iPhone 5 on September 13th: five reasons release isn't worth waiting for

If the iPhone 5 really is to be a September baby, it'll be unveiled in September 13th. And that being the case, our official advice has changed: if you're sitting around waiting for more information on the iPhone5 in order to make a decision on whether to buy an iPhone 4 now or keep waiting, and it turns out the iPhone 5 really is coming in the fall instead of the summer, go ahead and take the plunge on the iPhone 4 now. Bear in mind that this advice is conditional upon the iPhone 5 being held back until the fall; if it does indeed arrive this June then you're best off simply waiting another six weeks. But Apple traditionally holds its fall press event on the second Tuesday of September, namely the 13th in 2011, and if that event is to be the first sign of the iPhone 5 along with the iPod models which will debut that day, don't bother waiting. Here's why.iPhone 4 rocks: Several members of the Beatweek staff have been using the iPhone 4 since last year, and while we'll likely all upgrade to the iPhone 5 as soon as it arrives, here's what we've learned about the iPhone 4 in the mean time. It's by far the most ideal smartphone on the market. It's faster, more versatile, thinner, and lighter than any previous iPhone model, and offers significantly more battery life with a much better screen. The supposed "iPhone 4 antenna issue" simply does not exist except in the minds of the deviants who concocted it. On its own merits, it's nearly the perfect smartphone; we'd be hard pressed to come with things we don't like about it.

4G pipedream: Even if the iPhone 5 does end up offering 4G networking, that'll only work in the scant areas in which Verizon and AT&T have actually built 4G networks. For the vast majority of iPhone 5 customers, it'll be the same 3G or even EDGE experience that they'd have gotten on the iPhone 4. Unless you live in one of a handful of big cities where 4G LTE will arrive early, this is not a reason to wait for the iPhone 5.

Verizon already has the iPhone: For those Verizon customers who wanted an iPhone but skipped the iPhone 4 because they thought the iPhone 5 was just around the corner, we'll ask you this: what exactly have you gained by waiting? A few more months of being stuck with your existing phone, which you clearly don't want? And now you're looking at another few more months of doing the same? You're not winning this battle.

Question marks: In other words, it's all we know about the iPhone 5. Will it offer better specs and features than the iPhone 4? Certainly. What will those specs and features be, and will any of them be relevant to you? No way of knowing. Waiting means you're gambling that the iPhone 5 will offer something over the iPhone 4 which will have justified your wait. Waiting does not equal playing it safe; it's just a different kind of gamble.

Have it both ways: The real clincher is that even if you buy an iPhone 4 now, you can still buy an iPhone 5 later. Sure, you'll end up paying $200 above sticker for the iPhone 5 because you'll have used up your upgrade cycle on the iPhone 4 purchase. But nothing says you can't turn around and sell your iPhone 4 in September (for more than you paid for it, thanks to the magic of unsubsidized pricing), and put that money toward paying your iPhone 5 ransom. You'll still end up having paid at least little bit for the privilege using an iPhone 4 between now and iPhone 5 launch day, but it won't preclude you from getting to experience both iPhone generations. Here's more on the iPhone 5.

64 GB metal iPhone 5 with 4G could shift upgrade balance of power

Here we are talking about the iPhone 5, when the iPhone 4 is still the current model being bought by people as we speak – and today I saw a guy using an original iPhone from circa 2007. Often lost in the ponderance over how the new iPhone will contend with competing phones is the query of whether the iPhone 5 will be able to compete favorably enough with the current and previous iPhones so as to motivate folks to ditch the one they have. Different corners have the iPhone 5 pegged as offering sixty-four gigabytes of storage, or being made of aluminum metal, or offering access to the nascent 4G networks of its two U.S. carriers. Here's a look at how each of these possibilities is likely to impact current iPhone users' willingness to upgrade to the iPhone 5 when the time comes.

