The iPhone 5 News Blog

The Apple CEO has been spotted in China, and speculation is running wild on what it could mean for the iPhone 5 release date.

China still continues to be a major marketing focal point for Apple, and it would appear that Apple CEO Tim’s Cook’s appearance there this week would have something to do with paving the way for a big iPhone 5 release there this year. Quoting Apple Insider, IBTimes notes that “‘people familiar with the matter’ say that Cook is in China to discuss the sixth-generation iPhone, what many in the media have dubbed the “iPhone 5,” with the two largest cell phone carriers in the country — China Unicom and China Telecom.” While that may be true in part, I think that IBT’s other hunch is more likely the main focus: “Cook may be in China to work out a deal with China Mobile, the world’s largest mobile operator. China Mobile has 66 million subscribers, which would appear to be the most alluring of the carriers for any telephone manufacturer — especially one like Apple that hopes to grab a stronghold of the Chinese market in the near future.”

Frankly speaking, I don’t think that there is any doubt that Tim Cook is in China to finally seal the deal with China Mobile, as we have reported here on the blog in the past on what gaining them as a partner could do to Apple’s already successful iPhone sales.

China Mobile was even rumored to possibly be getting a 4G LTE version of the iPhone 5 last year, when the rest of the world would have had to settle for the regular 3G version, which we reported in an article from June 25th, 2011. In the end, that rumored turned out to be untrue — but the reason why a deal with China Mobile was most likely not reached in 2011 was for the fact that Apple was not planning for a 4G iPhone 5, but rather a 3G iPhone 4S. This time around, the iPhone 5 will most definitely be 4G LTE, which would put it in line with China Mobile’s market.

Steve Jobs himself actually did much of the legwork in crafting a deal with China Mobile, as we reported in an earlier article. That’s why I think that there is little question Tim Cook is in China this week about the release of the iPhone 5.

Considering that the vast majority of this blog’s readers do not live in China,it remains to be seen how interesting the topic of China Mobile is to the average iPhone enthusiast. But where we can draw some interest and context from this story is in how Cook’s visit to China may be yet another indication that the iPhone 5 could be nearing release in June.

Some online tech sites, like the International Business Times, are wondering out loud if this means that the iPhone 5 release is “on the brink.” I find that highly improbable — particularly if his visit involves signing a deal with China Mobile. China Mobile’s network uses a technology that is different from most universal standards, so Apple will have to do a little tweaking to get the iPhone 5 to work on their networks. At the same time, if we get any word that the China Mobile deal has been inked, I think it is yet another piece of evidence of a June release. Chances are, this deal has been in the works for some time now, and Cook’s visit might very well be the icing on the cake, which could be a great sign for all of us eagerly awaiting the iPhone 5.

By Michael Nace

Google, the world leader in online search, is reportedly set to tweak its search algorithm to be more like Bing and Apple’s Siri, with vast, new databases of information that can answer complex questions.

When you think search, you think “Google.” For well over a decade, they have been the undisputed leader in online search, dominating the search market, and even managing to effectively monetize search through their Google AdSense program. Competing search engines like Yahoo and Bing have only managed to hold on, garnering a nominal percentage of search traffic and market share. In essence, just as Xerox became ubiquitous with photocopying, so too has Google become synonymous with search.

A new report, however, indicates that the nature of search is changing — thanks in large part to smartphones — Bing and Siri are actually on the cutting edge of these new search trends, and Google is now trying to be more like them.

The Mail is reporting that new changes are coming to Google Search that will make it more like Bing and Siri, focusing more on answering users’ questions: “Google has quietly amassed information on 200 million of ‘entities’ – people, places, products – and the new version of search will feed users information about the ‘entity’ they are searching for. Instead of relying on Wikipedia, for instance, to provide facts and figures, Google will provide this information itself.”

This is a dramatic change for how Google currently answers questions in search: typically, a question is answered by providing a page from a website — such as from Wikipedia, eHow, or Ask, and not by drawing from raw data. According to the Mail, “Bing is the second most-popular search engine in the U.S. – and built do deliver answers to questions.”

However, what the Mail article fails to recognize is that this new trend in search has been driven primarily by smartphone users — and that it is Siri that is truly leading the way in “semantic search,” as it is called.

The iPhone 5 News Blog has long argued that Siri is a search engine — a new kind of search engine that is particularly well-optimized for mobile users who often use their smartphone to get answers and information to specific questions. Our theory was further supported by a report we covered on February 13th that the semantic search engine Wolfram Alpha was providing search results to 25% of all Siri search queries, and that Apple and Wolfram Alpha are moving closer together in business partnership.

