee, that could mean a substantially greater emphasis on the cloud for Apple devices.
Ready for the iPhone 5? I’m on the fence here.
Improved Battery Life
An improvement in battery life is possible, although don’t expect anything dramatic.
Better Camera
iPhone 4 has a 5MPx camera. Rumor has it that iPhone 5 will get an 8 MPx camera, but the China Times report says they’re sticking with 5 5MPx, and given that the cameras in the iPad 2 are described by most reviewers as mediocre at best. Apple hasn’t chosen to disclose the iPad camera’s megapixel rating, but it seems highly improbable that it’s any more than 5MPx. I’m not anticipating any change in the camera spec from the iPhone 4.
Home Button to Be Replaced/Moved
A fairly persistent rumor has been that the Home button will disappear, and the iPhone 5 getting either touch sensitive controls or the button moved to one of the phone’s edges. If there’s to be a bigger screen, things will have to be reorganized. However, my guess is that the iPhone 5 wil still have a Home button somewhere.
A CDMA Model iPhone 5
Code-Division Multiple Access (CDMA), is a digital cellular technology that uses spread-spectrum techniques and competes with the GSM celular technology that the iPhone currently supports.
Another rumor that’s been making the rounds, actually for for several years, now is that Apple will launch a dual-mode iPhone that works on both GSM and CDMA networks, serving AT&T and Verizon customers simultaneously.
Near Field Communication (NFC) technology
There have been rumors going both ways on this one, and I’ve already blogged here on the topic a couple of times. I think it’s inevitable in the long run that Apple will include “wave and pay” NFC on the iPhone, but whether it will be ready for the iPhone 5 is another matter. I’m completely on the fence on this one having heard compelling arguments from both camps. The China Times report says it’s a go.
HDMI Output
The iPad to has enhanced HDMI output capability, and it seems more probable than not that the iPhone 5 could have HDMI output added using the same optional connector as the iPad 2.
Enhanced Voice Recognition
Another rumor is that with IOS 5, expected to make its debut along with the iPhone 5, the iPhone will get enhanced voice recognition capabilities and more voice commands. I don’t have a strong conviction either way on this feature’s likelihood this time around.
Release Not Coming Until November
The reasoning on this one is that due to February’s Verizon iPhone 4 release, Apple will push the iPhone five’s debut back to late summer or even November. I think November is highly doubtful, and am still anticipating a late spring or early summer release.
There are probably a few more, but that should cover most of the iPhone 5 rumored feature bases. Remember, the opinions expressed are speculation, logical deduction, semi-educated guesswork, plus rumors and leaks from the far East, which have a mixed record for accuracy. Unless someone leaves a prototype iPhone 5 in a bar, as happened last year with the iPhone 4, we’ll all have to wait for the announcement date to know for sure.

<< Read Now >>