Space: The iPhone 4 maxes out at half the storage of either the iPad 2 (understandable) or even the current iPod touch (a bizarre feat, four years running. which Apple still has yet to explain away). Those who were able to fill even a 60 GB classic iPod back in the day are currently stuck not being able to get all of that content onto their iPhone, meaning they either must carry an iPod classic in their other pocket or settle for only having a portion of their content with them on their iPhone, and that's before making room for iPhone-era goodies such as apps. Getting the iPhone 5 would solve one of the more common complaints about the iPhone over the years – it just doesn't hold enough to be the all-in-wonder Apple claims it is – and could trigger significant upgrades.

Metallica: The original iPhone was mostly metal, and yet somehow it was metal which scratched and dented easily. Assuming Apple has now figured out how to make metal in such a way that it's as durable as, well, metal, the change of pace could be an intriguing one. The glass body of the iPhone 4 seemingly never had a chance, as even though it's by far the most durable iPhone to ever come to market, quite a few people haven't been able to get past the "but it's made of glass!" initial reaction. Hey, people get stupid when it comes to consumer technology. And it doesn't help that as long as Apple keeps using the iPhone 4 body styling, the jackasses who started the phone "iPhone 4 antenna has issues" nonsense will keep getting their way. Because, again, people will believe anything when it comes to consumer technology. So a metal iPhone 5 would, if nothing else, convince iPhone 3GS and 3G laggards to go ahead and upgrade if they skipped the iPhone 4 for stupid and/or imaginary reasons.

Fourth gen: The fifth generation iPhone having fourth generation networking would manage to confuse an impressive number of people. But "4G" will be the buzz this year, as Verizon and AT&T join the already current chorus of Sprint and T-Mobile proclaiming that 4G networking is the future and the future is now. Nevermind that 4G still doesn't exist in most places (at least when it comes the two biggest carriers), advertising will convince the public that they must own a phone with 4G built in. And most of them will just assume they are using 4G, even if they live in a place which doesn't even yet have 3G. Don't believe me? Check all the folks who bought an HD TV and never have figured out that they're not watching the HD channels. So a "4G iPhone 5″ would go a long way in the marketing department, and motivate a lot of existing iPhone users to upgrade (with the exception of those current iPhone 4 users who mistakenly believe they're already on 4G because their iPhone has a "4″ in its name – and I encounter those types all the time). Nevermind that most of them wouldn't be able to put the 4G feature to use anyway; they'll want it. Here's more on the iPhone 5.

iPhone 5 to feature A5 processor, iPad 2 stays with A4

The oft-quoted DigiTimes, a Taiwanese tech industry favorite publication, has revealed that Apple is outsourcing the production of its A5 processor chip, which many expect will be based on the ARM Cortex A9 design and used in the forthcoming iPhone 5, to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.

AppleInsider reports that Apple's A4 chip is currently produced by Samsung Electronics, but the move to Taiwan Semiconductor for production of the A5 chip is because of Samsung's inability to keep up with Apple's supply demands.

This rumor follows many regarding Apple's iPhone lineup, including a larger, 4-inch screen and an iPhone Nano.

The DigiTimes report also speculates that the iPad 2 will retain use of the current A4 chip, though it will be an enhanced version of it. The iPhone 5 will be the first to sport the new A5 chip.

iPhone 5 Has 3 Prototypes, Details Revealed

The speculation on Apple gear never stops, what with a mini iPhone 5, a mini Apple iPad 2, and now apparently Apple has three prototypes of the next generation iPhone each with a different feature if the rumours are to be believed. According to an article over on Toms Guide, Taiwanese website ApplePro is reporting that an source of the unnamed variety as usual, has handled all three iPhone 5 prototypes, one of which apparently sports a slide out QWERTY keyboard although no other info has been revealed.

Another of the rumoured iPhone 5 prototypes apparently closely resembles the current iPhone 4 but carrying an 8 megapixel camera and delivers improved battery life along with improved hardware, although just what improvements hasn't been stated.

