Apple wants NFC, but not for the iPhone 5

The Internet is all abuzz with talks of near-field communication (NFC) chips in mobile phones and the newest and (and thinnest!) forms of payment.

Apple is particularly interested in NFC with rumors stating the company may equip the upcoming iPhone 5 with such capabilities. New reports show the interest is still there, but it’s unclear which phone will utilize the technology.

Forbes magazine reported Apple plans to bring NFC to iPhone 5, but a separate report last week claimed that Apple had indeed abandoned the plans citing "the lack of a clear standard."

Today, The New York Times reported Apple has a definite interest in NFC tech, although the iPhone 5 may not be NFC-enabled.



The author of the article, Nick Bilton, said Apple does indeed plan to integrate NFC but "it is unclear" which handset it will appear in.

"One person familiar with the new Apple feature said the phone's credit card information would be tied to information currently used on iTunes, which would make it simple for customers to set up the new mobile payment method on the iPhone," the report claimed.

Although the technology is highly anticipated in various tech circles, products like Google’s Nexus S have failed to garner mainstream excitement over the feature.

Of course, only time will tell if the feature is included in the iPhone 5 or not.

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Are these iPhone 5 engineering drawings?

The site iDealsChina is at it again, posting what it claims are CAD renderings of the next-generation iPhone, which many presume will be called the iPhone 5.
The site says the "mold engineering" drawings were created to help guide accessory manufacturers in the production of their protective cases. Some similar drawings leaked in advance of the iPad 2 launch and an iPad 2 mockup that was spotted at CES in January ended up looking very similar to the actual iPad 2, which went on sale today.

If the purported renderings are to be believed, the next iPhone will look very much like the current iPhone 4 but have a larger screen. Recently, iDealsChina posted an image of what it claimed was a screen digitizer for the iPhone 5. It, too, showed a larger screen with a "edge-to-edge" design. However, some sites claimed the image was a fake.

It's also worth mentioning that these supposed renderings fly in the face of a Taiwan's Economic Daily News report from a few days ago that suggested the next iPhone would have a milled aluminum body that more closely resembled the iPad 2's design. That report also claimed Apple would be changing its antenna design.

We have no idea if these renderings are from Apple (or just created in CAD by someone else) but we do think it would be a good idea for Apple to move to a slightly bigger screen without making the phone any bigger. Why not?


Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20042078-1.html#ixzz1GXomeLoy

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So far I'm passing on the iPhone 5

Now that the iPad 2 is coming, or at least is being announced later this week, the rumor mill has switched to the iPhone 5. So far there are a whole lot of upgrades packed into this thing, but nothing is really blowing me away as “revolutionary”. See a quick roundup below:

* It will cost less, but will not be an iPhone nano

* Four-inch display

* Upgraded multi-core A4 processor (A5?)

* Gobi WWAN chip that works on both CDMA and GSM (Verizon iPhone already has it)

* Near Field Communication (NFC) — following the Nexus S

* Newly designed antenna (no more death grip)

My guess is most likely we’ll see a “new look”, bumped up specs (A5 processor) and a 4-inch screen. When you put all of that together, it lags far behind what the iPhone 4 introduced. For starters, with the iPhone 4 the world suddenly experienced an iPhone with a retina display, front and rear facing cameras, 720p HD video recording, Facetime, and more. The iPhone 4 was a worthy upgrade, whereas the iPhone 5 seems more like some specs being bumped up.

Of course, the above is all speculation, and it will be a while before we get a true glimpse at what the iPhone 5 will be all about.

In the interim, I continue to hear friends raving about their Verizon iPhone 4, despite my comments on why you shouldn’t run out and get one. This makes me realize that even if the iPhone 5 is just a spec bump, the people that weren’t eligible to upgrade to the 4 will definitely be waiting in line for the 5. This will, of course, translate to a sell-out success for Apple this summer (if the rumors of the launch date hold true).

I’m hopeful that Apple will surprise all of us with not only a revolutionary experience with the next generation iPhone, but a redefined tablet experience in the form of the iPad 2.

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Two iPhone Rumors in One Story: iOS 4.3 and iPhone 5 with NFC

Apple's got their iPad 2 event confirmed for March 2nd and according to sources close to Apple, iOS 4.3's been given the Gold status. Which means that the same March 2nd event could be used to launch iOS 4.3. Its biggest function seems to be fixing the gap between GSM and CDMA iPhones.



iPhone 5 could have NFC
More importantly, Apple's submitted a patent application with a sketch of what can only be guessed as the iPhone 5. It's got an icon for an E-Wallet application. Which means that Apple's preparing to add NFC in the iPhone 5, which has been a trend for smartphones in general. Rumours had already been circulating about NFC in iPhone 5 and the patent application just strengthens them.

We'll find out more about iOS 4.3 in March (check back here) and NFC in the iPhone 5 most likely around June (again, check back here). Stay tuned.

