Thứ Sáu, 4 tháng 3, 2011

iPhone 5 era starts now after Verizon, final iPhone 4 distraction, passes

And we’re off to the races. It’s the iPhone 5 era now, whether Apple wants you to know it or not, and no matter how many sheep end up buying an iPhone 4 between now and the summer without a clue that they’re buying yesterday’s iPhone. We’ll give one more final pass to those who line up and buy the Verizon iPhone 4 at stores next Tuesday, just as we’ve given a pass to those who stayed up all night last night to pre-order one online. They have their reasons, stemming mostly from the fact that they’ve been waiting so long for the iPhone, they don’t much care (for the moment, at least) which iPhone they get their hands on. But make no mistake: as of now it’s all about the iPhone 5. Which is tricky, because we know nothing about it.
But don’t let that stop you. The iPhone 5 will arrive this summer (unless Apple shifts it to accommodate the Verizon iPhone 4 midperiod arrival) and will offer an all new body styling (unless Apple decides to keep it the same). It’ll have better hardware specs across the board (except for the ones Apple keeps the same) but it’ll have the same size screen (unless it’s bigger). It’ll have something called NFC, which rather than being a Super Bowl rooting interest, stands for Near Field Communication (unless Apple doesn’t include it after all). And the iPhone 5 will be released simultaneously on Verizon and AT&T (unless Apple staggers the rollout) but not on Sprint or T-Mobile (unless Apple cuts deals with one or both of them in the mean time).
Hey, told you nothing is known about the iPhone 5. But it’s your next iPhone (unless you decide to skip a generation), so now’s the time to begin paying attention to whatever is learned about the device. The focus, for awhile, will be on the Verizon iPhone 4. That’s all well and good. And as long as the iPhone 4 is still the current model, some folks will still be buying it, and treating it as if it were still, you know, current. But you and we know better. The iPhone 5 is hiding just around the corner, in plain sight, just beyond all the distractions which have kept it shrouded in a cloak of invisibility. That’ll change before too long (unless Apple figures out how to keep a tighter lid on the details this time). You get the idea.
Here’s more on the iPhone 5.
[beatweek]

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Choice: iPhone 5 can go hybrid or svelte, but not both, as Apple knows


Can we get this right with the iPhone 5, please? This silliness of having one iPhone 4 floating around out there for customers of one carrier, and another iPhone 4 now out there (different antenna, requiring different cases) for users of another carrier is downright un-Apple-like. And Apple knows it. The company did what it had to do in order to get the iPhone into the hands of a second user base as swiftly as possible, but the odds are that this newly segregated iPhone lineup is a temporary phenomenon. With Apple’s engineering prowess and plenty of time on its side, there’s no reason why the iPhone 5 can’t be a single, unified hybrid model with antennas built in for customers of both (heck, all four) U.S. carriers when the time comes later this year. But that means Apple must decide between two of its own pet peeves.With the iPhone 4, Apple managed to shave about a quarter of the bulk off the product while upping its technical specs across the board. The company is likely looking to do the same with the iPhone 5. But building multiple antenna technologies into the iPhone 5 won’t help in the goal of making it thinner. And if you think the nascent 4G era will help, consider that thanks to the lack of 4G in most places on the map in 2011, a hybrid iPhone 5 would need to include backwards-compatible antenna technology with Verizon’s CDMA, AT&T’s 3G, and likely even AT&T’s EDGE.  Unless it can all be pulled off through the miracle of software, an iPhone 5 with all that packed in via hardware would be thicker and heavier than an iPhone 5 which comes in two different incompatible flavors, a la the iPhone 4. Such a hybrid iPhone 5 might only be slightly thicker than segregated iPhone 5 models, and in fact a hybrid iPhone 5 would probably still be thinner than anything from the iPhone 5 era. But Apple knows that in order to solve the current segregated incompatible iPhone nuisance, it may have to slow down its ambitions to slim the iPhone down to the point where it’s eventually as thick as a credit card – at least for the iPhone 5, pre-ubiquitous-4G era.
Here’s more on the iPhone 5.

