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5 Rumors About the iPhone 5

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Riding the cusp of their victory over Samsung, a torrent of rumors has come out about Apple’s upcoming iPhone 5.  But like always, Apple is tight lipped about specific details.  So, in lieu of actual data, let’s speculate.  Here are five rumors about the iPhone 5 to mull over.  None of these things have been confirmed yet, and can’t be until an announcement is made September 12th.

  1. It will be taller.

Supposed leaked photos show that the iPhone 5 will be longer than its previous versions.  The dimensions appear closer to those of Samsung’s Galaxy III.  Interesting, since by the time the iPhone 5 comes out those may be off the US market.

     2.  It will have an NFC chip.

An NFC, or near field communication technology will allow iPhone 5’s to transfer data between each other through radio transmissions.  No need to use up your data plan to send your buddy that home movie you just shot (though that will probably take ages since NFC has about a 425 Kbit/sec transfer rate).

3.  LG will make the 4inch LCD screen

LG’s in-cell multitouch technology will remove the need for glass making the device lighter.

4.  It will support Verizon’s LTE.

Being LTE enabled will allow to Apple’s iPhone to reach millions of more people as Verizon has a larger consumer base than AT&T.

5.  10 Million Units will be sold in September.

Analyst Gene Munster predicts that Apple will move upwards of 28 million units.  At a probable starting price of around $499, that could mean $13,972,000,000 of revenue for Apple.

What the Apple Patent Infringement Case Means to You

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Apple, with its cadre of lawyers, has defeated Samsung’s cadre of lawyers in a massive patent infringement law suit.  What does that mean to you?

Well, the victory opens up a sales injunction avenue to Apple.  This means Apple with have the courts order Samsung to stop selling products that violate their patents.  The injunction will probably include all of Samsung’s smartphones: Galaxy S 4G, Galaxy S2 AT&T, Galaxy S2, Galaxy S2 T-Mobile, Galaxy S2 Epic 4G, Galaxy S Showcase, Droid Charge and Galaxy Prevail.  On the software front, many companies have already started to move away from the pinch-to-zoom feature and many other multitouch features, least they incur Apple’s wrath.

Although the lawsuit gives Apple a billion dollars in damages, they may not have achieved their ultimate goal of weakening the Android operating system.  Because Android is essentially open source, it greatly reduces the cost of working with it, drawing in developers.  If Apple keeps up the pressure, Google may be forced to close off and license its operating system.  That might stifle app creation.

All-in-all, your favorite smartphone might not be around next year.  What’s even more interesting is that the courts in Japan struck down Apple’s lawsuit. Samsung still has a chance to appeal.  It’ll all come down to if they can win.