Moved Camera Flash Another "Fix" For the iPhone 5, or a 3D Camera?

Thanks to a purported leak of an iPhone 5 case, new rumors of the iPhone5 featuring a repositioned camera flash could be the result of yet another flawed design on the iPhone 4. But could that other cut-out also be for a rumored 3D camera?

iPhone users eager for a sneak peak at the iPhone 5′s form factor have been abuzz3D in conjecture over a recently-discovered iPhone case being offered on the trade site alibaba.com that purports to be for the "iPhone 5G." While the iPhone inside the photo is most definitely a mock-up, the case itself is possibly believed to be the product of a design leak from one of Apple's China-based component manufacturers, giving the tech community a kind of "outline" of what the form factor of the iPhone 5 may end up being.

While many have focused on the sloped shoulders of the purported iPhone 5 case's chassis and seemingly-edge-to-edge screen, new reports are taking notice of a considerable shift in the position of the rear-facing flash. As opposed to the positioning of the iPhone 4′s LED flash — which sits just to the side of the camera sensor — the mysterious iPhone 5 case features a cutout on the other side of the rear face of the design.

If this indeed is an inside peak at what the iPhone 5 features, what would a repositioned camera flash mean? Given some of the issues with the camera flash on the iPhone 4, would this not constitute yet another "fix" on the iPhone 5?

Or, could that circular cutout be for something revolutionary for the iPhone 5, such as a 3D camera?

iPhone 4 Camera Flash Issues: a History

Camera flash issues are nothing new for the iPhone 4. Early on in the release of the iPhone 4 in the Summer of 2010, there were numerous reports of the iPhone 4 taking yellowed photos. Heather Kelly at Macworld did a thorough investigation of the issue way back in July of 2010, most of which was inconclusive, stating: "Hopefully, this isn't a hardware issue involving the camera's lens, and Apple can fix the problem with an update to the iPhone 4′s firmware."

It still remains to be seen what the culprit of the camera flash issues on some iPhone 4s are: while some believed that it was a software issue, others suggested it was a design flaw in the LED flash, or even an effect of shoddy, poorly-designed iPhone 4 cases.

More recently, Apple purportedly had to deal with similar problems with the white iPhone 4′s chassis. Cult of Mac, which predicted the release of the white iPhone 4 perfectly, indicated in a report from October of 2010 that the white plastic was letting too much light into the case, affecting the clarity of photos: "The handset's semi-translucent glass case leaks light in, ruining pictures taken with the internal camera, especially when the built-in flash is used." It was this flaw that caused the delay in the release of the white iPhone 4.

While Apple only made nominal changes to the positioning of camera components to compensate for the white iPhone 4, the iPhone 5 could feature a dramatic repositioning of the camera flash, particularly if it is looking to invest in an 8-megapixel camera and upping the ante on the iPhone being consider a serious picture-taker.

Is that a repositioned camera flash, or another 3D camera sensor?

Of course, if this is the case, it will be yet another "fix" for an iPhone 4 flaw: first the antenna, now the camera flash. As we've commented before, Apple cannot sell fixes like these as "new features," and raise conjecture about the quality of the previous device.

Could Two Cutouts on the Purported iPhone 5 Case Be For a 3D Camera Array?

There is another more exciting possible feature that the two cutouts on the iPhone 5 case could suggest: t a 3D camera array. Rumors of a 3D camera have gained little traction over the past year, with most reports focusing on a relatively nondescript Apple patent, which outlines the schematics for taking 3D photos. Typically, patents such as there are years away from seeing mainstream introduction, but the purported iPhone 5 case design features several elements that conform to the schematics of the 3D camera patent.

Could that cutout be for a second camera sensor with integrated LED flash?

To achieve a 3D image, two offset photos would need to be taken to create a "stereo" image.

All accounts of the Apple 3D camera patent's schematic show the placement of three sensors, whereas the purported iPhone 5 case only accounts for two. But other elements of the patent explain that Apple's approach to achieving 3D would be accomplished not through software alone, but through hardware as well, as Neil Hughes at Apple Insider explains, noting that current 3D software "must 'guess' at how to perform stereo disparity compensation for 3D images. Those guesses, Apple said, can result in images with artifacts in a composed 3D image that would result in a poor quality photo. Apple's method would instead employ a hardware-based approach with a 'deterministic calculation for stereo disparity compensation.'"