It would appear that Google is now recognizing that they are behind on this new form of query-based search style brought on by mobile computing, and are working aggressively to match Bing and Siri in being able to deliver semantic search results. There is even a Siri-like Google/Android patent that we covered In an article I wrote on February 22nd, entitled “Patent Reveals Android Rival To Siri, Google Worried Siri Will Dominate Search.”

For as much as Google is often seen as an impenetrable brand when it comes to search, it appears that Apple is well-positioned to outflank them in the long run with Siri. This, combined with the ever-increasing success of the iPhone, shows Apple to be on a continued trajectory of success, with the prospect of eventually expanding their empire in the search market.

By Michael Nace

Read about how a 4G LTE iPhone 5 release this year is critical to Apple, AT&T and Sprint’s survival in the smartphone race. 

It is often perceived that Apple has no closer ally in the U.S. smartphone market than AT&T, considering that they have been partners in successfully peddling the iPhone into the most popular mobile device on the market today. Similarly, Sprint’s recent partnership with Apple that brought the iPhone 4S and 4 to its own roster of smartphones has been seen as a saving grace for the ever-struggling third-largest U.S. mobile carrier. Supporting these notions is the fact that both AT&T and Sprint have enjoyed record sales of the iPhone 4S in recent months, and AT&T’s longevity in remaining the product-leading iPhone provider (with their HSPA+ network dishing up the fastest iPhone connection speeds) serving as the flagship carrier for Apple’s beloved smartphone.

A revealing piece by The Daily Caller, however, suggests that the relationship between Apple and AT&T, as well as Sprint’s current financial health in the wake of gaining the iPhone, are both in question, and may only be answered once a 4G LTE iPhone 5 is released in 2012.

This new article claims that Apple and AT&T have strayed into a kind of “cold war” that has led the top mobile carrier in the U.S. to downplay the iPhone from a sales perspective, looking to the iPhone 5′s 4G future as a key step in repairing the relationship: “Apple’s inclusion of LTE connectivity in its newest iPad may be the biggest Apple news since the tech giant signed an exclusivity deal with AT&T back in 2007. And it might just be the ticket to stopping the company’s silent all-out war on Apple, which has intensified in recent months.”

The article goes on to reveal startling accounts of the iPhone 4S being deliberately downplayed by AT&T customer representatives across a wide range of retail stores, online, and over the phone. The Daily Caller characterizes the negative sales approach of AT&T reps for the iPhone as “iPhone hate,” citing multiple examples of how AT&T appears to be heavily favoring Android smartphones over the iPhone 4S, with 4G LTE being the x-factor in why the iPhone has fallen out of favor.

The article is relentless in showing example after example of a purposeful attempt to dissuade prospective customers from purchasing an iPhone. The cited examples are too numerous and detailed to even quote them in this post.

Why is this happening? For Apple enthusiasts, it may seem like something akin to blasphemy, or high treason. From a business perspective, it makes little sense at first glance, considering AT&T’s reliance on the popularity of the iPhone and its reputation as providing the best technology platform for running one in the U.S. After all, “the launch of the iPhone 4S led to a record number of zero-day activation on AT&T’s network. Despite a lukewarm critical reception and few cosmetic improvements over its predecessor, the 4S remains popular with consumers.” Since when did it become AT&T’s strategy to undermine the iPhone?

The answer appears to be purely financial, as answers typically are in the world of business. While huge sales numbers for both AT&T and Sprint make for excellent Wall Street fodder, digging into the net profits of those sales reveals a different, far less impressive reality. AT&T, for example, makes very little profit from the sale of a subsidized iPhone, thanks to the exclusivity deal they cut with Apple back in 2007: “Philip Cusik, an analyst at J.P. Morgan, estimated that AT&T pays a whopping subsidy of $375 for each iPhone 4S sold. Contrast that with the $150 to $250 he says the carrier pays for comparable Android phones like the Samsung Skyrocket II.” In this way, AT&T clearly has little motivation to make the iPhone its #1 sales focus. Why, after all, would you push the iPhone, when you make more money selling Samsungs? Sure, you do more bulk sales with the iPhone, but more sales also means higher operating costs. Once you pencil whip out all of those costs, AT&T is probably left with very little to show for.

Sprint has a similarly disturbing problem. It sold the ranch to get the iPhone 4S, and now as a result, it may buy the farm because of it. The article points out that Sprint “has borrowed almost as much as it’s currently worth in order to bring the popular handset to its customers. The move, which helped off set Sprint’s quarterly losses and provided a dramatic boost to its subscriber numbers, nonetheless risks bankrupting the company at the end of the day.”