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iPhone 5 NFC for Remote Computing and Mobile Payment


iPhone-5-nfc
Near Field Communication (NFC) is a standards-based, short-range (about 4 or 5 centimetres) wireless connectivity technology that enables simple 2-way data exchanges between electronic devices. It allows us to perform contactless transactions, access digital content, and connect electronic devices with a single touch.
Essentially, NFC is the combination of networking technology and wireless authenticating technology. It brings a new data exchanging method for devices by establishing peer-to-peer networks (P2P). With the micro chip NFC, mobile phones will turn into a credit card, monthly bus tickets, movie tickets, etc, we just need to swipe your phone to the reader or payment machine. More than that, we could simply wave our phones in front of smart packaging, posters, or signs to get access automatically to electronic coupons, special discount notices, or weather report.
I talk so much about the NFC technology because these days, the world are abuzz with the news that Apple would add NFC credit card reading technology into the iPhone 5. Take a look at some expected specs of iPhone 5.
If that becomes true, iPhone users will soon get rid of their credit cards and be able to “wave and pay” using their iPhones. People should believe that the NFC technology will be integrated in the iPhone 5, at least for strong remote computing. According to a reliable source at Cultofmac, the NFC-equipped iPhone 5 can keep data such as bookmarks, files, passwords and NFC will turn any Mac into your own computer with the same settings, look, bookmarks and preferences. All you need to do is authenticating the Mac with your iPhone. When we leave and the iPhone is out of range, the computer will return to its previous state, nothing is saved on its memory.
NFC has been launched in some Asian countries like Japan, South Korea and is expected to explode in the U.S. in about 3-5 years. This may be true sooner if Apple integrate it in the iPhone 5. Apple want to become the leading company in the NFC revolution like they did with the multi-touch screen on iPhone. They have recruited some leading NFC experts such as Benjamin Vigier and filed a number of NFC-related patents. Our expects now will be how NFC is integrated to iPhone 5, for remote computing, mobile payment, or all of them?
[via tek3d]

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iPhone 5 will get 8MP Camera from OmniVision


omnivision-ov8820
OmniVision, the company is responsible for the current cameras of the iPhone 4 and its older generations, has introduced the OV8820 - a new CMOS-image sensor designed for use in digital cameras of mobile phones.
The cameras equipped with this sensor are able to shoot high definition video (1080p at 30 fps and 720p at 60 fps), give better pictures in low light, edit directly on phones, support RAW format and auto focus. Besides, its system of image stabilization could make shots more accurate.
Here is the full list of OV8820′s features:
  • Automatic black level calibration (ABLC)
  • Programmable controls for frame rate, mirror and flip, cropping, windowing, and scaling
  • Image quality controls: lens correction and defective pixel canceling
  • Support for output formats: 10-bit RAW RGB (MIPI)
  • Support for horizontal and vertical subsampling
  • Support for images sizes: 8 MP, EIS1080p, 1080p, EIS720p, EISQ 1080p, Q1080p, EISVGA, VGA, QVGA, etc.
  • Support 2×2 binning
  • Standard serial SCCB interface
  • MIPI serial output interface
  • Embedded one-time programmable (OTP) memory for part identification, etc.
  • On-chip phase lock loop (PLL)
  • Programmable I/O drive capability
  • Built-in 1.5V regulator for core
This sensor will go into mass production in March 2011. At the moment, OmniVision are sending the OV8820 to their partners for testing. Although the list of these partners is not disclosed, it absolutely includes Apple because they have worked together for a long time and still have a good relationship. Therefore, it is very likely that iPhone 5 will integrate the OV8820 with 8 megapixel camera.
[via tek3d]

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Google Nexus S or iPhone 5


Google-Nexus-S-Android-Gingerbread
The last few days are filled with latest news about the 2 most expected smartphones, Google Nexus S and iPhone 5. While Nexus S has got official, there are a lot more h.

Google Nexus S

Google has officially announced the Google Nexus S featured with Android 2.3 Gingerbread. The Nexus S has a 4-inch WVGA touchscreen, T-Mobile USA 3G support, NFC (Near Field Communications) for contactless payment, WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR and a 5-megapixel camera, plus a second camera up front.
The Nexus S is scheduled to be released on 16 December in the U.S. and will be available unlocked for $529 or with a T-Mobile service plan for $199. In the UK the phone will be available after 20 December, Carphone Warehouse will sell the smartphone unlocked for £549.95 or you can choose the contract option for £35 a month and get the Google Nexus S for free.
google-nexus-s

