Apple Inc.’s iPhone5 remains the most anticipated smartphone in the U.S. market, and appears to have broken all kinds of records when it comes to rumors surrounding a device.
Since January, bits and pieces about the next-generation smartphone have been making the rounds on the Internet, with different rumored specifications and concept images offered by various Web sites and blogs.
Apple is a couple of days away from announcing the arrival of the most anticipated iPhone to enter the U.S. smartphone market. The company has issued invites for an event Tuesday that will showcase the fifth-generation iPhone.
The iPhone5 is expected to run on the latest iOS5, which will come with 200 new features, including an improved notifications system, as well as the Newsstand and iMessage applications. In addition, the iPhone5 is expected to feature the new iCloud service for operating iTunes, enabling wireless remote access of purchased and personally collected music from all computers and mobile devices.
The iPhone5 will likely support HSPA+ networks that will provide faster Internet speeds compared with its predecessors, Japanese blog Macotakara reported, citing a China Unicom executive’s presentation at Macworld Asia.
Apple’s fifth-generation iPhone will feature support for fast HSPA+ 21Mbps network speeds, sometimes advertised as “4G,” carrier China Unicom has revealed.
The carrier revealed the information in a presentation given at this week’s Macworld Asia. A slide shown by the carrier, spotted by Macotakara, displays the evolution of the iPhone, from the first-generation model in 2007 onward.
Included in the slide is a blank spot for Apple’s so-called “iPhone 5,” which the company will officially unveil at an event next Tuesday. No photo or details on the iPhone 5 are provided, except for a mention that it will access HSPA+ networks, which have theoretical maximum download speeds of 21Mbps.
That compares to the 7.2Mbps maximum theoretical speed the WCDMA radio has provided in the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G. The first-generation iPhone featured EDGE data connections for 480Kbps.
In the U.S., AT&T and T-Mobile have their own HSPA+ networks which the carriers advertise as having “4G” speeds, even though they aren’t true fourth-generation technology. AT&T is currently rolling out a true LTE 4G network in the U.S., and the carrier’s proposed acquisition of T-Mobile would give it more spectrum to expand its coverage.
