Concept case would turn your iPhone into a Leica

OK, so yes, this Leica i9 case for the iPhone 4 is still just a concept. You can't actually buy a case yet that fits around your iPhone and turns it into a Leica camera (though you can buy some nice lenses or an audio tape case). But this idea is just too cool to pass up. Outside of the standard retro charm of having a Leica attached to the back of your iPhone, the idea here is that you can use the iPhone's dock port to attach a high-quality premium camera to the back of your high-quality premium smartphone, enabling some really excellent mobile photography.

There's probably some technical magic that has to be worked here as well

– I don't know how feasible it is to have the dock hook up to and even control a high quality camera lens like this, especially with that design and size. But heck, if we can get the iCade made into a real product, this is certainly possible, right?

Competing: iPhone 5, white iPhone 4 theories get release this week

Two competing theories regarding the nature of the iPhone5 having been running parallel amidst the vacuum of any official word about a release date, but there can only be one that's right – and that answer should arrive by default one way or the other this upcoming week. On the one hand there's the "white iPhone 4 is arriving this week" theory based on Apple exec Phil Schiller's public proclamation that there will be a white iPhone coming "this spring." The other theory says that the "white iPhone" in question is actually a white iPhone 5, and since Apple's WWDC keynote is in early June, which is technically still spring, we can still expect the iPhone 5 along the lines of Apple's traditional annual updates. Both theories are equally plausible, and both are justifiable interpretations of Schiller's words. But they can't both be right, and one of them is about to get struck down.

There's the popular scenario in which Apple pops out the long fabled white iPhone 4 this week. In that case you can firmly wave goodbye to the idea of seeing an iPhone 5 (or for that matter iOS 5) in June, as Apple isn't about to add a white model to the iPhone 4 lineup a mere month or so before it turns around and bargain-bins the entire iPhone 4 era in favor of an iPhone 5.

But then there's the other scenario in which the white iPhone 4 doesn't get launched. That would tell us two things. First, it would mean that the iPhone 5 must be just around the corner. And second, it would mean that the iPhone5 is sticking with a design which allows for a white model; in other words, so much for the notion of an all-brushed-metal iPhone 5 era.

Either interpretation holds water, but they can't both be right. The only thing Apple has has to say about the iPhone lately is that the iPhone sold 113% better in the first quarter of 2011 than it did in the first quarter of 2010, which says that the iPhone 4 era has been a successful one. The question now is whether it's nearly over in favor of the iPhone 5 era, or whether Apple has plans to extend it longer than usual by adding a white iPhone 4 to the mix. We'll get some answers this week about the iPhone 5, based on Apple's actions (or lack thereof) regarding the iPhone 4. Here's more on the iPhone 5.

[via beatweek]

Did Sony CEO Howard Stringer Spill The Beans About An 8MP iPhone 5 Camera?

We're recently reported that very few new features appear to be solid for the iPhone5. But a recent slip-up by the Sony CEO suggests that an 8-megapixel camera might be a definite upgrade for the next iPhone. read Charles Moore's new article:

MacNN, Appleinsider,, CNET, and several other Apple-watcher sites reported over the weekend that Sony CEO Howard Stringer may have inadvertently revealed that Apple is gearing up to equip the iPhone 5 with an eight-megapixel camera.

9To5Mac's Seth Weintraub, who attended the event, reports that Stringer, in a Talking Tech with Sony event interview with The Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall in New York, commented that his company's camera sensor plant at Sendai, Japan, is among 15 of the company's facilities damaged by last month's catastrophic earthquake and tsunami, and that the supply interruption will delay shipments of sensors to Apple. Since Sony sensors are not used in the iPhone versions 4 and 3GS, which employ 5-megapixel and 3.2 megapixel OmniVision camera sensors respectively, it's not a major deductive leap to infer that the higher-resolution CMOS sensors sourced from Sony would most likely be destined for the next revision iPhone 5.

A PhoneArena blog from six weeks ago notes that OmniVision shares nosedived last summer when a rumor spread that due partly to complaints about a yellowish color shift in still photos shot with the OmniVision sensor camera, Apple might be moving to Sony for its next generation iPhone camera sensors — possibly Sony's Exmor R sensor unit that is used in the Sony Ericsson Xperia arc and Xperia neo. That 8MP sensor is backlit to help it finesse low light conditions, similar to the way the iPhone 4′s 5MP OmniVision sensor does. Indeed, rumors of Apple dropping OmniVision in favor of Sony as its iPhone camera supplier are longstanding.

