iPhone 5 myths abound: five concocted reasons to avoid next gen party

The iPhone 5 is no different than the previous four in that detractors will have no difficulty in coming up with reasons not to buy one, ranging from irrelevant to imaginary. "Don't buy the first iPhone," say said, "because it's not 3G." Nevermind that AT&T's 3G network barely existed in 2007. "Don't buy the iPhone," they said in 2007, "because there are no third party apps." Then they turned around in 2008, after third party apps had been launched in a big way, and said "Don't buy the iPhone 3G because third party apps aren't 'open' enough." Nevermind that what they really meant was that the iPhone wasn't enough of a geek-leaning tinker toy. Then came the iPhone 3GS. "Don't buy it either," they warned, "because it's just like the previous one." Nevermind that the hardware specs of the 3GS outshines that of the 3G in every category. So heading into the iPhone5, what will the geeks and other detractors come up with this time by way of trying to talk you out of the iPhone you want and into the Android-based geekphone they're desperate for you to buy instead? A look back at all the reasons they told you not to buy the iPhone 4 is a good start.

First it was the supposed iPhone 4 antenna issue, which turned out to have been completely fabricated on the part of geeks and never existed – but not before a good chunk of the population had been irrevocably convinced otherwise. Apple even had to hand out free iPhone 4 cases just to get the geekholes who created the controversy to shut up, knowing that they'd "won" and gotten a free case as a trophy. Then it was the fact that the iPhone 4 wasn't a 4G phone; nevermind that 4G AT&T's 4G network literally didn't exist back then and still basically doesn't to this day. Then they made up the imaginary "scratching" controversy, which unlike with the imaginary antenna controversy, relatively few fell for. And then later Apple released the Verizon iPhone 4, which the geeks attempted to create another phone antenna controversy around before finally settling on the mantra that it wasn't 4G (still largely irrelevant) and, humorously enough, that it wasn't the iPhone 5 4G. So now that the iPhone 5 is only a season away from arriving, here's what the geeks will point to this time as to why you shouldn't buy one. The validity of their reasoning doesn't matter; keep in mind that geeks get out of bed in the morning in the hopes of being able to convince the non-geek majority to buy geek-leaning products, and Apple's products are the least geeky on the planet. So here's a sampling of the anti-iPhone 5 nonsense they'll come up with, if they haven't already.

1) If the iPhone 5g doesn't have 4G, they'll label it as being outdated. If it does have 4G, they'll say it's the wrong kind; if it's 4G LTE a la Verizon and AT&T, they'll point out that the 4G offerings from Sprint and T-Mobile are more widespread. But if the iPhone 5 instead offers the kind of 4G which Sprint and T-Mobile are using, the geeks will say that it's not "real" 4G because it's slower. And if the iPhone 5 pulls a hat trick and offers every kind of 4G under the sun, the geeks will warn that it might be too much drain on battery life. No matter what Apple does regarding 4G, the anti-Apple geeks will be able to spin it into some kind of negative you should fear. And that's a trend that'll continue down the list.

2) If the iPhone 5 uses the same glass material for its body as the iPhone 4 did, the geeks will say that it's too fragile; nevermind that the iPhone 4 has been the most bulletproof iPhone design yet. And if the iPhone 5 moves to something else, the geeks will say that Apple should have stuck with the bulletproof glass.

3) If the iPhone 5 gets thinner, the geeks will claim that it's too thin and therefore perhaps too fragile.

4) If the iPhone 5 body style remains the same as the iPhone 4, the geeks will claim that it's last year's model, regardless of how improved the specs are (see the iPhone 3G / 3GS era).

5) If the iPhone 5 screen gets bigger, geeks will claim that its edge to edge design will be too difficult to use; if the iPhone 5 screen size remains the same as the iPhone 4, those same geeks will say that it's too small.