One has to wonder: what was Apple thinking when it forged these top-heavy deals with AT&T and Sprint? Didn’t they sense that the deals could one day turn eager partners into begrudging vassals?

Daily Caller writer Gregg Re believes that AT&T’s current iPhone tactics may have something to do with trying to drive down the number of iPhone users of their already laden 3G network. While “in carrier-speak, the iPhone was AT&T’s secret weapon for reducing ”churn”: the percentage of customers who leave one carrier for another,” that may no longer be an issue, with the sheer volume of AT&T iPhone users becoming more of a drag on profits because of their weight in the 3G network.

This is where a 4G LTE iPhone 5 comes in.

The 4G LTE iPhone 5 — Savior of the Smartphone World

The Daily Caller piece swings on the recent lobbying by AT&T to get Apple to let them stick “4G” on the iPhone 4S — something we wrote about earlier in the week. Gregg Re notes that this move is AT&T’s way of trying to begin to change the perception of the iPhone as an outmoded 3G smartphone: “AT&T, for example, is so self-conscious about selling a premier smartphone that works on its outdated 3G network that it recently lobbied Apple to change the “3G” symbol that appears in the status bar of AT&T iPhones to read “4G.” Even though there’s no speed enhancement and no real difference between 3G and non-LTE 4G that AT&T now says runs on the iPhone, the carrier reportedly spent weeks on the phone with Apple, trying to get the company to agree to the switch.”

This is essentially where the Daily Caller piece ends — on the prospect of the 4G LTE iPhone 5 release. AT&T appears to be extremely excited with the 4G LTE side of the new iPad, and similarly, if the iPhone 5 turns out to be 4G LTE — which is almost certain — it will solve both of AT&T’s perceived problems with the current iPhone: hogging up their 3G network, and not being 4G LTE, which is what is considered to be “cool” in 2012 mobile computing. for as much as the iPhone 4S (and previous models) may currently be on the outs at AT&T, the iPhone 5 may very well reignite their love for Apple’s beloved smartphone.

Postscript: What about Sprint? A 4G LTE iPhone 5 will also be a major boon for Sprint, given their own deep investment into a 4G network, as well as some big promises on what to expect in 2012. Sprint will still have a low profit margin with the iPhone 5, but if they implement it well across their new 4G network, bulk sales could be just what the doctor ordered for them.

By Michael Nace

Apple’s decision to include an A5X processor with quad-core graphics in the New iPad is in line with a growing quad-core trend for mobile devices. But a leading analyst believes that the iPhone 5 is unlikely to use the same processor.

In the months leading up to the release of the New iPad, debate swung heavily back and forth between whether or not Apple would equip their third-generation tablet with a rumored dual-core A5X processor or quad-core A6 chip. In the end, the A5x turned out to support quad-core graphics, and well-suited for the robust software features and high-definition display on the New iPad.

But for as much as the new A5x would appear to be ushering in a new quad-core movement in Apple’s mobile gadget ranks, a leading analyst argues that the high performance of the A5X processor may not be well suited for the upcoming iPhone 5. According to Macworld, “The chips used in the first two iPads, the A4 and A5, both made their way into a new iPhone soon after. But the A5X, with its heavy focus on graphics, may not be ideal for smartphone use, and Apple may wait for a more power-efficient chip built with a new manufacturing process.”

This perspective comes by way of Linley Group founder Linley Gwennap, who states that the A5X is simply too power inefficient, and thus the iPhone 5′s smaller battery will not be a good match: “I think that this new chip is probably just for the iPad… it looks like they planned ahead for this.”

The Macworld article also goes on to cite “Dean McCarron, principal analyst at Mercury Research,” who “also sees the current A5X as an unlikely candidate for the next iPhone, which won’t require as much graphics processing power as an iPad. The current iPhone has a display density of 326 pixels per inch, greater than the latest iPad’s 264 pixels per inch, but the iPhone has only a 3.7-inch display.”

Gwennap and McCarron are both imagining that, while the A5X chip supports quad-core graphics, we could be due for a dual-core A6 later in the year, which would be used on the iPhone 5, since matching the New iPad’s graphics will not be a priority, while offering an iPhone 5 with sustained battery life will be.

Apple enthusiasts may be disturbed by the prospect of a quad-core A5X chip being followed up by a dual-core A6 chip for the iPhone 6, sensing yet another odd naming convention, similar to the disconcerting nature of Apple’s decision to brand the new iPad simply as the “New iPad.” But in point of fact, it is much easier to justify the A5X’s name as a possible new sub-series for all of Apple’s future quad-core graphics chips: now, whenever “X” appears on the chip name, it may be indicative of quad-core graphics, versus the dual-core design of the A4, A5, and soon-to-be A6 chips.

