Overview on New Apple Products: iPhone 5, iPod Touch and iPod Nano

iPhone 5

The iPhone 5 is real and nearly ready to ship and we got a bit of hands-on time with it today. The new phone is just a bit longer than the current iPhone 4S and far speedier. Maps and photos flew by and the various apps popped up in a few seconds.

It's not as earth-shatteringly different than the iPhone 4S, to be sure. While the real benchmarks and games aren't quite available yet, folks who haven't used the 4S will notice a bump.

The screen is the real draw here and I'm really interested to see how it improves the experience in real-world conditions. Obviously you're getting just a bit more real estate and the Lightning connector allows for far more room for battery and processor. Again, it's far too early to tell right now, but if you're looking for something in the sweet spot between monsters like the Samsung Galaxy S III and the arguably bordering-on-too-small (at this point) iPhone 4, this may be a good compromise.

Build quality is quite nice and the solid aluminum is quite unique and quite solid. Hopefully this will reduce some damage if it falls on a hard surface.

The iPhone 5 will be available in both black and white at the same price points as the previous generation: $199 for the 16GB model, $299 for the 32GB version and $399 for the 64GB variant.

We'll know far more about these phones when we get to really use them later this month but until then I can report that this is a solid and interesting improvement to a solid and interesting phone. Is it a blockbuster launch? Probably not, but it is an interstitial launch that allows Apple to update the screen size and dock connector while still hiding some tricks up its sleeve.

iPod Touch

Apple's long-neglected iPod Touch just got a considerable upgrade with a new design, improved camera, and 4-inch Retina display. Not unlike the iPhone 5, the new model also supports iOS 6 and has a 5-megapixel camera and A5 Dual-Core chip.

The Touch is a considerable improvement over the old model but takes more design cues from the original Touches and iPhone 3G instead of the new iPhone 5. The back panel is curved, not chamfered, but the bottom is almost identical to the iPhone 5.

Games and apps were far snappier (and better-looking) on this new model and at $299 it could be a go-to device for folks not looking to spend big bucks on an upgrade this iteration. While the iPhone 5 is, at best, a minor upgrade, the Touch has been given plenty of oomph and is now far more compelling as a general purpose information manager and media player.

The iPod Touch costs $299 for the 32GB version and $399 for the 64GB version. They will be available in October and up for pre-order on September 14.

iPod Nano

Meet the new Nano: It's definitely not the same as the old Nano. This upgraded model is more akin to the original Nano design with a longer screen and physical home button. The device is far smaller than you’d expect, and it’s mostly glass and aluminum with a bit of plastic to hold it together.

The UI is very similar to the old Nano's stripped-down iOS except that functionality appears in little icons arrayed on the screen. The standard functions are still there – music player, FM radio, sports apps – but this one also plays back video and photos.

The Nano is, to be clear, the runt of the iPod/iPhone litter. It's quite inexpensive, and the screen is far less interesting than anything else in the line. It's great for casual use, and parents may consider it now as a good option for kids. While I still like the previous Nano for its size, this upgrade adds a bit more of the media features we’ve come to expect from iPods.

The Nano will be available in October for $149. It has a 16GB capacity.

 

Read more information:

Apple iPhone 5 Official Unveiled with All-new Design, Bigger Screen, 4G LTE and Enhanced Camera

Those Changes from iPhone 4S to iPhone 5

More than iPhone 5: iPod Nano 7 & iPod Touch 5

Those Changes from iPhone 4S to iPhone 5

Without doubt, the official release of Apple iPhone 5 has boiled the blood of electronic lovers. And right after the release lots of people are wondering what changes there are in the newest iPhone 5 which they have been looking forward to for one year. Besides the 4-inch screen, what are the other changes from iPhone 4S to iPhone 5?

Display

0.5 inch is added to iPhone 5 screen size, and the resolution is improved from 960 x 640 to 1136 x 640, resolution density remains to be 326ppi. In addition, iPhone 5 adopts LG In-Cell plane so the touch flexibility and clearness will be improved greatly.

Processor

iPhone 5 employs A6 processor. Apple officially claims that the performance of A6 CPU and GPU will be 2X better than the previous A5 processor that is included in iPhone 4S.

Camera

In photography, the front-facing camera of iPhone 5 is improved from 300 thousand pixels to 1.2 million pixels so as to allow 720p video recording. The main camera remains to be 8 million pixels.

4G LTE

Meeting up with the expectation, iPhone 5 covers LTE 4G network. The embedded SIM card has been changed from Micro SIM to Nano SIM.

For a detailed comparison between iPhone 4S and iPhone 5, you can refer to the following contrast chart.

September 12 Apple Event: What Can Expect from iPhone 5 and iOS 6

Apple is making an announcement on Wednesday, and, yes, it's kind of a big deal. On Wednesday morning at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco at 10 a.m. PT, CEO Tim Cook will take the stage, in all likelihood, to introduce the next iPhone. This event is arguably Apple's biggest of the year because it focuses on Apple's most important and profitable product, which is generally updated once per year.