If you see a pattern here, you're not the only one. No matter what Apple does with the iPhone 5, those geeks whose entire sense of self worth comes from steering people away from Apple products and toward geekier products will find a way to spin it into a negative. They'll misrepresent the facts, misplace the relevance, and if it comes down to it, flat out make things up; they've done it all before with previous iPhone generations. Your job, then, is to tune these lunatics out and make your own decision. If you want an iPhone, get an iPhone. It's as simple as that, anti-iPhone geek wanking be damned. Here's more on the iPhone 5 news.

iPhone 5 curveballs range from T-Mobile to 4G to metal to actual curves

The iPhone 5 is all about the curveballs, from the undocumented release date to whatever tricks up it sleeve Apple has lined up for motivating current and potential iPhone users to plunk down on the new model. And they are potentially aplenty, from the 4G equation, to the T-Mobile question, to whether it might be made of bare metal, to the latest curveball: actual curves. Here's a look at what each of these curveballs would mean if real, and what the fallout would be in each case.

4G iPhone 5: The carriers all want this to happen. It's less clear how much the public wants it, as few understand what 4G is, and among those who do, most are aware that 4G LTE exists in very few places. But as of right now, 4G is the lone feature which competing smartphones can brag about having over the iPhone, at least on paper. Apple could seek to eliminate that potential gap by adding 4G to the iPhone 5 whether many folks will be able to take advantage of it or not.

T-Mobile iPhone 5: With AT&T already having the iPhone, and AT&T in the process of acquiring T-Mobile, it only makes sense that there will be a T-Mobile iPhone eventually. Whether that happens in time for the iPhone 5 release date is another story. But it would make for good television, so to speak, as many T-Mobile customers have made it clear they're not leaving their preferred carrier under any circumstances. So the only way Apple can get them on board is to bring the iPhone5 to them.

Metal iPhone 5: The original mostly-bare-metal iPhone, along with the bare-metal-backed iPad 1 and iPad 2, have only gone to show just how easily scratched and dented bare metal is. As it turns out, the glass used on the iPhone 4 is much stronger and more durable than any metal surface has ever employed – and that's going back to the comically scratchable mirrored chrome backing on various iPod models over the years. Unless Apple has come up with a new metal exterior which isn't absurdly fragile, this does not sound like good news. And whereas the iPhone 4 was the first iPhone which could be kept in perfect condition without a case (unless you're the overly clumsy type), a metal iPhone 5g would sound like the first iPhone in which you absolutely MUST keep it in a case. Fingers crossed that someone made this one up.

Curved iPhone 5 news : First there was talk of the iPhone 5 having rounded edges, which makes sense as the change was made to the iPad 2 review with positive results. Now there's talk that the iPhone 5 screen might also have curved edges. Huh? We'll have to wait til we see it to have an opinion, but the idea of a non-flat touchscreen surface would certainly be out there. Here's more on the iPhone 5 4g.

The Data Plan Dilemma Gets Uglier: Verizon To Drop Unlimited Plans Ahead of iPhone 5 Release

Data transfer is the lifeblood of smartphone usage — and the thing that sends mobile phone bills (and tempers) through the roof. New news of Verizon canceling its unlimited data plan ahead of the iPhone 5 release joins a recent report that AT&T is overcharging for data usage on the iPhone and iPad 2 review. When will the data gouging stop?

As the summer heats up, people might have more to stress about than the rising price of gasoline — a pair of news stories have surfaced this week concerning data plans on America's top mobile carries — AT&T and Verizon — and how iPhone users are systematically getting as gouged at the "data pump" as they are the gas pump.

The iPhone 5 News Blog posted an article earlier in the week about a class-action lawsuit filed against AT&T for purportedly overcharging all 20 million of their  iPhone and iPad users for "phantom" data transfers when the devices are not even in use, leading to bills that are anywhere from 7% to 300% higher than what they should be. Clearly, stories like this raise the level of concern on the part of prospective iPhone 5 customers, who fear that new features such as a cloud storage, NFC, and the 4G network (likely to debut in the iPhone 6), will only exacerbate data transfer usage. In our previous article, we postulated that the next shoe to drop on this developing story would focus on Verizon.

