China pips Apple on iPhone 5 launch

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Apple Inc's next-generation iPhone has not even been released yet, but opportunistic sellers on China's largest e-commerce platform, Taobao, are already accepting pre-orders, complete with mock-up pictures and purported technical specifications.

The hotly anticipated iPhone 5 is widely expected to be released sometime between August and October this year, although Apple itself has been tight-lipped about it. Sources have said the iPhone 5 would have a bigger screen than previous models, while Taiwanese media reported the phone's voice recognition software, Siri, would have more powerful functions.

Sellers on Taobao, a unit of Alibaba Group, are accepting orders for the iPhone 5, in some cases asking for a deposit of 1,000 yuan ($160) for the new phone. One seller, "Dahai99888", who started accepting pre-orders this week, is asking for full payment upfront, at a cool 6,999 yuan ($1,100).

Taobao sellers that Reuters spoke with said they planned to buy the iPhone 5 in Hong Kong or the United States and then bring it to mainland China. Apple products are often available in Hong Kong before they are released on the mainland.

The sellers could not promise a specific delivery time. The pre-order activity comes despite the mystery around the iPhone 5 and highlights the intense demand for new Apple products in China.

Apple has not confirmed the specifications, details or price of the latest iPhone but the Internet rumor mill has been in overdrive, churning out photo renderings and pictures of purported iPhone 5 engineering samples, and speculating endlessly on its technical specifications and functions.

Apple did not respond to requests for comment. "Demand is high, yesterday someone just bought two phones. Altogether we have about two dozen orders," said one seller on Taobao who went by the nickname Xiaoyu.

Demand for Apple products in China is so high that many consumers buy smuggled goods in order get them before the official China release. Earlier this year scalpers queued overnight outside a Beijing store for the latest version of the iPhone 4, only to pelt it with eggs after Apple decided against selling the phone at the store because of security concerns.

"It's not so easy to bring the phones from overseas, there's a limit to how many you can carry in ... If we could bring in a few thousand that will be great!," said Xiaoyu.

One enterprising seller posted a list of 17 possible new iPhone 5 features and gave a percentage probability that they would be included in the new device. For example, bio-metric capability has a 20 percent chance of being a feature on the iPhone 5, according to this seller.

Apple, which recently settled an iPad trademark lawsuit with a Shenzhen technology firm, said on Tuesday it would release its latest iPad in China on July 20.

Apple has five stores in mainland China and plans to open flagship stores in the major Chinese cities of Chengdu and Shenzhen, according to government officials.

This article comes from:http://news.yahoo.com/china-pips-apple-iphone-5-launch-071605454--finance.html;_ylt=A2KJjbxpmP5PIBgAxSDQtDMD

Enterprise Mobility: iPhone at 5: How Apple Changed the Smartphone, Business Mobility

Apple began selling the iPhone five years ago June 29, calling it "revolutionary" and "magical" and a "reinvention of the phone." The iPhone wasn't the first smartphone or the first phone to offer users access to their email or the Internet, but given the way people reacted to it and the tremendous changes the iPhone created—to the mobile industry, to people's lives, to the way business is done—it might as well have been.
 
The iPhone introduced the touch-based user interface, which, like the mouse, changed the way we interact with our devices. It made it more intuitive, simpler and more fun. The iPhone became immediately enmeshed in people's lives and so also their workplaces, making enterprise policy makers terrified for the security of their data—countless articles described tactics for keeping such rogue devices from infiltrating BlackBerry territory. A few security fixes and tweaks on Apple's end, and today the iPhone is so invaluable a tool that IT departments have likewise adjusted and tweaked, designing bring-your-own-device policies that take advantage of users' easy relationship with these robust, application-rich mobile machines.

 By the time the iPad was introduced, enterprises needed no convincing of their business worth. "iPhone ushers in an era of software power and sophistication never before seen in a mobile device, which completely redefines what users can do on their mobile phones," Apple announced in 2007. If in a few weeks' time, after introducing the iPhone 5, Apple says the same thing, who will be surprised?

This article comes from: http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and-Wireless/iPhone-at-5-How-Apple-Changed-the-Smartphone-Business-Mobility-346239/

TAKE A BYTE OUT OF THIS: The iPhone 5 is coming to a store near you. Maybe

A video has surfaced on YouTube purporting to show off components for the iPhone 5.

The video, which was posted by ETrade Supply, showed off the back casing and antenna for what could be Apple's next smartphone.

The casing looks similar to the iPhone 4 and 4S except it has a strip across the back which could be some kind of metal or matt plastic.

The video shows the new casing is slightly longer than the iPhone 4S and could confirm rumours the end product will be four inches (10.16cm) long.

But don't feel discombobulated just yet. It's very possible the item is a fake. Or at least a mock-up prototype that's up for consideration.

“It’s entirely possible that what someone captures might indeed come from Apple or a supplier," Gartner analyst, Charles Golvin told Wired.

"But it might also just be a branch of design that’s going to be pruned rather than make it into an actual product. Apple does lots of different designs and mock-ups, most of which do not make it to the final product.”

So what do you think? Is the device real? Is this the beginning of Apple's viral web campaign for the iPhone 5?

THis article comes from: http://www.perthnow.com.au/lifestyle/technology/brace-yourselves-the-iphone-5-is-coming-maybe/story-fn5jm44e-1226388769992

Apple’s next iPhone to feature brand new design according to leak

       After the flurry of rumors that swept blogs and the media ahead of Apple’s iPhone 4S unveiling last year, reports have slowed significantly as the world awaits Apple’s sixth-generation iPhone launch. The pace is likely to pick up as production nears, however, and a leaked part said to be destined for inclusion in Apple’s next-generation iPhone again points to a redesign. Described as a “Earphone Jack/ Ear Speaker/ WIFI Cable For iPhone 5,” sw-box.com recently added a new iPhone component to its site that is unlike anything included in a previous-generation iPhone model. While the presence of reworked internal components increase the likelihood of a redesigned case for Apple’s next iPhone, nothing conclusive regarding the new model’s external design can be ascertained. Numerous reports have suggested that the next iPhone will feature a unibody aluminum case, 4G LTE compatibility and a larger display, though some suggest the sixth iPhone will retain the 3.5-inch panel used in the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4. BGR reported late last year that Apple will launch a completely redesigned iPhone with a new antenna system this fall.
   This article comes from :http://news.yahoo.com/apple-next-iphone-feature-brand-design-according-leak-140530937.html;_ylt=A2KJNTsAFbJPUiUAJ8TQtDMD