PhoneArena also reports that OmniVision has announced that it has an 8MP camera sensor of its own coming, the OV8820, which incorporates the same low-light performance enhancements, plus HD video at 60fps, and Full HD at 30fps, and which had been projected to begin mass production in March, but that production problems have occurred.

Not everyone agrees that Apple will use Sony CMOC camera sensors in the iPhone 5. Analyst Yair Reiner of Wall Street's Oppenheimer & Co. is quoted by Appleinisider isaying he expects OmniVision to remain Apple's camera supplier for the fifth-generation iPhone, corroborated by checks with contacts in Apple's supply channels, dismissing the notion an Apple-Sony hook-up as "rather silly."

Whatever, regardless of whether the iPhone 5's camera supplier is to be OmniVision or Sony, it looks like camera sensor supply problems may be a significant factor in Apple's evidently postponing the iPhone 5 introduction from an anticipated Worldwide Developer's Conference release until some time later in the year. With the iPad 2′s camera performance being that unit's most unanimously panned feature in reviews, Apple will want to get the camera right in the iPhone 5, where it is arguably a much more important feature than it is with the tablet product.

Also, with Sony Ericsson rumored to be getting 12MP+ camera equipped phones ready for summer release, Apple will need at least the 8MP sensors to remain even ballpark competitive in that context.

iPhone 5 or 4S: My Name is?

Well the latest revelations regarding the iPhone 5 seem to blow quite a few of the previous rumours regarding this device out of the water. That is of course if they are to be believed.

Apple's newest iPhone has become known by us as the iPhone5 and was thought to be launched with this name, but this new information that has surfaced indicates that the handset will actually be called 'iPhone 4S' and will look like the iPhone 4, but with an Apple A5 dual core CPU within.

The handset apparently will also not come with an 8MP camera and not be able to record 1080p HD videos, but will have a 5MP camera that is only capable of shooting 720p HD videos, with the front camera being the same resolution. This information comes to us by way of a thegadgets article via what they claim is there 'Apple source'.

According to the thegadgets article there is no information on the screen size or resolution of the smartphone. However, their source did say that Apple has given the prototype versions of the 'iPhone 4S' to certain developers within the Apple headquarters and also some selected application developing partners who are getting the apps sorted for the phones release and that the prototypes must stay on the campus.

In addition, the source indicated that the iPhone 4S will not come with iOS 5, but will have a version of iOS 4 instead, believed to be iOS 4.5 or possibly 4.6 and that it is more likely that the iOS 5 will be revealed at WWDC 2011, with the release date being withheld. However, the shipping of the latest iPhone addition in 'September', is believed to be correct, with the white version being shipped from the start.

Earlier today we did a post on this topic, see article here and we would now like to know what your thoughts are on the 'iPhone 4S' name and the possibility of the iOS handset not coming with many of the features we were perhaps hoping for? Please let us know below.

Verizon iPhone stops the Android marketshare march

NPD data shows that the iPhone, backed by its release on Verizon in the US, actually reversed the market share growth of Android for the first time in two years.  This news comes amid mixed information about CDMA iPhones.  Reports surfaced today that CDMA iPhone production was cut in half, yet Android-heavy Sprint said the Verizon iPhone had materially impacted its own sales.

Android still did account for half of all US sales, however.

According to NPD's "Mobile Phone Track" consumer tracking service, for the first time a majority (54 percent) of all new mobile-phone handsets purchased by U.S. consumers were smartphones. Driven by increases in smartphone sales in Q1 2011, average selling prices for all mobile phones rose 2 percent over the previous quarter to reach $102; however, average prices for smartphones actually declined by 3 percent (falling to $145).

The Android OS lost ground for the first time since Q2 2009, falling to 50 percent of smartphone unit sales in Q1 2011 compared to 53 percent in the prior quarter. Apple iOS share rose 9 percentage points to comprise 28 percent of smartphone unit sales. BlackBerry OS also lost ground, falling 5 points, to 14 percent.

"The rise of Apple and HTC show how companies can drive change in a mature device market to change the rules of the game," said Rubin. "The overall success of U.S. market leaders Samsung and LG will be tied to their success in the smartphone market."

It appears that the US smartphone race is coming down to two horses.

Perhaps the white iPhone will keep the momentum going in the next quarter?

The Global iPhone 5: Why Not Sprint, Why Not Now?

Verizon's CFO recently leaked information that the iPhone5 would indeed be a "global" device that works on both GSM and CDMA networks. Given the fact that Sprint operates on CDMA, why wouldn't the iPhone 5 be offered on the U.S.'s third largest carrier this time around?