More tricky for Apple, however, could be leaving off quad-core processing technology on the iPhone 5 altogether in the year where quad-core is being deployed heavily across a wide range of competing devices. We’ve already reported on the NVIDIA Tegra 3 chip, which is set to find its way onto Android smartphones this year. Similar to the issue of 4G LTE, Apple may not from a marketing standpoint be able to ignore quad-core processing on the iPhone 5 if it is perceived by consumers as a necessity for top-tier smartphone designs.

By Michael Nace

It was widely assumed that the third-generation iPad would be called “iPad 3,” “iPad HD,” or some other name with a qualifier in it. But the nondescript “New iPad” moniker leaves Apple enthusiasts with questions about the future of Cupertino’s naming taxonomy for both the iPad and iPhone.

There is a certain comfort and familiarity to the naming conventions that Apple has used over the years for its iPod, iPhone, and iPad product lines — an innate understanding that an “iPhone 4S” denotes a “refresh,” whereas an “iPhone 5″would indicate an “overhaul.” In the case of prognosticating the name of the third-generation iPad, expected names were “iPad 3″ or “iPad HD,” with the former being the most accurate identifier, and the latter a reasonable alternative, boasting of the new Retina display. “iPad 4G” probably would have also sufficed.

But Apple threw us all for a loop, opting for the minimalist “New iPad” instead.

The “New iPad?” Which new iPad? Is this the “New iPad 2?” That would make it an “iPad 2S,” right? Or, given the fact that this is the third-generation iPad, is this a de facto “iPad 3?”

Moreover, will the “New iPad” still be the new iPad 8 months from now? How about 15 months from now, when the 2013 iPad is released? Will that be the “New New iPad?”

The tech community sometimes derides Appledom for stressing over these naming issues, citing it as more proof that consumers’ devotion to the Apple brand is more of a cult-like obsession rather than a healthy passion for cool electronics. But whether or not that is the case, it is Apple’s marketing department that has ginned up its own customers by establishing reasonable naming conventions for its devices — and then wantonly breaking them in disconcerting fashion.

With the “New iPad,” we don’t really know what we have here. Is this a refresh of the iPad 2, or an overhauled design? According to the preponderance of evidence from the mainstream tech media, the New iPad has not impressed enough to warrant calling it an overhaul. Thus, even though the New iPad is the third-generation iPad, will there be an “iPad 3″ next year?

According to Apple, we shouldn’t expect much explanation. From the Wall Street Journal: “The company didn’t provide a detailed explanation. Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of world-wide marketing, simply said that Apple broke from the convention ‘because we don’t want to be predictable.’”

This academic discussion may remind you of similar arguments regarding the iPhone 4S, which is in actuality the fifth-generation iPhone. Many analysts believe that Apple should technically name the 2012 iPhone “iPhone 6,” skipping over the long-awaited “iPhone 5″ moniker in order to bring the sixth-generation iPhone’s name in line with its iteration. Whether or not Apple will do that remains to be seen — there is no evidence either way as to whether or not Apple will call 2012′s iPhone the “iPhone 5″ or “iPhone 6.”

And for all we know, they may call it the “New iPhone.”

One thing is for sure, Apple’s new name for New iPad has once again made it impossible to know for sure what brand name they will stamp on their next device, making it increasingly difficult to divine what Cupertino is up to in their R&D department. Of course, that’s exactly what Apple hopes to do.

By Michael Nace

After a great deal of speculation, Apple CEO Tim Cook reveals the highly anticipated iPad 3, together with an impressive array of new features that are bound to make it a massive success in 2012.

Apple delivers, again.

At Apple’s new product launch today, Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed the new iPad 3 to a packed house of enthusiastic tech journalists and enthusiasts. While the tech community has pondered at length whether or not Apple and its ever-popular gadgets could continue to deliver on coolness and excitement in the wake of Steve Jobs’ death, the iPad 3 appears to be poised for yet another landmark success.

Leading off with staggering sales numbers from last year – Apple sold 315 million iOS devices through last year, and 62 million in Q4 alone — Cook steadily rolled out virtually everything that Apple enthusiasts were wishing for: an improved iOS 5.1, an upgraded Apple TV, and of course the piece de résistance, the iPad 3.