Well, the second shoe has dropped.

Tech media outlet ZDNET is reporting that, according to Verizon CEO Fran Shammo, their "unlimited data plans would be replaced by tiered service plans aimed at heavy users. Verizon's tiered data plans would likely mimic AT&T's own, which offer 250MB of data for $15 per month and 2GB for $25." This news comes ahead of the eventual release of the iPhone5 (or "iPhone 4s" as some have suggested it will be called), as well as several new Android phones that will have 4G LTE functionality. While consensus still remains that the next iPhone will now be a 4G smartphone, there are other possible features, such as cloud storage and NFC, which could lead to exponentially more data usage from iPhone users. It would seem that, in light of these possible new features, Verizon is positioning itself to gouge iPhone 5g users as they are potentially forced to swap data at much higher rates.

Data Plans: Moving In the Wrong Direction

Over the years, telecom-related plans have always moved from incremental billing to flat rate billing. Think about it: early Internet access on services like AOL were billed hourly, but eventually were forced to move to a flat rate billing model. The same has been true with long distance phone calls, with most land line voice plans replacing minute-by-minute billing with a flat rate.

Data plans, however, seem to be moving in the opposite direction.

With this news of Verizon abandoning unlimited data plans, smartphone users will be forced to scrutinize their own mobile Internet usage (particularly in our weak economy), much in the same way that mobile phone users have struggled to keep track of their "minutes" of phone usage. But as more and more mobile plans include either unlimited or high-level voice usage allowances, it is clear that carriers like Verizon and AT&T are looking for new ways to raise revenues, and hitting smartphone users up for data usage is clearly the new cash cow.

What the larger companies like Verizon and AT&T are failing to recognize is that they are giving price-leading mobile networks like Sprint the opportunity to undercut them on data plan pricing in the future. In the past, when Internet providers like AOL switched from hourly billing to flat rate pricing, it was a viable and necessary move, since more and more people were getting "online" every month; there were enough newcomers to the Internet experience to allow AOL to make more money with flat rate pricing, since it would attract more new customers.

But with an already established smartphone customer in place worldwide, carriers like Verizon would seemingly have more to lose by nixing their flat rate data plan, ostensibly losing that edge over their fiercest competitor, AT&T, and encouraging their own iPhone users to conserve and script on their data usage. And what if Sprint gets the iPhone 5? In spite of the fact that Sprint uses the slower CDMA technology, wouldn't the iPhone 5 paired with Sprint's Simply Everything plan look attractive compared to Verizon and AT&T nickel and diming iPhone 5 users on data?

Data plans are getting increasingly ugly for iPhone users, and it looks like the trend toward data gouging is only going to increase as the iPhone 5 looms closer.

Here's more on the iPhone 5 verizon

Dual sim iPhone 5?

Another new rumor being circulated now by iDealsChina, a Chinese smartphone parts reseller, is that the upcoming iPhone 5 will have two SIM card trays to support dual-SIM cards.

iDealsChina believes this feature will make it possible for owners of the iPhone5 to contain two service lines which could operate two sim numbers at the same time.

This freture would be great for travellers who could use a home sim for their home network and a global sim that will allow for roaming. Also, employees could use their iphone 5g for work on one sim and for business on another.

The rumor presented by iDealsChina seems a bit dubious, though, and 9to5 Mac has chimed in with their own theory, suggesting that the iPhone 5 will be a world phone sporting Qualcomm's Gobi chip, which will combine CDMA and GSM support into a singular design.

This means that the iPhone 5 could either be used on Verizon's CDMA network or AT&T's GSM network in the States, and could also roam to any country using either CDMA or GSM technologies. Whether the feature will allow dual or simultaneous services through different carriers is possible is uncertain, but if the iPhone 5 does allow simultaneous carrier services, you could theoretically have a Verizon and AT&T number all on one device.