Ever since the release of Verizon's iPhone, many had wondered whether Apple would design the iPhone 5 to be a dual network device, integrating both GSM and CDMA compatibility into one phone, or instead offer two separate devices for AT&T and Verizon, respectively. Lucky for us, Verizon's CFO Fran Shammo seems to have spilled the beans on a dual-network, "global" iPhone 5, as we reported in another article. Outside of an official confirmation from Apple — which won't come until the formal announcement of the iPhone 5 — it's apparent that the iPhone 5 will support both GSM and CDMA.

Given these apparent facts, why doesn't Apple extend the iPhone 5's availability to include the Sprint network?

In the world of U.S. mobile networks, Sprint is often regarded as the red-headed stepchild of them all: while AT&T touts speed and Verizon boasts of coverage, Sprint's business model is all about marketing its value pricing. Because of this, many performance-minded smartphone users opt for speed or coverage over savings, making AT&T and Verizon the top two carriers. But Sprint, after all, is the third largest mobile carrier in the U.S., with over 55 million subscribers. When you consider that AT&T, America's top provider, has 62 million subscribers, you begin to see how the difference between first and third isn't all that wide, and that opening up the iPhone 5 to Sprint's customers could be advantageous.

Especially considering that the Android smartphones are already on Sprint.

Recently, Sprint has been pushing Kyrocera's new Echo smartphone, a dual-screen marvel that seems to be paving the way for the next generation of Android 3.0 gadgets, both in the smartphone sector as well as tablet devices to go up against the iPad 2 (such as Sony's new S2 fold-up, dual-screened tablet). For as much as the iPhone 5 will need to compete with dual-screened devices like the Echo on the technological level, Apple will also have to match Android in availability as well.

With this in mind, wouldn't it make sense to offer the iPhone 5 to Sprint's 55 million subscribers? After all, Sprint utilizes the same CDMA technology as Verizon. In this way, the iPhone 5′s "global" characteristics would jive perfectly with Sprint as it does with Verizon.

To date, there is no hard evidence that the iPhone 5 will indeed be offered on the Sprint network. The only credible shred of information about Sprint and the iPhone 5 was from Sprint's Chief Financial Officer Robert Brust, who simply said of the iPhone 5 in May of 2010 that "we'd love to have it." The iPhone 5 News Blog reported on this story way back in February that a Sprint iPhone 5 is a possibility. So, if the iPhone 5 surprisingly appears on Sprint at the end of this summer, remember that you saw it here first!

The iPhone 5 on T-Mobile?

Just today, there are fresh reports from Beatweek and other tech news sources that either the iPhone 5 and/or white iPhone 4 will be released on AT&T's newly subsumed carrier T-Mobile. Beatweek boldly claims that, "AT&T just bought T-Mobile. AT&T already offers the iPhone. As such, T-Mobile was probably already a lock to offer the iPhone 5. A late arriving iPhone 5 means Apple could, if it wants to, go ahead and do a T-Mobile iPhone 4."

While that deductive reasoning by Beatweek and others may make for a sensational headline, it represents irresponsible journalism at best: at the time of T-Mobile's acquisition by AT&T for $39 billion in March of 2011, T-Mobile made it resoundingly clear that the iPhone 5 — or any iPhone for that matter — would not be released to T-Mobile customers in 2011.

In a succinct article on IT Pro Portal, Desire Athow reports that, when asked about the iPhone coming to T-Mobile:

"In a FAQ published by the company earlier today, the answer is a resounding no. T-Mobile USA says that it remains an independent company as the acquisition process is expected to last at least one year. It added that it will not offer the iPhone 4 (and its successor the iPhone 5), instead redirecting customers to "cutting edge devices" like the Samsung Galaxy S 4G and the Sidekick 4G, also built by Samsung."

Unless the official statements from AT&T and T-Mobile were blatant lies, then there is no reason to believe rumors of a T-Mobile iPhone release this year.

Don't believe the hype.

No News, So We Ask You About The iPhone 5!

There wasn't any iPhone 5 related news today that wasn't either pure speculation or just plain old rubbish, so we thought we'd turn the mic over to you all and see what you have to say. We've noticed in the past couple days that there are some pretty good debates going on in the comments section that actually really impressed us. So we thought, what the heck, what about an entire post dedicated hearing about what your thoughts are on the much anticipated iPhone5.

Are you excited? upset about its probable delay? What are you looking forward to most? Is there anything you really hope it will feature? Anything and everything goes, but lets just try and not bring each other to tears because of how we feel about something particular (I've never cried over a comment, how dare you!)

Whether you want to participate in the discussions here or on our Facebook Page (check it out on the Right Sidebar), or in our iPhone 5 forum (its very quiet in there, so it could use some attention), lets get it started!