Apple iPhone 5 expected November 21, but will it have NFC?

Phones4U representative reveals release date but iPhone 5 unlikely to feature near-field communication

BY: Chris Davies | Tue May 17, 2011
TAGS: A5, Apple, Bernstein Research, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, Near-Field Communication,NFC, Phones4U, smartphone

Apple's latest device likely to be similar in design to current iPhone 4

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After months and months of endless speculation, a release date for Apple’s latest iPhone looks to be finally confirmed. Although this rumour is by no means official, a customer sales representative from UK retailer Phones4U revealed that it is expecting a November release. Meanwhile, it has been reported that Apple will not include an RFID near-field communication chip in its fifth-generation iPhone.

RELEASE DATE

According to T3, the Phones4U representative said: “iPhone 5 has been delayed until November following an issue with the handset's software.” The release date would fit in with a rumoured September unveiling of Apple's latest mobile device, breaking its traditional annual summer release schedule.

However, analysts have recently predicted that the next generation handset will be called the iPhone 4S, as upgrades are more software based. While the iPhone 4S is likely to include Apple's dual-core 1GHz A5 processor the iPad, other radical hardware updates are less likely.

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NFC

Increasingly it seems, smartphone manufacturers are recognising the potential of near-field communication. However, Apple still seems tentative towards this

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Can the Motorola Xoom and BlackBerry PlayBook rival the Apple iPad?

With little native apps for the PlayBook and poor Xoom sales, iPad is still dominant

BY: Chris Davies |
TAGS: Android, Apple iPad, BlackBerry Playbook, Carphone Warehouse, Deutsche Bank, Flash,Honeycomb, HP Touchpad, Motorola XOOM, PC World, pre-order, release, tablet, UK

Apple iPad 2, Motorola Xoom, BlackBerry PlayBook and the HP TouchPad

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Even though the Apple iPad is the clear market leader, there is still plenty of interest in alternative tablets. Consumer trends suggest that tablet sales will continue to grow significantly this year, with all major electronics manufacturers jumping on the portable device bandwagon. Plenty of hype has surrounded the latest tablets to hit the market,namely the Motorola Xoom and BlackBerry PlayBook, however it already looks like these two will struggle in an Apple iPad dominated landscape.

MOTOROLA XOOM

Initial reports suggest that sales for the Motorola Xoom have been poor, with Deutsche Bank projecting that around 100,000 devices have been sold since its launch on 24 February. When you compare these figures to day one sales of 300,000 for the first-generation Apple iPad, which has now been picked up by 16 million consumers worldwide, things don't look good for the Motorola Xoom.

In addition, prior to the tablet's UK release, retailers including PC World and Carphone Warehouse have slashed prices for the Motorola Xoom, suggesting that pre-orders haven’t lived up to initial expectations. Even though the Motorola Xoom is the world's first tablet to be running Android Honeycomb software, several consumers are tentative when it comes to splashing the pre-order cash.

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BLACKBERRY PLAYBOOK

BlackBerry has seen its business smartphone market dominance declining dramatically, therefore the tablet market seems like a perfect opportunity to boost the...Read the rest of the article at:

http://www.manufacturingdigital.com/tags/android/can-motorola-xoom-and-blackberry-playbook-rival-apple-ipad