Invitations were sent out last week, bearing a number 5, and the phrase "It's almost here." This has led many of us to conclude that the device to follow the iPhone 4S will be called iPhone 5 (which, duh). But that's not all we know about the device. For the famously secretive Apple, this new iPhone is probably one of the worst-kept Apple secrets ever. So, based on a number of leaks and reports, here’s what we can very likely expect on Wednesday.

 

New iPhone

• Slightly larger screen. In a world of smartphones with 5-inch screens, the iPhone's 3.5-inch display can seem small. It's been reported that we'll get at least a 4-inch iPhone display that's slightly taller, but not much wider. The result may mean an extra row of apps on the home screen, and an overall larger area to view apps, ebooks, web content and videos.

• Thinner. The new iPhone could be thinner than ever mostly due to new display technology that combines the glass and the touch layer into one unit.

• Better battery life. One of the things Apple could do with that extra space created by taller phone? Put in a slightly larger, more powerful battery. That's long been an Apple priority, and because of the next item on this list, a necessity for this year's new model.

• LTE networking. This has been an assumption since early this year when Apple introduced 4G LTE as an option on the latest iPad. True, LTE is far more complicated to build for because of the variety of frequencies. But late Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported that the new iPhone would be LTE-capable and available worldwide, though, according to the report and those usual "people familiar with the matter," it "isn't likely to work with all carriers' LTE networks in all countries, the people said, though it wasn't clear which would be left out."

• Smaller dock connector. It's been rumored since February that Apple is replacing its aging 30-pin connector on the bottom of the phone with a sleeker 9-pin model. This will make room for other components — perhaps 4G radios — but unfortunately require adapters for older docks and accessories. Apple is reportedly planning to roll out the new 9-pin model across all iOS devices.

 

iOS 6

• Details. We heard about many new features of the updated software at WWDC in June. Now that Apple has had time to fine-tune the software and get feedback from developers, we’ll hear more concrete details about the new stuff, from Apple's Maps and navigation, to Siri improvements, Facebook integration, to the tweaks to Safari, Photos and Mail, and more.

• YouTube alternative. Apple will no longer feature YouTube as a default application on all iOS devices, Apple already acknowledged last month. Expect to hear more about what the YouTube video-watching experience on iOS will be like from now on.

• More about Passbook. This is Apple's new application that aims to duplicate the part of your wallet that holds everything except cash and credit cards: tickets, boarding passes, gift cards, reward cards, coupons, and travel reservations. Details about participating companies have been dribbling out, but we should get solid details regarding which airlines, hotels, stadiums, amusement parks, coupon-issuers and others that are officially on board with Passbook.

• App Store redesign. There's going to be a new look and new design for the mobile App Store. Emphasis will be placed on app recommendations through Apple's genius function, and will look a lot more like Chomp, which Apple bought earlier this year.

• Changes to search. This is a longshot, but since Apple's been busy excising its default apps list with anything Google-related, it wouldn't be a stretch to think Apple might move away from Google as the default search in the mobile Safari browser. It would be silly to remove Google outright, but Apple could easily make Google just one of many options for users to select for search, including Siri, Bing and other third-party sources.

4G LTE Support Is Included in Apple iPhone 5?

With Apple holding a special event this week, where the company is likely to unveil the sixth-generation iPhone, the rumor mill is in overdrive regarding this highly-speculated smartphone, with the most recent report pegging the handset with 4G LTE connectivity.

While this is not the first whispering that the iPhone 5 will run on the high-speed network, with Verizon stating earlier this year that all future smartphones will offer 4G LTE support, this most-recent report comes from a source familiar with the matter at the Wall Street Journal.

According to the article, the next iPhone will support 4G LTE networks worldwide, though it won't be available on every carrier. The Apple smartphone will work on the fastest wireless networks around the world, including in the U.S., Europe and Asia, however it isn't likely to operate with all carriers' LTE networks. It isn't clear at this time which countries will be left out.

There have been numerous rumors that the iPhone 5 would have this very speedy form of cellular-wireless networking, and with a large number of Apple's competitors offering LTE-enabled handsets, the company may be looking to gain a customer base by adopting the high-speed connectivity in its devices. The Cupertino-based company already took a plunge into the 4G pool earlier this year, with the release of the third-generation iPad, which supported AT&T and Verizon's networks. Yet, the coverage didn't work internationally, resulting in complaints from numerous countries, including Australia and across Europe.

More about the iPhone 5

Said to sport a larger screen and a smaller Dock Connector, the sixth-generation iPhone is speculated to pack a 1440 mAh battery, which is just slightly larger than the 1430 mAh one in the current iPhone 4S. If reports of 4G LTE hold true, Apple may need to bump up the battery capacity to provide enough power for these new features.

Then again, this is all a guessing game until Apple reveals the device, but as Sept. 12 nears, it's only a matter of days until the mystery curtain is drawn on the iPhone 5.