Retina Display

The iPad delivered on the high-definition Retina display that has been rumored for almost a year, with the resolution being so crisp that Cook could not even properly demonstrate on the screen behind him.The new display comes in at the expected 2048 x 1536 resolution, which works out to 3.1 million pixels. “The most ever in a mobile device,” Cook reminds us, and 40 percent better color saturation.

The Retina display is going to greatly enhance the overall user experience, and become the driving force behind SketchBook Ink from Autodesk, which is an incredible, new drawing app that focuses on line art, and leverages the new display to bring an impressive level of artistry to the new iPad. This new app promises to give users a new digital medium for creating art and graphics, and can export images greater than 100 megapixels.

The Cupertino crew are also boasting of how the new iPad will really ratchet up the gaming experience, claiming that it eclipses the memory and screen resolution experience that you get with even the Xbox 360 or the PS3.

New Processor — and all the bells and whistles that come with it

The new iPad also comes with the rumored A5X processor, which at times was assumed to be a refreshed, dual-core version of the A5. However, the A5X will deliver quad-core graphics and power a 5-megapixel backside illuminated sensor, 5-element autofocus lens, IR filter, and ISP. Plus, 1080p video recording, which will make the new iPad a pretty serious video device. Another nifty feature will be a voice dictation app, which will support multiple languages and allow users hands-free composition.

But what’s really impressive is that all of this new processing power will still serve up 10 hours of battery life, a not-so-sexy but appreciated feature, especially considering the battery issues on the iPhone 4S.

4G LTE

But perhaps the most anticipated feature was 4G LTE. The new iPad now features 21Mbps HSPA+ and DC-HSDPA at 42Mbps, and 4G LTE at a resounding 73Mbps. It becomes the first Apple device to be officially 4G LTE. The use of LTE will make it much easier for users to send all of the new high-performance photos and video quicker. The fact that both AT&T and Verizon will feature the 4G LTE service will make this new feature widely available. And because the new iPad will work as a hotspot, it will be able to power other devices as well.

New, Improved Software

Already popular Apple software is all getting upgraded as well. Garageband will see an impressive upgrade, allowing musicians to share and work together on the same projects, Smart Strings, a Note editor, and the ability to push audio content through iCloud. This is particularly impressive, since raw audio files tend to be big and hard to transfer/move.

iMovie is also getting a sorely-needed update, and will include better clip editing and storyboarding, taking it to a more pro level. Also, the improved iMove will work seamlessly with the improved video quality, allowing users to shoot, edit, and produce really high-quality movies all on the new iPad.

Joining these two upgrades is iPhoto for iPad, something completely new from the iPhoto app that looks simply amazing. The new app allows an incredibly fluid, intuitive interface that lets users browse, compare, and edit personal photos with ease, and even let the iPhoto engine find comparable photos in your library. It even features a kind of “smart bezel” built into the software portion of the frame. It also facilitates social sharing of all photos.

The whole new iLife package will run $4.99, starting today.

Same Price Tag!

“When we set out to create the iPad, we set out to create not just a new product but a new category,” said Cook. “In order to do that, the iPad had to be the best device for doing some of the things that you do most often.” The new iPad certainly appears to be delivering on that promise, with the best part being that it will feature the same prices as current iPad, with pre-orders starting today, and available in stores on March 16th.

Apple TV Upgrade

The upgraded Apple TV appears to be delivering new features and services as per some of Tim Cook’s recent candid comments about where he saw Apple’s investment into television was headed. The improved Apple TV essentially looks the same as the original, but offers some major upgrades: 1080p, a new user interface will now feature big billboard-like images for thumbnails, TV shows will be added the day after they air, full integration with movies stores in iCloud, and there’s iTunes Match support, recommending movies for you based on what you’ve already watched. Most impressively, it will retain its $99 price tag and be available for pre-order today, with a delivery date in a few weeks.

iOS 5.1

The long-awaited iOS 5.1 iteration will also be warmly received, which has been heavily speculated on for the past few months, with hopes that it would deliver improved battery function on the iPhone 4S, as well as several new, innovative features for the mobile operating system. iOS 5.1 will include new multi-language Siri support, with Japanese being a big focus of the new rollout.

The release of the iPad 3 will also impact and fuel further speculation about the highly anticipated iPhone 5, which is expected to be released sometime between June and October this year. Analysts believe that the appearance of 4G LTE, a new A5X processor, and new software features could all be harbingers of a completely overhauled iPhone 5 design that will once again launch Apple’s flagship smartphone into a new strata of success.

but for now, the iPad 3 will reign supreme as Apple enthusiasts’ newest obsession.

By Michael Nace

We head into Apple’s big product announcement today with wild rumors swirling about what is to be announced. Here’s a recap of all that’s been rumored thus far.

