five iPhone 5 alterations worth waiting on extended clock for

The iPhone 5 is still on the clock, and those waiting for it will begin grading the results on a curve if it takes longer to arrive than previous iPhone iterations. From the fact that Apple is still launching new iPhone 4 iterations to the various claims of iPhone 5 delays to the lack of any production information, it's increasingly probable that the fifth generation iPhone will launch closer to fall 2011 than to summer. And that means that it had better be worth the wait in the eyes of those who will consider such a delay to have been pointless otherwise. Here are five features which would, if not by themselves then all combined, make the iPhone5 worth waiting for, even on an extended countdown clock.

Curves: The simplest trick Apple can pull off with the iPhone 5 is not just to make it thinner overall, which requires miniaturization of internal components, but to simply round off the corners. The flat-sided iPad 1 gave way to the curved-sided iPad 2 review, and it's been one of the most praised features of the second generation tablet. Apple can do the same with the iPhone 5g, rounding off those flat iPhone 4 sides which have always made the otherwise svelte model look and feel thicker than it actually is.

Colors: Forget just black and white. While other smartphone makers are limiting themselves to the two extremes of the greyscale spectrum, Apple could bust out additional colors. It already does so with the iPod nano. Imagine an iPhone 5 in green, blue, or purple – or at the least, a (PRODUCT)RED iPhone 5 special edition.

Capacity: There's a 64 GB iPod touch but not a 64 GB iPhone. That's simple enough for Apple to rectify with the iPhone 5, and almost shocking that it hasn't fixed this discrepancy earlier.

Screen: Can the iPhone 5 really be a more useful device simply by stretching the screen of the iPhone 4 screen width a few millimeters out to the outer edges of the device? Let's find out.

Software: iOS 4 was at least half of what made the iPhone 4 a worthy upgrade. iOS 5 should be the same story with the iPhone 5, and in fact may be the reaso for the delay. If Apple ensures that iOS 5 makes the iPhone 5 worth waiting longer for, then all could be enthusiastically forgiven. Here's more on the iPhone 5 news.