Apple, the next iPhone and the future.

   Some things happen once a year; Christmas, Easter, your birthday, your anniversary or your family holiday! In the same category is Apple's iPhone release! (Obviously it's importance equals the previous bunch!).

Wouldn't you love it to look like this?

   Every year since the iPhone's inception this one event has generated huge intrigue, excitement and some degree absurdity; it's a moment everyone reports on and everyone reads. Apple have managed to create a level of hype around this annual release that the IDC reported the company's sales have slumped recently as consumers hold their cash for the next version of the iPhone to land!

   But, what does Apple's iPhone need to be to maintain their dominance and hold the position of the highest selling single handset?

   Before we tackle that it's worth remembering that Apple makes and sells millions of devices at premium price points and it's this premium that means they cannot afford to get complacent! The iPhone 4S was widely viewed as a disappointment; on the surface the device didn't change, the internals changed slightly. Some viewed it as Apple putting in minimum effort, others viewed it as a genius stroke and asked why change something that is 'exceptional' already? Apple can't afford for the next device to be average, it needs to blow people away again.

Who needs to be wow-ed?

   You may ask why? Yes Apple will always have that core of people who buy anything Apple produces, the fanboys, if you will. But, Apple has competent challengers like never before. There are lots of people out there who have had their heads to Samsung's high end devices and the wonders of Android. I'm sitting in a room now with, 5 Samsung phones, a HTC and a dumbphone. The Samsung's sales to us have included 2 Galaxy S3's and some lower-end Android powered phones.

"It's very hard to justify buying an iPhone 4S over a Galaxy S3, unless you're very heavily invested in iOS."

   We are the people Apple needs to win back with larger, more appealing devices because at the moment it's very hard to justify buying an iPhone 4S over a Galaxy S3, unless you're very heavily invested in iOS. Apple must reverse this to ensure their dominance. The next iPhone needs to wow people in a way the 4S doesn't when faced with the competition.

Apple releases the iPhone at a challenging time of year!

   It's also worth remembering that Apple's releases are effectively half a year behind HTC, Samsung, LG and their crop of Android power houses. HTC and LG tend to release their phones in late January/early February, while Samsung has their Galaxy S range announcements in May. These guys have a whole half a year to offer up superior phones before Apple can come back with something just as good. Apple should try to best these competitors with their September release instead of playing catch up to the ones that their competitors just release! So please bare in mind that next year will usher in quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro's as standard, 1080p screen as standard, so the iPhone will have some serious competition within 5 months and the new 'set' of Nexus' within a couple of months of the release!

Will patents affect anything?

   There's not just pressure from other companies devices, Apple as a whole company needs to be wary of patent lawsuits too. If the company decides to go on an offensive and get hoards of devices banned from sale for various reasons they will become 'the bad guy' and consumers will start to punish them. But, this is something Apple should have the foresight to both predict and avoid. This is pretty much the only way Apple can go wrong with the next iPhone!

   So what would TheTechFella like to see from Apple's 'new iPhone'. Well if I had my way I would have a lot more than we're expecting.

What I want!

Which would you go for?

• I would love to see Apple step up to a 4.3" screen, this is almost the perfect size for ease of handling and giving you ample size to read everything you need to on your phone. 
• On top of this I would love to see a good processor in this one, maybe the A5X or even a slightly more updated version of this chipset!
• On the storage front there has to be a minimum of 16GB's of storage and an SD card would be a dream come true, but it'll probably remain as just that, a dream.
• A metal chassis would be good, but anything that will make iPhone's less likely to smash than the current crop is!
• A metal chassis doesn't have to be dull and understated either! What about a range of colours like the iPod's have?!

This is something like what Apple will release!

What we'll probably get!

• A 4" Retina display.
• Metal chassis, no glass in sight.
• An A5x chipset, the same one that's in the new iPad.
• A new charging/docking connector.