As usual, the Apple rumor mill has ratcheted up expectations for today’s Apple product release event, to the point that, should all of the rumors prove true, we’ll end up with a host of groundbreaking, new Apple gadgets. That is highly unlikely to happen, however, as Apple has proved over the years that they seldom drop more than one really big, groundbreaking product at a time. In the end, this time of the year is iPad season, and the most likely and reasonable expectation should be “just” a “plain old” iPad announcement. What that new iPad is going to look like — and be named — still remains to be seen.

In anticipation of the big event, which is scheduled to begin at 10:00 am PST, I thought it would be worth recapping all of the rumors attributed to this day, just  to keep them in mind and weigh their likelihood.

First up is the new iPad’s name. The tech media has ascribed the working title of “iPad 3″ to what’s due out today, simply because it’s an easy to use moniker, and thus far we already have the original iPad and iPad 2 to go by in terms of taxonomy. But really, it seems as if we never have quite enough information from previous Apple gadget iterations to completely lock in a naming scheme for new models, and as a result, the “iPad 3″ name has lately switched to a belief that it will in fact be named “iPad HD,” based on the rumored upgrade in the display.

If we go by this logic, Apple would also be capable of naming the thing “iPad 4G” or “iPad LTE,” based on the belief that it will be Apple’s first 4G LTE mobile device. But it is worth mentioning that the rumor mill actually posited the name “iPhone 4S” some six months before its release, and actually got it right. Maybe the rumor mill will get “iPad HD” correct as well?

Second, we have to mention the dual iPad release rumors. There are two of these to mention: the smaller, 7- or 8-inch “Mini” iPad, which has more recently been revised to suggest Apple will release it in the third quarter of 2012 (what, at the same time that the rumor mill says the iPhone 5 will launch? C’mon!); and very recently, a “slimmed-down” cheaper 8GB iPad 2 to take on the Kindle. This rumor has actually gone mainstream, with the Daily Mail doing a big spread about it today.

I guess anything’s possible, but isn’t this iPad 3/el cheap-o iPad 2 dual release rumor basically the same thing as the iPhone 4S/5 rumor from 2011? I’ve argued that Apple would be undercutting itself with a move like this, and considering that polls show that even a super majority of Kindle users are ready to shell out bigger bucks for the iPad 3, it’s hard to imagine that Apple would complicate consumers’ minds by doing this.

Third up is iOS 5.1. Certainly not as “sexy” of a story as the iPad 3, rumors and speculation about iOS 5.1 has actually garnered tons of attention over the past few months, based in part of interesting rumors of new features, and also on iPhone 4S users’ yearning for improved battery life for their notoriously lethargic smartphone. The prevailing belief is that iOS 5.1 could be announced today, and that the new iPad will be shipping with it. It will be interesting to see how high-profile Apple chooses to make iOS 5.1 in its presentation.

Finally, it’s worth mentioning iTV and Apple TV. Both have been talked about as of late, with Tim Cook recently speaking candidly about Apple’s sincere interest in penetrating the television market. He believes that it is an untapped market, and that Apple is well positioned to lead the way. Many have interpreted this to mean that iTV could be imminent.

There have been no production or component rumors about iTV coming out of Asia, and as mentioned before, Apple typically does not overlap big product launches, for fear that they could eclipse one another. However, an upgraded Apple TV would be something that we could see today, which would be just unimportant enough to not cloud the iPad 3. Mac Rumors is predicting an updated Apple TV with 1080p video support, but that will remain just $99. This would explain why inventory for the current Apple TV would have been cleared out recently.

So, there you have it. This is all that is floating around just prior to the product launch today. Let’s see what shakes loose from Apple CEO Tim Cook.

By Michael Nace

Microsoft, for years known for frequently releasing new versions of Windows that would force users to upgrade in order to run hundreds of new applications and games incompatible with the old version, has now accused Apple of doing essentially the same thing with its new versions of iOS and the iPhone.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports on how “New Microsoft mobile head Terry Myerson says that Apple’s habit of releasing software updates for current iPhones is really just a way to sell more hardware,” quoting him as saying, “I think Apple — you’re right, you can download iOS 5 for iPhone 3G, and it won’t be usable, but it’s possible to install …. It’s a great hardware sales tool as far as I can tell. Install this OS which makes your hardware unusably slow, so then you feel compelled to go back to the store and buy a new piece of hardware.”

You’ve got to be kidding me.

