The iPhone rumors and speculation seem to go hand in hand. Even the iPhone itself was a rumor for years before it came into production. Now, If you sift through all the tech blogs like me every morning, you know that Apple is likely to announce an update to the iPhone this summer and there’s definitely no shortage on speculation. Will it have a front facing camera? Will they up the megapixels of the camera to compete with the 5MP Android handsets? As far as the software goes, will it support multitasking, will it have a universal inbox?
Perhaps the most consistent rumor is that Apple is working on a CDMA iPhone that would allow it to work on the U.S. powerhouses Sprint and Verizon, significantly increasing Apple’s market in the United States. But the response has always been “With Sprint just getting it’s 4G network going and Verizon launching it’s LTE network later this year, why wouldn’t Apple wait for those 2 technologies to mature before manufacturing a batch of CDMA phones that would have obsolete technology within the next 2 years.”
Both LTE and 4G are just fancy names for the next generation of cell phone networks. Think blazing fast download speeds, Verizon posted an average 5-12MBPS with bursts of up to 50MBPS download speeds in initial live LTE tests. I don’t care who you are, that’s lightning.
But none the less CDMA iPhone rumors seem to always regain life, this time it’s the Wall Street Journal throwing in their 2 cents:
Verizon also is upgrading its network to a higher-speed technology, so Apple has said it believed CDMA was a short-term technology. Apple later changed its mind as it realized Verizon’s upgrade would take longer than expected, said people familiar with the situation.
Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi estimates Verizon could help Apple nearly double the number of iPhone users in the U.S.
So if you popped over there and read the entire article, you kinda get the idea that this is more than just your run of the mill rumor. I for one would not complain, living in a region where neither T-Mobile nor AT&T get very good reception but Verizon blankets the area. Only time will tell what the boys over in Cupertino are cooking up.
I have to admit my fingers are crossed for a larger screen (my work phone is a Motorola Droid and the 4 inch screen makes my iPhone’s look tiny), 5 megapixel camera with flash ( 720p video? now I know I’m dreaming) and how about thinner with a faster processor and multitasking! Whew! Sadly Apple has proven time and time again that they add features and updates to products in small increments to lower the chance for hardware/software errors, so most of my list is not feasible.
But with Apple’s iPad pre sales exceeding expectations, rumors already flying about the next iPhone, and their stock at an all time high of $233 per share, I’d say old Steve-O knows what he’s doing.
What do you think?