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Summer: Verizon iPhone 5 and delayed iPad 2 facing same release date

The Verizon iPhone 5 showing up just as quickly the iPad 2? File this under things you didn’t see coming. The iPad 2 may not arrive until summertime, significantly after the February to April arrival window which most (including us) had predicted based on Apple’s heretofore predictable annual iProduct upgrade cycles. If these claims are true (and keep in min that, as always, some miscreant could just be making the whole thing up), then it means that the iPad 2 will not be a spring arrival but would instead encroach on what should be the launch window for the iPhone 5. Even with the Verizon iPhone 4 interlude this past month, most expect Apple to continue the annual iPhone generational turnover this summer in the form of an iPhone 5 for both AT&T and Verizon. But with Apple’s aversion these days when it comes to launching multiple major products on top of each other, a delayed iPad 2 could throw a wrench into the entire upgrade calendar.

It can’t be stressed enough that these claims coming out of Taiwan about the iPad 2 being delayed til summer are unverifiable. For all you know, it could be as simple as a rival factory trying to hurt the iPad 2′s prospects by spreading misinformation. And even the notion of the iPad 2 being “delayed” is a bit of a misnomer, as Apple has never set a release date for it and never even so much as spoken of such a product. But if the iPad 2 is indeed now a June product, it stands to reason that the iPhone 5 in that case wouldn’t be one. That lends some credence to the camp who believes that because Apple released a Verizon iPhone 4 in February, the company won’t have the gall to turn around and throw out the entire iPhone 4 lineup as soon as June in favor of a Verizon iPhone 5 and an AT&T iPhone 5. An iPad 2 June followed by an iPhone 5 in August would still give Apple time enough on the calendar to keep its traditional September iPod rollout window intact. In any case, if there is any truth to the iPad 2 being pushed back, the ramifications are significant for the entire iOS lineup in 2011 and not just the iPad. Here’s more on the iPhone 5. Here’s more on the iPad 2.

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Apple's Iphone 5 will have a 4-inch display, say industry sources

Apple's Iphone 5 will be bigger, if rumours coming out of Asia are to believed.

The that its Asian sources slaving away in the dark satanic mills of mainland China producing Steve Jobs' shiny toys will now have to heft around boxes of heavier Iphones.

The reason The INQUIRER somewhat doubts this claim is, beyond the terrible grammar, because Digitimes says, "Apple is interesting in expanding the screen size to 4-inches to support the tablet PC market."

We don't know what four is in Taiwanese but its pretty certain that a 4-inch device is not a tablet unless Jobs thinks he can destroy the demand for 5-inch and 7-inch devices by offering a powerful device that is just a tad smaller.

Having used 5-inch and 7-inch devices, this doesn't sound like a strategy for success to us. While 4-inches does give a much more comfortable viewing experience than the various 3 point something inches displays out there, 5-inch and especially 7-inch displays are simply that much more comfortable compared to 4-inch screens.

Having trashed that claim The INQUIRER would not want to be left out of the herd-like instinct behind most Apple related reporting, so we declare that Iphone 5 could easily be white.

Read more: http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2026468/apples-iphone-inch-display-industry-sources#ixzz1E3I5twH9

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iPhone 5 Features

There are a lot of rumours and predictions circulating the internet at the moment regarding the iPhone 5 features, design and specification so this article is here to summarise the most reliable iPhone 5grumours and predictions for you.

· iPhone 5to use ‘A8 Processor’

According to the latest rumours the new iPhone 5will feature a Qualcomm ‘A8 Processor’. Apple currently use a custom Apple A4 SoC in the iPad and iPhone4 with SGX535 graphics support. The new rumours are leading us to believe that the iPhone 5G will also have upgraded SGX543 graphics meaning a huge leap in video playback as it should be able to support 1080p video playback and possibly HDMI output, bringing a whole new level of quality to games and videos on the iPhone 5G

· IPhone 5 Camera improvements suggested by patents

The current iPhone 4 features a 5mp Camera with 720p video recording, however after new patents have been filed it seems certain that Apple will be significantly increasing the quality of the camera in the iPhone 5model. 2 of the new patents relate to reducing the amount of blur on photos and also improving skin tones which essentially means photos taken on the iPhone 5will be crisper and more natural. The third patent is to do with Chroma noise which is the noise we see when photos are taken in low light, this is going to be the biggest upgrade to the camera and will make photos look a lot better when taken in low light.

· IPhone 5 to support NFC

Near field communication was first trialled in 2008 by o2 and was a success, we now see the latest Android update including NFC so it would be in Apple’s best interests to include this in their next iPhone model. I think it really comes down to if Apple are happy with how developed the technology is before they implement it, they have already filed patents regarding to NFC in the iPhone so it really it just a matter of time

More iPhone 5 features to come so keep checking back!

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