The notion of a "stereo" image, together with an example photo from the patent, suggests that perhaps Apple has managed to capture 3D photo-taking technology with just two sensors.

there's no doubt that 3D technology is a hot commodity right now, and even though we've written about how Apple Should Put the Brakes on 3D Photo Technology for the iPhone 5, 3D photo capabilities would be a mind-blowing new feature that would define the iPhone 5 not as a simple refresh, but rather as a next-generation device. It could also make up for the lack of 4G capabilities.

Chances are, 3D technology is still a way's off for the iPhone, and a shady iPhone 5 case design isn't nearly enough to put a 3D camera into the "probable" column for iPhone 5 features. But if that case is real, it's time to start think out of the box for what else it could be.

Verizon iPhone 5 is key cog in 2011 Apple wheel whether 4G LTE or not

Even as Apple continues its march toward being an equal opportunity iPhone carrier provider heading into the iPhone 5 era, the iPhone 5 verizon is shaping up to be the key cog in Apple's 2011 iPhone wheel – and that's whether it ends up offering 4G LTE or not. Even as enthusiasts and insiders continue to focus on the issue of whether Apple's fifth generation iPhone will include the proverbial "fourth generation" of cellular networking, bigger concerns prevail. First and foremost is what impact the Verizon iPhone 5 will have on the Verizon customer base when it arrives. Earlier this year the Verizon iPhone 4 had a decent impact, but it arrived at a time when (too) many Verizon customers were well aware that it was an interstitial model, arriving the majority of the way through the iPhone 4 era, offering 2010 technology in a 2011 landscape, and therefore decided to skip it. The iPhone 5, in contrast, will arrive on AT&T and Verizon at the same time and will offer the same features (more or less) to both sides of the fence. And the Verizon side of that fence represents Apple's biggest iPhone growth opportunity yet.

Ahead of the iPhone5, Apple's smartphone dominates the AT&T platform. And even with AT&T's recent attempts to embrace the Android platform in response to losing iPhone exclusivity, that won't change. Outside of technology geeks, no one switches from iPhone to Android on the same carrier. So while all Apple can do on the AT&T side is maintain its dominance amongst AT&T smartphone users and work to convince non-smartphone users on AT&T to make the iPhone 5 apple the first-ever smartphone, the Verizon side is an all out battlefield. The Verizon Droid has had more than a year of warm-up time, and while it's getting buried by iPhone sales, Apple will still need to contend with the fact that so many Verizon customers have already settled onto the Android platform and must now be convinced to "switch" smartphone platforms from Android to iOS rather than simply make the iPhone their first smartphone.

But even with the greater challenge on the Verizon side, it represents Apple's best prospects for continued growth. The lack of an iPhone on Verizon from 2007 to 2010 created an imbalance in which tens of millions of Verizon customers considered the iPhone to be their first choice but weren't willing to move to AT&T to get one. Regardless of which competing phones those Verizon customers have been using in the mean time, the door is still open to convert them to the iPhone they wanted all along – even among those who turned their nose up at the Verizon iPhone 4 for being last year's soon-to-be-discontinued model. And while Apple and AT&T will continue to be deeply entrenched partners for years to come, that partnership went sour years ago. It's the budding partnership between Apple and Verizon which bears watching, whose developments will offer clues to the iPhone's future prospects. Yes, it'll be intriguing to see whether Verizon can indeed pressure Apple into including 4G LTE networking on the iPhone 5g or whether that'll have to wait until the iPhone 6. But in the mean time the real intrigue lies with how this all plays out in terms of the iPhone finally managing to gain the kind of real-world marketshare to match the theoretical popularity it's always had. It's time to watch the Verizon vacuum be filled. Here's more on the iPhone 5 news.

iPhone 5 Confirmed GSM / CDMA World Phone by Verizon CFO

We say confirmed but really it should be revealed that the new Apple iPhone 5 would be a world phone aka global phone according to Verizon CFO (Chief Financial Officer) named Fran Shammo.