   As a final word I'd just like to mention that whatever Apple makes it'll sell by the bucket load because it's a premium, high quality, well made, well supported and all round great device. Apple is now what Nokia used to be; the leader, the innovator and the top dog. But, the question is 'will Apple be able to cement their position as we head into 2013 and the next wave of superphones.

   There's probably tonnes I've missed and there's probably things you'll disagree with in this post, let me know what you think in the comments!

Read More

24/07/2012

Has MobileFun outed the design for the next iPhone.

   It really is that time of year again folks; iPhone rumours are front and centre of every tech website at the moment. And today MobileFun have helped add a bit of fuel to the fire, with their 'leak', from secret sources, of the new cases for the forthcoming iPhone.

   The changes that the new cases show are; a taller version of the current iPhone but keeping exactly the same width, a new connector port and the headphone jack moved to the bottom of the phone.

   And the main thing, it's a case for a 4 inch phone! So finally Apple will be joining in with the big boys with a bit of luck!

Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 banned throughout Europe.

   Samsung got a little bit of respite last week in the British courts after the judge ruled that Apple would have to apologise and publicly state that Samsung didn't copy the iPad with the 10.1" Galaxy Tab.

   But, it seems that as far as the wins for Samsung have gone, with German courts today ruling that the 7.7 did copy the iPad. But, as you can see there's a slight conflict here; British courts have ruled that there was no infringement, whereas European courts went a different way. Today's sales injunction is in direct conflict with a UK court ruling earlier in July. 

   This seems to be so confusing for all parties; not even Samsung knows where they stand at the moment! We don't think this will impact Samsung too badly even if the ban does stand because the Tab 7.7 has such a high price and low demand. The company has said to Slashgear today that they would like to point customers in the direction of the Galaxy Tab 2 (the 7incher) because of the lower price point and more support! Win Win!

In other news:

• Samsung's court dates with Apple may cost the North Koreans $2.5 billion if the South Korean's are found guilty of wilful IP infringement!
• Apple has claimed that the design of the iPhone and iPad is worth an extra $24 per device! An interesting claim but that's what's been filed with the Californian courts.
• And to conclude the Apple news; the company is reported to be working on some revamped designs for the companies iPod touches and nanos!
• Android is supposedly lacking in developer interest by 16% when compared to iOS according to IDC.
• RIM has promised a sneak peak at BB10 for their most loyal and dedicated customers.
• The LTE packing BlackBerry PlayBook is due on July 31st for $550!
• Talking of LTE, the UK rollout has been pushed back again! OFCOM has announced the auction of spectrum won't begin until 'early 2013'! Talk about holding us back for no apparent reason!

Read More

The upcoming iPhone compared to the 4S on video!!!

   This is definitely the closest we've come to seeing the next generation Apple iPhone, here it's being directly compared to an iPhone 4S.

   The video shows the backplate of what is supposedly the upcoming iPhone. There's a number of changes including a new button layout and a clear increase in size. The video below shows the two phones side-by-side, by component supplier ETrade Supply:

   The new phone has an aluminium unibody casing something that has been widely tipped to be the housing for the new iPhone. This does seem to be a return to the design of the original silver-backed iPhone with its black blocks at the top and bottom of the device, instead of the current design, which wields a metal band around the edge with glass around the front and back. This would be a smart move by Apple making the phone far more sturdy and drop resistant, something which is a common problem with the current crop of iPhones.

   The unreleased device in the video is the same width as the 4S, but taller. This gives you a widescreen display for when you're playing games and movies. The screen is 4 inches in size, exactly as previous leaks have rumoured.

    The new phone is also considerably thinner than the 4S, this is something which is needed in a new iPhone because the 4S, when compared to the Galaxy S3 and HTC One X, seems like a bit of a porker.

   The buttons around the frame of the phone remain in exactly the same places. But, the headphone socket has been relocated to the bottom of the phone. Also down there there's a much smaller entrance for a dock connector, which again follow the rumours that the traditional connector Apple connector will be replaced in the next version of Apple devices.

   This is a very good looking new iPhone, if this is how it proves to look, what do you think, do you want one? Let us know in the comments below.

Via CNet

Read More