Specifications

  • OS: Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)
  • Screen type: 4-inch Super AMOLED curved glass Contour Display with anti-fingerprint coating
  • Screen resolution: 480 x 800 (WVGA)
  • Processor: 1 GHz Cortex A8 (Hummingbird)
  • RAM: 512 MB
  • Internal memory: 16 GB iNAND flash memory
  • Expandable memory: none
  • Camera: Back-facing 5 megapixel camera with flash, 720p video recording and front-facing VGA camera
  • Location services: A-GPS and digital compass
  • Sensors: Accelerometer, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor and three-axis gyroscope
  • Connectivity:
    - WiFi (802.11 b/g/n)
    - Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
    - microUSB 2.0
    - 3.5 mm audio jack
    - Near Field Communication (NFC)
  • Supported audio: MP3, AAC, eAAC, AAC+, AMR
  • Supported video: H.263, H.264, MPEG-4
  • Battery: Li-Ion 1500mAh
  • Networks:
    - GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
    - UMTS/HSPA: 900/2100/1700 MHz (a Next G compatible 850 MHz version has not yet been announced)
  • Dimensions: 63 x 123.9 x 10.88 mm
  • Weight: 129 g

iPhone 5

After news about the NFC function in iPhone 5, there have been a lot more rumors of its specs revealed.

1. iPhone 5 will integrate Pico Projector

Brian White, a Ticonderoga Securities hardware analyst, believes that a pico projector would be a good feature for the next generation of iPhone. It will allow users to view presentations or video on a wall or other large surfaces. If this feature is applied, the iPhone 5 will follow footsteps of Samsung Halo which known as the first projector smartphone. Billy May from Mozilla Labs demonstrates the concept Seabird smartphone, this is how pico projectors will work in future smartphones:

2. iPhone 5 gets Pop-up Radial Menus

Apple has filed a patent of using “radial menus”, the new version of iOS will be totally changed when the iPhone 5 will be released in the next July. Apple says in the application:
The novel radial menu techniques of some embodiments include (i) non-uniform spacing of menu items, (ii) the use of shading or highlighting within a region associated with an item to indicate the present selectability of the item, and (iii) the use of radial gestures for opening sub-menus and the subsequent display of the sub-menu.
iPhone-radial-menus

3. iPhone 5 will add FM radio receiver

Apple has also filed a patent for radio mapping on its devices, so it is very possible that they will add AM, FM and Satellite radio capabilities to the top right corner of the upcoming iPhone 5. Based on the standard scrolling list of current radio stations, Apple intends to bring up a unique radio station mapping system that would allow us to locate available stations and make selections via the closest or strongest signal options.
[via tek3d]

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Fools rush in: Verizon iPhone 5, not Verizon iPhone 4, is iOS nirvana


The Verizon iPhone 4 is already sold out online, but it could be a case of fools rushing as those who get shut out will be given a chance to reevaluate their strategy and may find themselves deciding that waiting for a Verizon iPhone 5 is the more strategically desirable option in terms of finding iPhone nirvana. There’s nothing wrong with the Verizon iPhone 4 on its face: it brings all the same popular, widely beloved features of the existing iPhone 4 and the iOS platform. And it runs CDMA, which is the same nationwide network which, overblown 4G hype aside, all other Verizon phones in nearly all other cities are using. So when does iPhone 4 plus Verizon equal something short of nirvana for those who are in love with both? Now that the Verizon iPhone 4 has been officially announced, the next-worst-kept secret of 2011 in the tech industry not a secret at all: there’s a next generation iPhone 5 coming later this year, including to Verizon, and it’ll be better than the iPhone 4.
First off, let’s focus on what we do know: we know the iPhone 5 is coming because Apple has always brought out a new iPhone model each summer for as long as the iPhone has existed. And we know the fifth generation iPhone will be an improvement over the existing iPhone because the new model always is. It comes with better specs and new features for the same (or occasionally a smaller) price tag. Here’s what we don’t know about it: anything else at all. While Apple always launches new iPhones in the summer, the company just technically broke that streak by releasing the Verizon iPhone 4 in the winter. That has led some to suspect that the iPhone 5 may not arrive until late 2011, either to work around the late Verizon iPhone 4 rollout, or to wait until Verizon and AT&T get their 4G act together, or both. And then there are those who’ve wondered aloud if the iPhone 5 might show up on AT&T in the summer as planned, but the Verizon iPhone 5 might not roll until late 2011.
The latter sounds like a bunch of horse puckey. The idea that Apple would give the iPhone 5 to one carrier but not another would surely set off virtual riots, and Apple knows that. The more realistic possibility is that the iPhone 5 doesn’t debut on either carrier until the fourth quarter. But those who follow Apple know that the company has been very predictable in terms of what time of year it launches what products: iPhones in the summer, iPods in early September, MacBook Pros in the spring, and so on. It’s why most expect the iPad 2 to ship in the same late March or early April timeframe the original iPad shipped last year. And it’s why house money is still on the iPhone 5 rolling out for both Verizon and AT&T, simultaneously, this summer. It’s difficult to call those buying the Verizon iPhone 4 this week “fools” as all they’re doing is buying the current model iPhone for use on their preferred carrier. It all looks good on paper. But for those who prefer to see beyond tomorrow afternoon, the specter of a Verizon iPhone 5 must at least be considered on the way to achieving Verizon iPhone nirvana.
Here’s more on the Verizon iPhone 4.
[beatweek]