Then there's yet another iPhone 5 prototype, which the article doesn't actually mentions anything about, not sure why, but they do go on about the Apple iPad 2 coming out to play with a camera and thinner profile, which we've already heard about.

Of course all this is complete rumour as we all know Apple plays things close when it comes to new gear and we basically won't know the true of the matter until such times Apple is good and ready to reveal.

Having said that, an iPhone 5 packing a slide out QWERTY doesn't sound too far fetched as I'm sure there are many out there that prefer a physical keyboard to a virtual one. Perhaps that slide out keyboard is actually a gaming pad to challenge the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play…who knows.

iPhone 5 Now Reportedly Hit by Delay As Well

Earlier today I reported that there may be a possible delay to the release of the Apple iPad 2, you can check out that article by hitting up (here), and now apparently there are rumours hitting the net waves that the iPhone 5 may be delayed as well.

According to an article over on iPhonefaq, reports are saying that due to component shortages and a last minute change in design, the next generation iPhone, commonly being referred to as the iPhone 5 have resulted in pushing back the device release until September.

Well I guess that kind of smarts for all you iOS faithful out there that have been banking on picking up the iPhone 5 in June/July.

Not too sure where iPhonefaq got its news from as they don't list a source, however according to an article over on Time, according to Business Insider, FBR Capital Markets analyst Craig Berger said in a note…

"For the iPhone 5, we continue to hear that a July launch is unlikely, with various casing suppliers and touch suppliers still ramping up, with some chip vendors not having yet received firm iPhone 5 orders, and with other sockets like the image sensor (most likely going to Omnivision exclusively, but with some potential for Sony to split that socket) still in flux. Given these factors, we think a September launch is more likely, off from Apple's traditional iPhone launch schedule, but giving the firm more time to enhance its next-generation instant communications on the phone."

So there is, if true the iPhone faithful can expect a long wait for the next generation smartphone to fall into their waiting hands, annoying isn't it?

The White iPhone 4 is Vulnerable to the LimeRa1n ExploitThe White iPhone 4 is Vulnerable to the LimeRa1n Exploit

Good news, since I know nearly all of you will be lining up in the morning to lay claim to a white iPhone 4. I kid, I kid.

Nevertheless, there's a bit of good news coming out of the Twitter-sphere this afternoon, and it's regarding the vulnerability of the white iPhone 4.

The question people have been wondering is this: Will the iPhone 4 be vulnerable to a jailbreak out of the box tomorrow? Renowned iPhone hacker @chronic gives the answer inside…

The apparent answer to that question, according to the fine bunch of hackers on Twitter, is yes; you should be able to jailbreak your white iPhone 4 as soon as you bring it home from the store tomorrow.

This is highly indicative that the white iPhone 4 will come preloaded with iOS 4.3.2, a firmware version that has already been successfully jailbroken.

Even better is the fact that the current iOS 4.3.2 jailbreaks are untethered jailbreaks, so you get the real business from day one. As always, you can find our full list of jailbreak tutorials here.

Nice, huh? So who's lining up with me in the morning?

iPhone 5 Fake Keynote Rehearsal by Steve Jobs

If all the speculation about the iPhone 5 isn't enough for you, there is now apparently a video floating the net waves of iPhone guru Steve Jobs rehearsing the iPhone 5 intro keynote, although one does have to say it's obvious that it is a fake. According to Cult of Mac, apparently the Steve Jobs in the video sounds a lot like George W. Bush, and according to TUAW, by way of Macrumors, the fake video says that the iPhone 5 will have "digital scent technology" and a battery that doesn't require charging.

The video can be found on Chinese site Tudou and lasts 46 seconds and even has the Steve Jobs impersonator stopping mid keynote to change his shoes and says they are as light as an iPhone5.

Have to say it is a considerable poor attempt at faking an Apple keynote, but the big question here is why would anyone want to create such an obvious fake? Smell-o-vision and a lifetime battery sounds good though, lol.