Terry Myerson doesn’t have a Wikipedia page yet, so I cannot readily access the year he was born. But looking at his photo, something tells me that Microsoft’s new Mobile czar is old enough to remember the days of rapidly released Microsoft Windows iterations of their illustrious past. Each time Microsoft released a new one, it put the Windows user in a tough spot: there would a rush of new games and applications that would only run on, for example, Windows 3.1. So, you’d go and buy Windows 3.1. Back in the day, the Windows updates weren’t cheap.

Can I get a witness?

Microsoft used this nifty little revenue model for all the years in the 80s and 90s that they dominated the world of desktop computing.

Apple, on the other hand, has managed to extend the lifecycle on the iPhone 3GS well beyond its years. Let us now forget, oh smartphone users, that the iPhone 3GS was released on June 19th, 2009 — it is mere months away from its three-year anniversary. And while Mr. Myerson’s claim that iOS 5 does not run optimally on the 3GS is true, there are plenty of anecdotal reports claiming that 3GS users are satisfactorily happy with its performance, in spite of the limitations.

In Adam Mills’ feisty article entitled “Hey! Terry Myerson! iOS 5 Works Pretty Good on My iPhone 3GS” on Gotta Be Mobile, he testifies with vigor on the merits of the iPhone 3GS running iOS 5: “I am an iPhone 3GS owner. I passed on the iPhone 4. And after much debate, I passed on the iPhone 4S as well. I own a Galaxy Nexus which currently is my number two device. My number one smartphone is my iPhone 3GS. Guess why. Do it. Because iOS 5 runs absolutely phenomenally on it. I have access to all of the new features. My battery life is still as good as it ever was. And I have access to the same apps that other iPhone owners have access to. My hardware is not unusably slow. I am not compelled to go to a store to pick up new hardware.”

Amen!

There’s plenty of testimony just like Mr. Mills’ above-quoted statement to refute Myseron’s claims about Apple cynically building iOSs that mothball old iPhones. So, let’s read between the lines and tease out what’s going on here with Microsoft.

This is actually the second time in as many months that a Microsoft executive has taken a swipe at their competition. You’ll recall not that long ago that we reported on Meg Whitman’s comments that Google could soon make the Android operating system closed-source. It’s also worth noting that Terry Myerson took a shot at Android as well, stating, “Statistically speaking, no Android phones get upgraded, none, ever. They have big bugs, they don’t even get patched. That’s what we’re seeing statistically out there.” Well, he’s actually right about that, but still. It is a concerted effort on the part of Microsoft to try to carve out a bigger piece of the market share pie for Windows smartphones.

And in a bid to perhaps undo the wrongdoings of their past, Microsoft is promising that Windows 8 will actually jive well with apps from Windows 7. The San Francisco Chronicle concludes: “Myerson promised that most current Windows Phone apps would still work on the next version, with no further work necessary from developers. (He promised “binary compatibility,” meaning they won’t have to be recompiled, as opposed to “source compatibility”.) This points to some kind of emulator in Windows 8 that will allow compatibility with legacy apps. (Personally, I think that emulators, as a rule, suck.)

One thing is clear: Microsoft’s new PR strategy is come out swinging, and try to suppress the buzz surrounding the iPhone and wide-cast net of Android smartphones. But it will take more than just acting like pricks to get people to take notice of Windows smartphones over the iPhone or Android. They’ve got a long way to go.

By Michael Nace

The hawk-eyed tech media noted an offhand admission by Apple on their jobs web page that they work with Corning, confirming the use of Gorilla Glass on the iPhone. Read why I don’t think this is just a “slip” by the marketing team at Cupertino, and how the admission might mean more glass and less metal on the iPhone 5.

The only people more ultra-sensitive about what goes up on the Apple website than the tech media are the folks at Cupertino who are responsible for what goes up there in the first place. Knowing that so many people are watching for any clue, any slip-up that will tip them off to the next landmark Apple gadget, one has to assume that the content that makes it to apple.com was carefully thought through by the marketing and creative departments. I can tell you from my own personal experience of working in the marketing department of a Fortune 1000 company that every shred of copy that gets published on a website or used anywhere in marketing collateral needs to be signed off my a host of executives and directors.

Something like this jobs creation page at apple.com is particularly the kind of thing that the big wigs at Apple would be sensitive about, since it is obviously the company’s response to bad press it has received over the past few months about outsourcing manufacturing jobs to Asia, and the working conditions of those who assemble its popular products, such as the iPhone and iPad. This page smacks of an “executive order” — an attempt to reinforce the Apple brand as patriotic and pro-American.

