Here Comes The iPhone 5

ntro

The latest buzz around technology nerds right about now? The iPhone 5, which is supposed to launch in early 2012, is the newest member of the Steve Job’s apple family. The rumor is that this Smartphone will run on both networks (Verizon and AT&T), and run at better trafficking speeds than the others. Here is a look at the rumored specs of the iPhone 5.


Hardware

First of the changes -- and most pronounced -- is the shifting of the Phone’s antenna notches (the little black bands that intersect the frame of the device). On the Verizon version, there are four slits which are symmetrical -- two on the top right and left, and two along the bottom. At one of Apple’s technology conferences in California, Apple's Tim Cook told the crowd that the move is all about making the new CDMA chipset play nice with the antenna design. As you know the iPhone 4’s antenna was badly placed causing it to repeatedly drop calls and aggravate its consumers. Apple has also slightly shifted the mute switch and volume buttons to accommodate the antenna changes, and there's no SIM slot.



Internals

You still have Apple's powerful A4 CPU chugging alongside 512MB of RAM, the incredible 960 x 640 IPS Retina Display. Ram is what makes your phone speed faster or slower depending on the amount you have. Basically the same as the Apple Iphone 4. No major internal changes have been added.



Phone quality and calls

The troubles that AT&T has had with reception and dropped calls on the Iphone are legendary, and even if 100 percent of the issues do not lie with the carrier, there's most definitely a belief that the company's GSM network simply isn't equipped to handle the traffic devices like the iPhone have created. The new location of the antenna on the Iphone 5 makes call clarity and networking traffic much better. You should see a real improvement in the Iphone’s network and call clarity.



Data

Data rates on the Verizon iPhone 4 we tested were dramatically slower than those on its AT&T counterpart. How much slower? Well, even though network speeds fluctuate based on many factors, we didn't see the Verizon device peak much beyond 1.4 Mbps on downloads (and even that high was rare), and it barely hit 0.5 Mbps on upstream. Verizon speeds were more consistent, but the irrefutable fact is that AT&T's network is much, much faster, at least in our neck of the woods. This should still be true for the iPhone 5.



Software

Even though the Verizon iPhone is running iOS 4.2.6, there aren't many significant or noticeable changes save for one new addition: Personal Hotspot. It's a hotspot app that lives in your system preferences, allowing you to connect wirelessly to other devices (over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth) to the phone's 3G service.



Battery Life

“On a day of extremely heavy use (lots and lots of phone calls, browsing, email, Twitter, text messaging) we saw well over 24 hours on a single charge.” People jumping from the Iphone 4 should be extremely pleased with this number. The iPhone battery has always killed the Smartphone industry. Its modified lithium-polymer design makes its much more advanced from the iPhone 4.



Pricing

Everyone’s favorite category. How much dough are you willing to shell for the best Smartphone in America? AT&T's tiered plans mean you can pay much less if you don't use much mobile data. If you're willing to live with a 200MB data budget, you can drop down to a $15 a month data plan, which puts you at $74 a month or $888 yearly, and if you further drop texting from that you're down to just $55 per month or $660 yearly.Verizon's unlimited data plans will eventually go away in favor of tiered plans, so if you're looking to get in, you'd better act fast. Compared to AT&T, that's actually a good deal, since AT&T caps its data plans. AT&T offers 2GB of data for $25 a month and the same optional additional $20 surcharge for tethering, and the cheapest combination of voice and unlimited texting plans also offers 450 minutes for $59 a month, so in the end you're spending the same $90 a month or $1,080 yearly for less data, and the same $70 a month or $840 yearly if you drop the texting plan. That means you're looking at $29.99 a month for unlimited data, with an optional additional $20 a month charge for 2GB of tethering data. You'll also need a Nationwide voice plan, of course -- the cheapest with unlimited texting is the $59 plan that offers 450 minutes a month, so you're looking at a minimum of $90 a month (or $1,080 yearly) to keep your Verizon iPhone 4 happy and completely functional. (If you drop the texting it's $70 a month, or $840.)


Jeremy’s Wrap Up

While the Iphone 4 isn't all rainbows and flowers (the data speed issues or the voice / data considerations could be a deal breaker for some), the Iphone 5 will tweak the major problems of the Iphone 4 and it does kind of feel like Apple and Verizon did the impossible: they made the best Smartphone in America just a little bit better