Apple set to launch new iPhone

Apple look to have announced the event for the launch of their new iPhone. The cryptic invite which was sent out appears to outline an event on the Tuesday 4th October at 10 in San Fransisco. The invite also appears to indicate there will be one new iPhone, symbolised by the iOS phone icon with a '1 new' badge. Some have also taken the 'Let's talk iPhone.' statement as an indication of improved voice recognition, a feature which has also been touted by some.

I have always found Apple releases a bit disappointing. Not because of the product(s) that are announced but mainly due to the huge amount of rumours and speculation beforehand which then leave the eventual product a little bit short of expectations. For example the latest iPad 2 release had no mention of the retina screen or the inbuilt HDMI port, both of which looked to have been safe bets prior to its release.

Up until now it has been suggested that Apple will release not one but two new phones, a cheaper iPhone 4S aimed at the pre-pay market and an all new iPhone 5. Along with these rumours a host of new features have been rumoured including:

• An upgraded camera
• New design (curved back similar to the iPad 2)
• Bigger screen
• Removal of the home button
• Curved screen for improved privacy
• NFC (Near Field Communication) for making quick payments
• 4G Support
• Improved voice recognition 
• Fireproof phone

So what should we expect from this latest launch? Will we get two phones? Will we get one? Which one will it be? There are suggestions that either could be launched.

iPhone 4S
Although the release of the iPhone 4S would be a disappointment to many who are expecting to see the iPhone 5 there are a few suggestions that I think point towards its release.
Firstly, assuming the iPhone 5 would be redesigned I don't imaging Apple would have bothered releasing the white iPhone 4 so late only for it then to be scrapped in favour of a newer model.
Secondly, is the date of release a clue. Perhaps the date of the event is even more cryptic than the invite and that the 4th signifies the release of the iPhone 4S.
Finally, Apple have done this before. The follow up to the iPhone 3G was the iPhone 3GS so why wouldn't they conform to tradition and release an intermediately product before releasing the iPhone 5?

iPhone 5
Many are predicting this event to be the release of the iPhone 5, which would be welcomed by many. There are several suggestions that I think will point towards this release.
Firstly, looking at previous release dates of iPhones these have traditionally come around in June/July. Would a simple upgrade of iPhone 4 to 4S have really put them back 2 months from their previous release dates?
Secondly, this event is the baptism of fire for new Apple Chief Executive, Tim Cook. Many will be judging him on presenting skills and him as the future for the company. Would they really let him start is Apple career as a Chief Executive by releasing anything other than the iPhone 5?
Finally, we are also expecting the release of iOS 5 at the same time which, let's face it, would seem slightly odd releasing the iPhone 4S with iOS 5.

My predictions are that we will see just the one phone at this Apple launch. It wouldn't make sense to me for Apple to release both a superior and inferior model at the same time as one would completely undermine the other.I think there is a fine line as to whether it will be a 4S or 5 but I am going to predict the latter.

In terms of the features that I think we can expect to see at the launch I think we will see an upgraded camera and a bigger screen with a new design to accommodate. I think potentially we may also get NFC technology as well as improved voice recognition although I think it will be a surprise to have one of these if not both.

Have I learned from my previous Apple launch disappointments? I think I will have to wait until the 4th to find out.

Google+ Opens to the Masses

Google have opened their social networking site, Google+, to anybody who wants to join. The site was initially opened to journalists and people who worked in technology related fields. However the site wasn't restricted and by the nature of social networking the site was confirmed to have over 10 million users within a couple of weeks. The social networking site also boasted some famous users including Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg who obviously wanted to see what his rivals were up to.

The public launch of Google+ also saw a claimed 91 improvements including the introduction of 'Hangouts'. The big new feature looks to be a hybrid of Apple's FaceTime and WhatsApp all mixed into a social network. Hangouts is already, unsurprisingly, available on android devices with a front facing camera but is iOS support is also said to be in the pipeline.

Although no further statistics of users on Google+ have been published it was estimated that there were 25 million users by the end of the first month. Whether Google+ will get the user base to rival Facebook remains to be seen, either way it will be a good competition which should only encourage the introduction of exciting new features for both.