According to PCmag there was an interview with Reuters and the Verizon CFO revealed that the next Apple smartphone iPhone 5 also known as the iPhone 4S would be a world phone aka global iPhone, another words it will be both CDMA and GSM.

This mean that AT&T and many other network companies will have this world phone model, this will give all customers the chance to make calls on both CDMA and GSM. PCmag does report that the AT&T version might have both even though it would only need GSM to be considered a global phone.

The Verizon iPhone 4 is only CDMA, which means it will only work on CDMA networks and not GSM networks such as Africa, parts of Asia and most of Europe. The AT&T iPhone 4 only works on GSM networks, so if the iPhone5 is release on both GSM and CDMA this gives customers more of an option.

Apparently the iPhone 5g will be released on both AT&T and Verizon at the same time, specs on the next-generation iPhone are not known yet but it will be released in September 2011. Can Apple really develop a new iPhone to run on both networks giving customers a world phone?

Here's more on the iPhone 5 news

Apple Slows Production of iPhone 4 In Anticipation of iPhone 5/4S

In what is now actually being deemed the 'iPhone 4S' (albeit to the disagreement of many tech analysts), Digitimes has reported that Apple has reduced their production of the iPhone 4 in anticipation of the iPhone 5 release this fall.Although Apple hasn't come out and outright said that they're not releasing the iPhone 5 this summer, the release of the white iPhone 4 earlier this month was more than enough to confirm that it won't be.

According to Digitimes, Apple is preparing for a Fall 2011 launch of the iPhone5 or "iPhone 4S" as they've put it and has lowered their expected shipment volumes for the iPhone 4 accordingly.

The report goes on to state that the "iPhone 4S" will feature the rumoured 8 megapixel camera that tech industry analysts have been buzzing about and also went on to confirm that it will also include an A5 dual-core processor that is also featured in the iPad 2 review (pretty powerful for a smartphone eh?).

The report also agreed with a handful of rumours that have been circulating recently about the re-locating of the LED flash and that the iPhone 5g/4S will not carry LTE (an unsubstantiated rumour that we didn't report on for just that reason).

The biggest news from this report is definitely the confirmation of the iPhone 5/4S and the growing likeliness of it having an 8MP camera, which is definitely a huge upgrade from the iPhone 4′s 5 megapixel camera. We're pretty excited about Apple's upgrading of the camera as it was an issue that was pretty unanimously targeted by Apple consumers, tech analysts and their competitors alike.

Catch up on previous iPhone 5 news here

iPhone 5 Arriving Several Months Later Than Usual

Reports are surfacing from one of Apple's suppliers of iPhone manufacturing equipment that expected orders are "several months later than usual" – which could be pointing to a September launch for the new iPhone handset.

Analysts have been predicting for months that Apple's fifth-generation iPhone handset would be set to launch in September, as opposed to the usual June-July timeframe. On Friday, Apple analyst Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray became the latest to offer this prediction and updated his financial forecasts for Apple's stock, traded as AAPL.

Munster reported that previously, there had been an average of 99 days between an Apple iOS announcement and the ship date of the newest iPhone. This compares to an average of 79 days between the iOS announcement and the previewing of the new iPhone handset and all of its features.

Operating under this assumption, if Apple does the expected and previews the new iOS software at its annual WorldWide Developers Conference (WWDC) which begins on June 6, the trend would point to an iPhone 5 preview date of August 24 and a ship date of September 13. This is, of course, if the relatively-unpredictable Apple sticks to the way it has done things previously.

Munster also sees a September launch as "normal" for new iPhone hardware, as sales of the iPhone do not generally have a serious impact until the September quarter anyway. Apple's iPhone 5G was released in July, placing it in the September quarter, and the 3GS and iPhone 4 were released at the end of June, with very relatively few sales occurring before the start of the September quarter – beginning July 1.

Many analysts, including Munster, are anticipating the launch to focus around minor hardware upgrades and major software improvements. iOS 5 is expected to lead the improvements for the iPhone5, with the hardware potentially receiving a slightly larger display that serves as a "window into the software," according to Munster, among other small changes.