Here's more on the iPhone 5 news

iPhone 5 release date delay related

Apple's mythical iPhone 5 delayed? Well, Apple might not care because iPhone shipments increased last quarter.

Looks like Apple has a valid reason to delay the launch of the iPhone5, or the next generation Apple smartphone that might feature specs improvements. According to iSuppli's Q1 report, the emerging smartphone giant increased its shipments of iPhones (phones like iPhone 4) in the first quarter of 2011 by 15%.

Other phone manufacturers like Research in Motion and HTC also recorded an increase of phone shipments, while Samsung and Motorola's phone shipments suffered a decline. Phone leader Nokia is also down by 15%. Samsung, Motorola and HTC are considered as top manufacturers of Android smartphones.

Samsung's decline is only 1.6 points, while Motorola suffered a big decline with 16% less shipments compared to its last Q4 2010 performance. Samsung and Motorola are expected to release LTE smartphones this year, the Samsung Droid Charge and the Motorola Droid Bionic. Both smartphones are shipping with Android, and will use Verizon's fast 4G/LTE frequency bands.

According to rumors, Apple will delay the launch of iPhone 5g, and will unveil a new version of its iOS operating system compatible with older iPhone versions like the iPhone 3G, 3GS and iPhone 4. No words yet about the official release date of iPhone 5, but most of the rumors are claiming that the Cupertino, California-based company will launch the iPhone 5 in USA in September of this year.

Note: When it comes to operating system market share, Google's mobile operating system Android is the biggest gainer, while RIM's BlackBerry and Nokia's Symbian are struggling.

iPhone 5 September Release 2011

Hot new data is now in via Piper Jaffray and Apple Company Data mentioning a few details about the new iOS 5 announcements and the iPhone 5 being announced in August with a September (2011) release.

Apple Insider has some great information covering Gene Munster with PiperJaffray on Friday reporting that the Apple iPhone 5 WILL go on sale in September. The exact days are as follows: At the WWDC (Worldwide Developers Conference) on June 6th the new iOS 5 will be announced, the iPhone 5 smartphone will be announced August 24th with it shipping September 13th.

According to Munster if we look at averages there is around 79 days between an iOS software event and the iPhone hardware announcement, plus around 99 days between the software event and the release/Shipping of the new Apple iPhone.

There is a lot to think about when it comes to the new iPhone 5 (4S), will it have a bigger screen? According to the source above it will have a 4-inch display even though this could come in 2012 but more than likely and fingers crossed could come in 2011.

Looking at the dates above is of course all speculation in our eyes, until we hear official announcements we will always have a balance of mixed feeling. Yesterday iPhone Rumors reported on the Foxconn explosion and fire leaving two dead and 16 injured, could this indeed stop production of iPad 2 review and iPhone's, if this is the case then the iPhone 5g will not be releasing in September.

Here's more on the iPhone 5 news.

iPhone 5G Case Design Shows Redesigned Camera Flash

GadgetsDNA points to a new Chinese case design found on Alibaba that claims to be for the "iPhone 5G".
1.100% brand new high quality crystal case for iphone 5g .
2. Provides a comfortable grip, added protection against accidental drops .
3. Perfectly fits the iPhone 5 g, easy to insert and remove .
What's unusual about the case is that it seems to depict a very thin-bezel design as well as a distinct camera design. (It should be noted that their iPhone 4 "crystal" designs also have little in the way of bezels") The camera flash appears to be on the opposite side of the case rather than adjacent to the camera itself.

While there's been talk of these more dramatic changes, the most recent reports have claimed that the next iPhone will actually only contain minor cosmetic differences over the iPhone 4.

It's possible we could see these design elements in the future if not the next release, as the iPod Touch camera was found in case designs a full release cycle ahead of the ultimate release.

Update: It should be noted that their iPhone 4 "crystal" cases also share the same thin edge, so the camera design alone may be main difference in the new iPhone case design. This would fit with the "minor cosmetic differences" described in the previous report.