Rumor: iPhone 5 could adopt iPod Touch style design
While many rumors of late have been suggesting a faster processor (the A5) and better camera (8 megapixel) for Apple‘s next iPhone, structural changes were not thought to be likely. This is my next, however, is saying quite the opposite.
The iPhone 5, thought to be preparing for a September release, is said by the unnamed sources to look “more like the iPod touch than the iPhone 4.” That means a thinner design than the current iPhone, and possibly even a teardrop shape akin to that of the MacBook Air.
As you can see from the mock-up image above (based on sketches provided by the sources to This is my next), the screen covers almost the entire front of the phone, expanding the display significantly to 3.7 inches. Another difference you might have noticed is the larger home button, which could mean it’ll be responsive to gestures.
Topolsky also mentions that “while the art we’ve seen shows some form of inductive or touch charging, our sources can’t confirm whether or not Apple’s working on its own version of cable-free juicing.”
Samsung Galaxy Player expected to debut at CES
It looks like Samsung will release the Galaxy Player, Android’s answer to the iPod touch.
Samsung plans to introduce an iPod touch rival at CES next week, Samsung Hub claims. Insiders are saying that the media player will be modeled after the Galaxy S smartphone, without the phone function of course, and run Android OS 2.2 Froyo. Like the later-generation iPod touch, the device will feature front- and rear-facing cameras and come in 8, 16, and 32 GB options.
Samsung is wise to manufacture a player that is almost identical to its Galaxy S phones. The iPod touch is an iPhone replica sans cellular connection which has easily bested competitors like the Zune. Samsung is taking a note out of Apple’s playbook and will use a similar formula.
Steve Jobs e-mail hints Apple TV will still ship next week
Steve Jobs in an e-mail this evening suggested that Apple TV delays won’t prevent the media hub from arriving before the end of September. A buyer worrying that the Apple TV would have to ship early next week to make the target was given a simple “yep” answer by the executive. It’s not certain that the Mac Rumors transcript is a confirmation, as a chance exists that Jobs was simply reinforcing the writer’s views.
The delays didn’t actually alter ship dates and may leave many early orderers on time, but it’s suspected the company is facing a supply shortage as new orders must face two to three weeks’ lead time. Apple uses the same basic A4 processor core in the Apple TV as in the iPad, iPhone 4 and iPod touch and may have to satisfy orders for its more established devices first. A refund of expedited shipping fees is also common as Apple is often concerned about getting as many orders through as possible before the end of the quarter and the holidays.
Why does Steve Jobs play fast and loose with iPod touch iPod touch numbers?
Apple (AAPL) may in fact be selling more hand-held game devices than Sony and Nintendo combined, as Steve Jobs claimed on Wednesday, but journalists trying to fact-check that statement can be forgiven their skepticism.
Part of the problem is that the statement, on the face of it, is absurd. As of January, Nintendo had sold 125 million DS systems. Sony (SNE), for its part, has sold more than 62 million PSPs. As of last week, according to Jobs, Apple has sold some 120 million iOS devices — a number that covers not just the iPod touch, but tens of millions of iPhones and iPads as well. There’s no way the iPod touch could be considered the world’s most popular portable game player.
For Jobs’ claim to be true he would have to be referring to recent sales. In the last quarter, according to Technologizer, Nintendo sold 3.15 million DS units and Sony 1.2 million PSP units, for a combined total of 4.35 million units.
How many iPod touches did Apple sell? That’s the other problem. Apple has never released an iPod touch sales figure. Ever. The best anyone outside the company can do is make educated guesses, extrapolating from the bits and drabs of data Apple releases from time to time.