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iPhone 5 wishlist: the five features users are (and aren’t) looking for


Apple will do with the iPhone 5 what it always does: it’ll try to give users what they never knew they always wanted. Few were openly asking for a thinner, flatter iPhone last time, and yet those features helped drive the current iPhone to become a hit. This time around, the door is wide open for the iPhone 5 as ones gut says Apple won’t dare try to invoke the same body style, or even a highly similar one, thanks to the fact that two different iPhone 4 iterations have now been released with the same styling. Beyond that, the feature window is also wide open for the fifth generation iPhone, as Apple’s penchant for miniaturization has left the company able to seemingly add any feature within reason, so long as they work hard enough at it. With that in mind here’s a wishlist of potential iPhone 5 features which users really want, largely don’t want, and perhaps never knew they always wanted.
Thinner: The iPhone is already thinner than most longtime observers thought it would ever get. The iPhone 5 can get thinner, but it’ll come at the cost of specs and features which could otherwise have been added. Frame the question in that manner, and some may not be so fast to give thumbs up to the idea of thinner iPhone 5. But others will opine that the iPhone already has plenty of specs and features, and the thinner the better. Verdict: mixed bag.
Battery: The last iPhone gained about forty percent extra battery life over its predecessor. That’s nice, but if it were enough, iPhone 4 battery cases wouldn’t be as popular as they are. If the iPhone 5 makes another forty percent leap, it would make for nearly double the battery life of the original iPhone. Now we’re talking. Verdict: most users will give thumbs up to this, so long as it doesn’t make the iPhone 5 too un-svelte-like.
4G: All one needs to do is take a look at the manner in which the non-4G Verizon iPhone 4 is killing the carrier’s newly introduced 4G-enabled options to see that the public hasn’t bought into the 4G hype yet. Maybe it’s because they know 4G is available almost nowhere. Maybe it’s because they’ve gotten wind of 4G not being that much faster than 3G. Maybe it’s because, as the carriers seem to have not yet learned, customers care less about top-end theoretical speed and more about having a reliable signal everywhere they go. There will eventually be a 4G iPhone, right around the time 4G exists in enough places for it to matter. Whether that’s with the iPhone 5 or not is up in the air. Either way, outside of tech enthusiasts and industry insiders, no one seems to care at the moment.
Removable battery: Every time some geek mocks up a fake next-gen iPhone image which is then passed off as being real, a removable battery is always included – and that’s how it’s always identifiable as being a fake. Outside the geek bubble, absolutely no one cares about having a removable battery on the iPhone 5 or any current or previous phone. In fact, most users still have nightmares about their old flip-phones with the removable battery doors which invariably broke their hinge and had to be held on with duct tape for the rest of the phone’s life. It’s a classic case of a feature almost no one wanted in the first place which negatively impacted many users on top of it all. Except for the geeks, of course, who typically want things to be the exact opposite of the way the other ninety-nine percent of the world wants things.
Earbuds: While the earbuds which come with the iPhone are better than most of the other bundled earbuds on the market, most users aren’t aware that for even twenty bucks they can get third party in-ear earbuds which sound significantly better. But even those who know about it are now challenged because Apple’s bundled earbuds come with the three buttons and mic, and it’s difficult to find third party earbuds with all three buttons until you get into the over-$50 range. Apple could resolve this by simply bundling three button in-ear earbuds with the iPhone 5. Better audio, and wider adoption of Apple’s three-button motif thanks to fewer users replacing the bundled earbuds with third-party one button in-ear budget buds. This would be a classic case of Apple giving iPhone 5 users something they’ll love, but never knew they always wanted.
Here’s more on the iPhone 5.
[beatweek]

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Verizon iPhone 4 to take most of BlackBerry/Droid base despite iPhone 5