Rumors have been circulating about a larger, 4-inch display coming in the next iPhone for months. Munster believes that the larger screen is "more likely a 2011 feature" than one that would appear in 2012. However, Munster sees support for newer "4G" network technology – such as LTE – won't arrive until the sixth-generation iPhone or beyond.

Piper Jaffray has targeted Apple to sell 16 million iPhone handsets in the quarter ending June 30 and 21 million in the quarter ending September 30. Munster confirmed that a later-than-June launch for the fifth-generation iPhone wouldn't place their sales predictions "at risk".

Finally, Munster offered that many different issues could have delayed the new iPhone, including supply issues caused by the Japan earthquake, the decision of whether or not to support LTE technology, and delays in fully completing software- driven innovations that Apple wants to include with the handset's launch.

Here's more on the iPhone 5 news

iPhone 5 feautures

In 2011, we have seen some of the most up-to-date breakthroughs when it comes to mobile computing technologies. A few of the best smartphones that was released this year with the newest software and hardware platforms include Motorolla Atrix, HTC Thunderbolt, Samsung Galaxy S2, amongst others. Now, there are rumors online about the expected launch of Apple's iPhone 5 which is the next generation of mobile. As a result, consumers are speculating about the possible iPhone 5 features.

Better Graphics and Dual Core Processor
Following the launch of iPad 2 and various other smartphones with quicker dual core processors, consumers are expecting that the A5 chip will be in the new iPhone. This A5 has a dual core ARM Cortex A9 MP Core processor as well as a dual core Power VR SGX543MP2 GPU. The A5 is listed by Apple to function at 1 GHz based on the technical specifications of ipad 2 review, though it could dynamically change its frequency in order to conserve battery life. According to Apple, this CPU will be two times as powerful, while the GPU will be nine times as powerful as the forerunner.
One more important component of this chip would be its efficiency of battery life. When iPad 2 was released to the market, it was announced that we can expect 10 hours of battery life with its improved performance and hardware. The exact same thing should be expected from the iPhone 5g.
Near-Field Communication
Most of the rumors are focused on whether or not iPhone5 will come with hardware for Near-Field Communication. Given that Google's Nexus S featured the NFC technology and there are also plans for Blackberry to use NFC, Apple might not be too far behind. This company will try to add NFC to the iPhone 5 device. Of course, Apple is well-known for providing the best features to iPhone devices.

Possible display for iPhone 5
At present the iPhone 4 features a retina display screen with a 960 x 640 pixel resolution. This is definitely the highest resolution when it comes to the smartphone options on the market. Based on the reports the latest iPhone will come with similar screen resolution. One more reason why Apple is not going to change the resolution is the fact that this might be a problem for development. Although the iPhone 4 supports the retina display, most of the applications' user interface is designed with the older models in mind. One of the advantages of having a retina display screen is that the images and text will be clearer and sharper.
These are just some of the possible iPhone5 features that Apple fans can expect when this next generation is released to the market.

Here's more on the iPhone 5 news

iPhone 5 or iPhone 4S Release Date Before Black Friday?

As days go by, the rumor-mills for the iPhone 4S nee iPhone 5 is becoming more prevalent. This time, several sources are confirming its production will start in August and its fastest launch time will arrive on September, whereas some pundits believe its release date could go as late as October or even November – before Black Friday 2011.

For those who are unaware, last week saw a revelation that the next-generation iPhone will be called as iPhone 4S, whereas the model "iPhone 5" will only be revealed next year.

According to DT, due to the large production unit for the iPhone 4, increased with the revelation of its CDMA version for Verizon; it would be lucrative for Apple to adjust its release date later than June.

Question is when?

In our previous report, we revealed that if all the upgrades for the next iPhone would only be about its A5 CPU and 8MP camera, without changing its display or entire façade like the previous model, it's believable that Apple can pull it for a quick release on September; which also means the next iPod Touch model would have its launch pushed on a later month – could be before Black Friday.

Then again, there's still some morsel of doubt that iPhone 4S may have a delayed release, and can be pushed before the holiday period, if some problems for its "manufacturing process" will occur again – just like on the White iPhone 4.

But the bottom factor is, the company wouldn't miss the fat holiday this year without revealing another hardware upgrade for the iPhone. That's too big to miss even for a company like Apple.