iPhone 5? You might be waiting till 2012

Stupid article

I think El Reg went a bit overboard on this one, you can almost cut the self-righteousness with a knife.

" it would mean that "ordinary people" can get their hands on a fondleslab."

You make it sound like the iPhone is something like a Vertu.

Ordinary people already have smartphones

Just not one with an expensive Apple logo. Since over 5 years ago, phones doing Internet, mp3s, 3G and apps (and video recording/calling/playback, btw) became cheap and bog standard. It's the Iphone that had to do catchup on many of these basic features.

It is true that some Iphone users wave it around as a status symbol, it's like the Adidas of phones; personally I prefer clothes (and phones) without a big logo on them.

I was once in the pub, and two strangers interrupted a conversation on phones I was having, to say in a snooty voice "Oh, we've got Iphones. Look at how shiny and sexy it is. We don't care about open source operating systems". I mean, what the hell?

It's not the phone that's expensive.

To tell the truth, I'd have to say the reason why the "normal people" don't have iPhones isn't because of the cost of the iPhone itself. On a plan, it's $199... or $49 around here if you want a 3GS. (That's the "Cheap" phone already, last year's model. No need for another one. ) The big price is the on going service charge of internet and text messages. On AT&T it means, take your normal plan and add $30+ a month to it. (For the cheap setup, the one I've got is $30 (unlimited net) +$20 (unlimited text), luckily my company reimburses me for it). $30 * 24 months (2 year contract) is $720! and the one I've got is $1200!

Thing is, this is basically the standard AT&T pricing. Verizon's isn't much different. Doesn't matter what smart phone you get, you're going to be dropping a lot of money either way, and not for the phone.

Of course ordinary people have iPhones

They sell them in Tescos FFS, that's hardly Waitrose is it?

yawn

isn't this the 3rd or 4th year that there have been rumours of a low-priced iPhone?

See?

See how the fans want to thumb my comment down?

Any old phone can do Internet access/apps these days, I'm not sure why that was a controversial comment. The "You need an expensive smartphone to do that" is one of the new tech myths around.

eh

There was me thinking fondleslabs were tablets.

September or October, maybe. 2012, nah.

Apple has released new iPods every September or October since 2003. Given that this is a good time of year for a major product announcement, and given also that the iPod as a product category is in seemingly terminal decline, it makes perfect sense for Apple to move one of its other product announcements to later in the year. So a September or October iPhone 5 makes perfect sense. I doubt it will be that major a redesign, but it can't be hard to give the iPhone a faster CPU and GPU, nicer cameras, and a bit of a cosmetic redesign. Give it much more than a year between revisions, though, and people will stop buying it, so I really can't see a delay until next year.

Ordinary people?

What are you on about, the iPhone is more commonplace than many other ones now. My mother, my father in law and most of their friends have iPhones and they don't come much more ordinary than those folk!

"most people own an iPhone in some shape or form"

No we don't. They are a luxury item like all smart-phones, the same as a games console.

I find it fascinating that it's now considered de rigueur to splash out £400 on a mobile telephone, and that people seem to think they're entitled to this.

LOL

These articles about iPhone/iPad delays are just FUD press releases put out by rivals trying to get people to "stop waiting" and buy their alternative product now.

The next iOS will be announced early June at the WWDC event and I see no reason why the next iPhone won't be announced as well.

apple - yuk

i wouldnt touch anything apple if you paid me. in-fact, even if i won an iphone i would sell it to some poor unsuspecting ebayer.

i see apple as 'computers for dummies' with their one handed ipad machines, the most horrendous music manager (itunes), no right clicks (macs) and a phone which farts. i can see why so many people are wrapped up with it all, no, really...!

Common Place?

Most of my friends or family have non iPhone phones, either the phones are old (those of the older generation perfectly happy with what they have) everyone else I know have gone down the Android route (with one or two for Windows mobile)

Only my half brother has an iPhone.

Suits Me

Suits me, I am still in contract. I have owned a sea of Android, Nokia and HTC WinMo phones in the past, and the iPhone+iOS still beats the lot of them. I currently have a Samsung Galaxy Tab, and Android 2.2 on the GT feels oh-so clunky compared to iOS4.3 on the iPhone4.

Apples greatest strength, and what will keep me buying Apple's phones is firmware updates to the latest and greatest iOS running on my existing phone. The 2-year old iPhone3Gs will run the recentely released iOS4.3 officially without my having to resort to XDA-Dev to obtain a hacked together rom. Typically, updates for Android devices are delayed for ages after google releases the code and the vendor (especially Samsung) then decides that it cannot be bothered to make said update available to customers. There are Android phones out there that have only been on the market for 3 months that will get no updates. Frankly, its criminal.

Google needs to standardise the whole phone-updating thing so that it can push updates to users its-self rather than relying on lazy carriers and device manufacturers to do it. Until Android devices get a decent updating system controlled by google rather than Vodafone/HTC I will not consider Android devices to be a worthy alternative to iOS devices.

Nigel