Here’s a study that’ll have Apple smiling and Verizon not minding, but fans of the Droid and BlackBerry platforms cringing at the mere thought. The Verizon iPhone 4 is expected to claim the majority of Verizon’s BlackBerry and Droid users by day one of the upcoming Verizon iPhone 4 era. Nevermind day number two, or month number two, or the fact that the Verizon iPhone 5 can be expected in about half a year. The numbers: a shocking two-thirds of Verizon BlackBerry users say they plan to switch to a Verizon iPhone 4 the day it hits retail stores next week. Slightly less than half of Verizon Droid users plan to do the same on the Verizon iPhone 4′s first day.
These day-one iPhone 4 switcher numbers are limited strictly to Verizon’s base, and don’t include users of BlackBerry and Android based phones on other carriers (although they do show a blueprint for what could happen if and when the iPhone finally expands to T-Mobile and Sprint). The kicker is that these numbers, which come from a third party study reported on by PC Magazine, are based on what Verizon’s users plan to do the moment the Verizon iPhone 4 becomes available on February 10th. If two-thirds of Verizon BlackBerry users switch to the Verizon iPhone 4 immediately, as this study claims, how many more will make the move once they see the Verizon iPhone in action? And how many more are waiting to jump ship until the Verizon iPhone 5 arrives later this year? The same thing goes for the nearly half of Verizon’s Droid users who say they plan to change sides immediately. Other studies have shown the Android platform to only have an expected retention percentage in the twenties, and so these latest numbers, which show the Verizon Droid base about to fall by half in short order, come as no surprise – except to those geeks who had mistakenly confused Android sales with Android popularity.
For Verizon, these numbers have to be seen as good news even though they predict a mass exodus from Verizon’s own in-house Droid phone. Better for Verizon to lose its Droid folks to a Verizon iPhone 4 than to an AT&T iPhone 4. For Apple, it’s overwhelmingly good news if the study bears out into reality next week, but also a sign that a Sprint iPhone and a T-Mobile iPhone are needed in order to take advantage of the fact that many or even most BlackBerry and Android users would apparently rather be on an iPhone. This was already overwhelmingly anecdotally obvious, but now there are numbers (at least in survey form) to back it up. And it also means that while there may be hell to pay later when a Verizon iPhone 5 shows up sometime in 2011 and early adopters of the Verizon iPhone 4 are left wondering what happened, the specter of a soon-ish arriving iPhone 5 is clearly not hampering sales of the Verizon iPhone 4 in the mean time.
Here’s more on the Verizon iPhone 4.
[beatweek]

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Shuffle: iPhone 5 a non-entity for Verizon iPhone 4 fans, as Apple hoped


The iPhone 5 has officially been lost in the shuffle, as Verizon fans are unaware of it or simply don’t care about it on their way to lining up to buy a Verizon iPhone 4 instead this week. Just as Apple was hoping. This far into the iPhone 4 era, the specter of an eventual iPhone 5 is naturally going to hang over any attempts to keep selling the current model in quantity. Sales still happen aplenty in the backstretch of a product’s run, but they never live up to the initial spike from when the new model was still new. And now Apple has pulled off something which wasn’t supposed to be possible: taking the iPhone 4 and re-launching it for a different crowd, halfway through its run, even as anyone with access to wikipedia or the memories of a longtime iPhone user knows that the iPhone 5 will be along by likely midyear, in Verizon and AT&T flavors, and will manage to put the iPhone 4 to shame, as new iPhone iterations typically do.So does this sudden revelation that a Verizon iPhone 5 is coming mean that you should cancel your Verizon iPhone 4 pre-order and wait it out? Not necessarily. There’s actually a scenario in which, if the market works in your favor, you might be able to use your Verizon 4 for six months, and then flip it for enough cash to buy a Verizon 5 and essentially have gotten your Verizon 4 for free. Or you may end up getting burned. But for all the hand-wringing and moralizing before the fact regarding whether Apple was doing the wrong thing by giving the iPhone to Verizon customers midway through a generation rather than waiting for the iPhone 5 launch to go multi-carrier, Verizon’s customers have spoken loud and clear: they don’t give a patootie about an iPhone 5. Not now. Not after having waited since as far back as 2007 to finally get their hands on an iPhone without having to leave their Verizon comfort nest. They’re too busy celebrating the victory right now to realize or care that in six months their Verizon iPhone 4 might be discontinued and they’ll have to throw down more money for the Verizon iPhone 5 just to stay on top of things. But they can afford it. After all, they saved quite a bit of money by skipping the first three iPhones. But here’s why buying a Verizon iPhone instead of waiting might be a mistake.
beatweek]

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iPhone 5 watch: Verizon hybrid model, 4G, NFC, and more to watch for


