There is no shortage of speculation about the iPhone 5, particularly with regard to potential delays in its release. Do rumors of a delayed release suggest some radical changes to the iPhone 5? Let’s review the word on the street:
4G?
Right now if you want your iPhone running on 4G, your best bet is using something like the Sprint Overdrive 3G/4G hotspot to take advantage of Sprint’s WiMAX network. That’s probably the closest to a Sprint iPhone you’re going to get. That option aside, Apple remained oblivious to 4G in its release of the iPhone 4 and, more recently, the iPad 2. If the iPhone 5 is, in fact, delayed past the summer it seems much more likely that it will be 4G-capable via AT&T’s expanding LTE network.
New Look & Feel?
Take a peek at This Is My Next’s mock-up of what the iPhone 5 may look like. A few highlights from their unconfirmed specs: a thinner, more curved shape, a larger gesture-ready home button, a 3.7-inch screen and iWallet/NFC functionality.
T-Mobile iPhone 5? Or a Hybrid iPhone 5?
Given that AT&T has filed to acquire T-Mobile, it can safely be assumed that the iPhone will ultimately end up in the hands of T-Mobile customers (if they will still be called that). Until then, T-Mobile is functioning as an independent carrier and operates on different frequencies than AT&T. There are whispers about an iPhone prototype that functions on T-Mobile’s network. Might the iPhone 5 become available via T-Mobile?
With that comes the possibility that the iPhone 5 will be a single iPhone model that functions on both Verizon and AT&T’s networks, unlike the currently incompatible versions of the iPhone 4.
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Thanks to Android, with time the iPhone becomes more and more irrelevant. Who care when there are plenty of other superior choices. At best Apple’s iPhone will be just another good smartphone. However this was not the case 4 years ago, 3 years ago, 2 years ago and even a year ago. The accolades go to Apple for not the invention of anything game changing but rather taking advantage of available technologies and packaging them together. What Apple did was put together a device that could have been manufactured by numerous other companies. However, while everyone was sleeping Apple was putting together a game changing device. Unfortunately for Apple, nothing in the iPhone patently secures Apple’s future. Nevertheless, Apple has been given another opportunity to play its hand in future trends in technology, however this time the competition is awake and kicking.
Michael. We really enjoy your comments. Please e-mail kristina@goingmedia.net
It needs both a 4 inch screen and 4G.
You see the commercials for the iPhone, if you don’t have one your not getting the best this and that. With a new smart phone leaping onto the shelves every other week where will completion stand?
If apple wants to stay in this game, they need to further their out reach!
I’ve been with Sprint for 5+ years and I could never switch.
For reasons why, I’ll keep it at preference.
Let’s hope iPhone 5 comes to sprint, or I’ll just pick up something else..
Although I don’t wanna :[
You see the commercials for the iPhone, if you don’t have one your not getting the best this and that. With a new smart phone leaping onto the shelves every other week where will completion stand?
If apple wants to stay in this game, they need to further their out reach!
I’ve been with Sprint for 5+ years and I could never switch.
For reasons why, I’ll keep it at preference.
Let’s hope iPhone 5 comes to sprint, or I’ll just pick up something else..
Although I don’t wanna :[
Michael, you’re nothing more than a douche bag who tries to sound smart. You’re obviously an Android boy who is mad that they can’t have an iPhone. You really thing anyone could have produced the iPhone? Then why didn’t they? Why are ALL smartphone manufacturers copying Apple? Stop hating and give credit where credit is due.
Actually, Corey, he has a point. Apple is losing market share to Android like crazy, and it’s because Apple isn’t “changing the game” anymore. Yes, the iPhone was – at the time – a revolutionary device (even though Apple neglected to give it features like Copy & Paste and MMS, things available on other phones for years), and Apple has been given insane amounts of credit for changing the world of mobile phones. Touchscreens were obviously nothing new to the world. Actually, touchscreen features on cellphones wasn’t really new at the time – it was just nobody had utilized it so fully into a mobile device until Apple introduced the iPhone. Reality is, Apple took a lot of things that existed, tossed in a few upgrades (namely Multi-touch), and put it together into a combination of things not previously seen.
Apple’s business model is to take something that exists, put it together into a really awesome looking package with a beautifully smooth user-friendly interface, build it into an ecosystem of other beautifully smooth user-friendly interfaces on various other awesome looking packages, and sell it one small iteration at a time. This isn’t a criticism, because frankly it works quite well. Apple is good at selling people what they want. The iPad is a brilliant example; there is literally nothing about the first generation iPad you couldn’t get on an iPod Touch, save for a larger screen. But people by the millions bought them. Why? Because it does *most* of what people want it to do, and what it doesn’t have in substance it makes up for in presentation. Then, Apple will bring in an updated model a year later with a few more features that the first model easily could have had. Really, Apple is banking on people wanting to buy slightly modified updates of things they can get elsewhere, because the technology is reliable and the product is well sold. Trust me, I jumped on Apple’s bandwagon too – I own a Macbook and an iPod, though I’ve stuck with Sprint Mobile so I’m a happy Blackberry user for now (not mad I can’t have an iPhone, I CAN have an iPhone because I’m a consumer but I CHOSE not to have one).
Android is succeeding at such an alarming rate because a) it’s been available on all four major US carriers since its debut, b) it comes packaged on to a variety of phones and devices, and c) because it’s open-source, and a growing number of people are enjoying the seemingly endless possibilities for customization and third party development. Android is winning because it’s appealing to as broad of a base as possible, whereas Apple only recently began branching out. Again, this is not a knock on Apple – their business model is their business model, and for 4 years it’s taken the industry by storm. But capitalist free markets are open to competition and Android’s business model has been to do what the iPhone does not, and that’s offer a ton of individual liberties on a ton of different phones on several different networks to bring in the largest group of people possible. Apple’s response has been to expand to Verizon, which boosted iPhone user numbers, and I think it’s in their best interest to ultimately expand to all major nationwide carriers.
i just want iphone to sprint
Saying Apple is losing market share to Android is like saying Mc Donalds is losing market share to all other fast food chains combined. Not even close to a worthwhile statement. This is and will continue to be the issue with Android. There is no coherent market. I have both devices (I am a mobile apps developer) and I will say from the bottom of my heart I LOVE to do business with Apple and find Android to be a royal pain in the butt. With Apple I have a clean deployment model. I know what the devices are and all their capabilities. With Android I am deploying to…. well something that may or may not have one of 20 different features needed. So that causes what I have noticed as a consumer on both devices. Apps come to iOS first and more functional more often than not. Also many of the apps I use work better and have more features on iOS first. Android is often caught asking vendors “this is great when is it coming to Android”. So the hardware doesn’t really matter as much. Who cares that I had superior video resolution on my Android device, I couldn’t watch my SlingBox for a solid year on it. Apple has done an excellent job by controlling their hardware platform. Maybe the Motorola acquisition will change that some but for now, I don’t think Apple has anything to worry about. Unlike your average internet hardware pimping fanboy on either side, Apple knows that it is a holistic experience that drives customers to them and not statistics.
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