The excitement surrounding the announcement of Apple’s new product launches this year can really only be compared to Target’s Missoni promotion late this last summer. While Apple has kept details of the new iPhone shrouded in mystery, that hasn’t prevented technology analysts from anticipating details of what they believe will be the iPhone 5, which they expect to not only shatter sales records set by iPhone 5’s predecessor, the iPhone 4, but also to make significant strides forward in the application of the technology in mobile computing. Don’t kid yourself, regardless of what you think of the iPhone 4, the replacement for it be nothing short of a handheld computer.
In today’s reveal, It was confirmed that Sprint will be a carrier for the new iphone, and that as many as 357 additional stores will be added to the existing retail outlets in 11 countries. This will be an expansive movement for Apple, which has had barriers to entering the China market, but which appears to be a strong presence in Hong Kong. Unfortunately, Apple’s supply of the new iPhone will almost certainly be well below the demand. This has created a “gray market” in many parts of the world, in which unauthorized imports are brought from countries with enough supply to meet demand, and at are sold in countries without supplies of the product for much more than their retail price.
Throughout the press conference, Apple executives played up the anticipation over the iPhone 5 by simply not mentioning it. They worked through all the company’s current offerings and updates, including significant updates to the app system for the iPad and additional computing power to Apple laptops and desktop computers. In an interesting bit, Apple revealed that the updated iPod touch will feature a clock display so that it can be worn as a watch.
So the big news?
There is no iPhone 5, not yet. Today’s reveal was the iPhone 4s, an update on the current iPhone with all new internals, including a dual-core processor and graphics, a new A5 chip, and enhanced capability for gaming. The iPhone 4s will see enhanced battery life through more efficient internals, including 6 hours of web browsing, 14 hours of talk time, and 9 hours of WiFi connectivity. Download speeds have been improved to 14.4 mbps downlink, allowing you to download data twice as fast as with the iPhone 4.
The iPhone will be a true “world phone,” with access to GSM and CDMA channel access, and will feature enhanced photographic capability. It is intended to compete with most standard point-and-shoot cameras, but still falls short of the capabilities of a true SLR camera. Video capabilities are now at 1080p with real-time video image stabilization.
In spite of the lack of an iPhone 5 replacement for the iPhone 4, the new 4s appears to be a significant step forward for Apple, featuring many of the technologies that were anticipated to be included in an iPhone 5 release.
Look for the new iPhone 4s in stores December 1.