With the Verizon iPhone launch hype about to come and pass, the countdown to iPhone 5 is about to begin, if it hasn’t already.. With no official information or any hint of a release date (although feel free to keep guessing on that front), the proper focus on Apple’s fifth generation iPhone at this point is what it’ll bring to the table based on the kind of common sense which even Apple can’t keep secret. Market forces dictate that the following technologies will, at the least, be strong candidates to be headliners for the iPhone 5 era when the time comes.
Hybrid Verizon iPhone 5: The current scenario of one iPhone for Verizon users and another for AT&T users isn’t Apple’s way of doing things; it’s more of a stopgap solution to work around current network incompatibilities. But what others see as a “good enough” solution, Apple sees as a problem to be fixed. So expect Apple to work its tail off to try to cram all the various antenna technologies into one unified iPhonedang 5, a hybrid model if you will. Either that or one antenna which can translate the various incompatible signals. If wifi, 3G, and EDGE can all be packed into the iPhone 4, then why not also wedge Verizon’s CDMA in there for the iPhone 5? Apple surely is, and has been, working on it.
iPhone 4G: Speaking of iPhone 5 antenna technologies, 4G has to be in the mix. Right now Verizon’s “4G network” covers about three people, give or take a few, and AT&T’s “4G network” is even more nascent. But give it half a year, and 4G will exist in enough places that it’ll be worth including in the iPhone 5. Don’t be shocked if 4G is turned off in the settings by default, as most users won’t be able to put it to good use for some time anyway. And it turns out that, for now at least, 4G is not the marketing feature the carriers had hoped. Sprint and T-Mobile are still the nation’s third and fourth largest carriers despite heavily promoting their long running 4G networks, with Verizon and AT&T still occupying the top two spots despite being significantly behind in the 4G race. And while Verizon’s recent promotion of 4G Android-based phones has largely fallen on deaf ears thus far, Verizon’s non-4G iPhone 4 has been the biggest hit the carrier has ever had. But with the way Verizon and AT&T are pushing 4G in their advertising, Apple may need to include 4G in the iPhone 5 based on manufactured expectations alone. Nevermind what percentage of users will actually live in a place where they can put 4G to good use.
NFC: It stands for Near Field Communication, not the National Football Conference (sorry, football ended yesterday). It could revolutionize the way mobile business transpires. Or it could be relegated to geek toy status. We’ll find out soon enough.
Here’s more on the iPhone 5.
[beatweek]

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Verizon iPhone 4 is already hybrid, iPhone 5 compatibility revealed


Those staring at the separate Verizon-specific iPhone 4 model and wondering whether the next-gen iPhone 5 will come in a single hybrid flavor which works on both Verizon and AT&T just got their answer: the Verizon iPhone 4 is already a hybrid model, from a hardware standpoint anyway, and could have been sold as a “new” iPhone 4 to both Verizon and AT&T customers. While the two carriers employ different incompatible networks, the revised iPhone 4 model being marketed as the “Verizon iPhone 4″ could be tuned to work with either network. This startling information raises new short term questions while answering some long term ones, specifically regarding the nature of the iPhone 5.
In light of the revelation that Apple could have scrapped the existing AT&T-specific iPhone 4 and replaced it across the board with a new hybrid iPhone 4 for Verizon and AT&T customers, one has to figure that Apple at least considered the notion. The company may have decided against it for fear that existing iPhone 4 users would feel cheated after seeing their version of the iPhone 4 discontinued after a mere seven months. The idea would then be that even as the “Verizon iPhone 4″ hits the streets, the original iPhone 4 is still being sold to the AT&T base until the end of the iPhone 4 era, meaning that AT&T customers would technically still be using the current model, as there are now two current iPhone 4 model. That’s all semantics, but sometimes semantics is the difference between positive and negative consumer reaction.
More strikingly, the fact that Apple has already apparently figured out how to build networking technology for the pre-4G networks of both Verizon and AT&T into the same iPhone model (as evidenced by the fact that they’ve already done so with the Verizon iPhone 4, as discovered by teardown specialist iFixit and reported by VentureBeat) means that doing so for the next-gen iPhone 5 should be a given when it rolls out later this year. Of course Apple may also need to wedge 4G networking into the iPhone 5 as well. But seeing how Apple managed to add hardware functionality for two carriers into the previously single-carrier iPhone 4 body without making it any larger gives hope that the same trick can be pulled off with the iPhone 5.
Here’s more on Verizon iPhone.
[beatweek]

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