That’s why I don’t think the admission that Apple works directly with Corning, makers of Gorilla Glass, was what some in the media are characterizing as a “slip up.”

iMore reminds us that the use of Gorilla Glass on the iPhone has “been one of the worst kept secrets in mobile technology, with Apple never admitting to using it and Corning would never admitting to Apple using it. (We’ve asked them every year at CES and gotten nothing but nervous smiles and subject changes in return.) Former Apple employees have mentioned it, but there’s been no official confirmation of it. Until now.” The apple.com jobs page makes reference to ‘Corning employees in Kentucky and New York who create the majority of the glass for iPhone.’”

To me, the interesting question here isn’t if the admission to working with Corning is a slip-up or not, but rather, what kind of clues, if any, does it give us about the iPhone 5?

It very well may be that the only reason why Apple finally decided to come forward about its relationship with Corning in a public way was to bolster its image as a company that employs and supports American workers, fearing that the recent bad publicity could put a dent in future iPhone 5 sales. Whatever Apple and Corning were gaining from not officially admitting to working with one another all these years obviously was not worth as much as the benefits of Apple being able to claim that it contributes to the Corning workforce in a big way.

But I think the admission also speaks to the future relationship of Apple and Corning as well.

If Apple was planning on shifting from a glass-backed iPhone 4/4S to a metal-backed iPhone 5 (alla aluminum or LiquidMetal), this would potentially mean that they would need much less material from Corning this year, thus downsizing their partnership with them and potentially contributing to lost jobs at Corning in 2012. If this was going to be the case, perhaps the executives who signed off on this new copy would have thought twice about boasting a partnership that was due to be downsized this year? Rather, to me, it gives us a clue about the future relationship with Apple and Corning: could it be that Apple will double down on the glass back for the iPhone 5?

Moreover, could it be possible that Apple is going to use Gorilla Glass on the back of the iPad 3? The good news is that we’ll know in just a few days.

By Michael Nace

AT&T has tried to match Sprint in the marketplace as a price leader in data plans. But a new report today reveals that the U.S. mobile giant is using limitations and data “throttling” once users reach a data usage threshold, possibly shuttling subscribers to Sprint once the 4G iPhone 5 is released.

Anyone who uses a smartphone has had to make themselves aware of the pricing games that mobile carriers play with users when it comes to data usage. Sprint, America’s third-largest mobile carrier, has made its unlimited data package the crown jewel of its price-leading marketing strategy, and arguably has remained competitive only because of it (even gaining the iPhone has yet to solve Sprint’s earning issues). AT&T and Verizon, both of whom compete as product leaders in the mobile market, have long since abandoned an attempt to compete against Sprint’s unlimited data plans. But for even AT&T’s customers who are grandfathered into AT&T’s old unlimited data plan, remaining unlimited will now come at a price in service quality.

A new report making the rounds today reveals that any attempt that AT&T is making to characterize their unlimited data plan as truly unlimited has officially lost its believability. The San Mateo Daily Journal explains that AT&T will “slow down service for its ‘unlimited data’ subscribers when they hit 3 gigabytes of usage within a billing cycle [and 5 gigabytes for 4G LTE]. Previously, the company had been throttling service when subscribers entered the heaviest 5 percent of data users for that month and that area.” To be sure, if you’re a non-unlimited data plan AT&T customer, this comes as good news, as the dreaded “throttling” will not be applied to your account. But for those who still enjoy unlimited pricing, throttling is coming.

If you’re not familiar with data throttling, you should be: it constitutes a dramatic slowdown in data transfer, making the mobile smartphone experience excruciatingly painful — especially for those accustomed with AT&T’s industry-leading speediness. And ironically, this throttling will tend to affect grandfathered-in unlimited data users who tend to use heavy-duty data, such as for watching movies. For them, the days of enjoying unlimited data and AT&T’s best speeds are over.

AT&T cites the reason for data throttling is to better manage their busy data traffic, which in turn will improve services across the board for all AT&T subscribers. But while this might be a winning strategy for AT&T, it could ironically push some of the most heavy-duty smartphone geeks over to Sprint once the iPhone 5 is released.

iPhone and other smartphone users who were able to remain on AT&T’s unlimited data plan with no restrictions on service quality have been happy to do so, giving them access to the best of both worlds: AT&T service quality and reasonable pricing. But if AT&T iPhone subscribers have to choose between price and performance, they very well may consider jumping over Sprint, since they too will ostensibly offer the iPhone on their own 4G LTE network.

Finally, Sprint could manage to garner all remaining subscribers in the marketplace whose primary object is to find a carrier who will give them steady service and an unlimited data plan. All Sprint will have to do is make sure that their 4G LTE network actually works. And with Sprint, that still remains in question.

By Michael Nace