Tag: iphone 5

According to The Loop Apple has started sending out media invites for an upcoming event on September 12th. We highly believe this to be the day the iPhone 5 is finally revealed. The tagline of the invitation says “It’s almost here.”. Its pictured below:

The event will take place in the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco at 10:00 AM Pacific / 1:00 PM Eastern. If you look closely at the invitation you’ll notice a 5 in the shadow of 12 leading us to believe that the next iPhone will be called the iPhone 5 and not the iPhone 4GS, iPhone LTE or like the latest iPad the New iPhone. Along with the iPhone 5 Apple is also supposed to show a final build iOS 6.

What new features are you expecting to show up in the iPhone 5? Let us know in the comments below.

The iPhone 5 comes with a brand new camera but its not ‘that new’ as Apple explains: “Same as the iPhone 4S, but thinner.”

Its an 8-megapixels with a 3,264 x 2,448 backside-illuminated sensor, five-element lens, and f/2.4 aperture great for low light pictures. The camera is 25% thinner to match the iPhone 5′s 7.6mm thin body.

The camera is still branded the iSight camera which when coupled with the new A6 processor takes quick and highly detailed images.

New features of the camera include the new dynamic low light mode, “smart filter” which helps in color matching images, 40% faster shutter speed and the ability to capture still images in video. There’s also a brand new panorama mode which joins multiple smaller images into a huge 28 megapixel image.  Apple is also improving on the image sharing capabilities of the iPhone 5, images can now be shared with multiple persons who can later comment on them.

Video recording is still the same as the iPhone 4S offering 1080p 30fps capture with improved image stabilization. The front camera also got a small upgrade in the form of 720p video in Facetime.

Image Credit: The Verge

Apple may be all set to sell a record number of iPhone 5 but it doesn’t change the fact that the launch has been far from ideal. Initially right after release reports started coming in about iPhone 5 that were either too easy to scratch or were scratched out of the box. Then there was the camera issue and no one can forget the Apple Maps. Now if that wasn’t enough another issue has popped up. This quick scrolling issue is now reported confirmed.

What is this quick scrolling issue? Rapidly swipe back and forth diagonally. On an iPhone 4S the screen will scroll/respond accordingly. On the iPhone 5 however it will eventually stop registering touch input, or will intermittently drop touch inputs. This is easy to check in the Mail app.

While under normal use there won’t be a situation that will cause a user to scroll in this manner, but games like Fruit Ninja work entirely on this principal. It’s not known whether the quick scrolling issue is a software one or hardware. It is however present in iOS 6, 6.0.1 and 6.1 beta 1. Apple needs to respond to this as soon as possible and they better hope this is not a hardware issue.

It’s no secret that iPhone 5 launch has not exactly been ideal. It was after all successor to one of the best selling smartphones of all time. While the lack of innovation is debatable, the hardware related issues that followed suit are not. Camera, built, touchscreen, none are spared from issues of their own. And to top that Apple was suffering with severe manufacturing delays which resulted in long iPhone 5 shipping time for customers.

Recent reports are however a little more positive. Foxconn seems to have fixed whatever was causing delays on their ends. Retail stores now have ample stock of iPhone 5 with them. Even previously the iPhone 5 shipping time was 3-4 weeks if you ordered online from the Apple Store. That is now reduced to 2-3 weeks if you order now. It’s not perfect, but at least things are improving.

Improving iPhone 5 shipping time is the only way Apple can ensure customers get the desired product as soon as possible. 2-3 weeks is still a lot for a smartphone, but a marked improvement from before. Let’s supply improves further and the delivery time is reduced to 24 hours. That will take some doing though.

Apple announced the latest iPhone 5 a month ago. The reception was lukewarm despite a relatively new design and upgraded internals. As it is always the case, Apple priced the iPhone 5 at the same level the previous iPhones were at launch. $199 for 16GB version on contract and then going up depending on storage. However there are those who do not like to buy phones on contract. Those who want a factory unlocked iPhone 5.

Fortunately for them the US Apple online store is starting to show signs of a factory unlocked iPhone 5. Currently it’s still showing contract based version. However if you search for ‘iphone 5 factory unlocked’ the Apple Store results pane on the right will show the factory unlocked iPhone 5. The phone itself isn’t actually available on the website, it’s likely that these results are saved in the database and ready for public visibility when the factory unlocked iPhone 5 is available.

The units are priced at $649 for the 16GB version, $749 for the 32GB model, and $849 for the 64GB iteration which is the same as the iPhone 4S at launch. It’s expected that Apple will make the factory unlocked iPhone 5 available for purchase by the end of the year after the roll out in completed in all countries.