Sprint iPhone 5, Cheap iPhone 4 Coming Soon?

Steve Jobs may have resigned as Apple CEO, but the iPxxx products will keep on coming.

Rejoice, all you Sprint subscribers suffering from iPhone envy. The Wall Street Journal has reported the next iPhone will be coming to the nation's third-largest carrier in mid-October. Sprint has scheduled an event for Oct. 7, although the company has not indicated a precise topic. A Sprint iPhone is only one of this week's spate of iPhone 5 and iPad 3 rumors. The other big rumor: the potential for a "cheap" iPhone 4. More on this in a bit.

What kind of iPhone 5 Sprint might get – in fact, what kind of iPhone 5 AT&T and/or Verizon will get – is still an open question. But it does look as if the iPhone 5 will be called the iPhone 4S. That's not confirmed, but I'd put a $2 wager to show on it.

Sprint is the most experienced 4G carrier; it was the first carrier to offer 4G connectivity over its WiMAX 4G network since late 2008. But WiMAX suffers the same malady as Verizon's LTE 4G technology – it's a power hog. The aforementioned EVO lasts maybe four hours on 4G (hmm, a 4G phone that lasts four hours – coincidence? Uh, yeah.). Since Apple values battery life higher than connectivity speed, it's highly doubtful a Sprint iPhone 4S would be WiMAX-able.

Timing is everything

Since Sprint is unlikely to get its iPhone 4S before Verizon, and since the WSJ says Sprint will get its iPhone in mid-October, than it looks as if we'll see the new iPhone 4S in late September – just about a month from now. I'm already drooling.

So what do we know now that we didn't know the last time I reviewed all the previous iPhone 4S/5 rumors?

Everyone in the iPhone know is pretty sure iPhone 4S will have an approximately 3.7-inch screen and an 8 GB camera, possibly a 1.2 GHz processor (iPhone currently runs on a 1 GHz engine). But will it be 4G, the souped up HSPA 4G AT&T is using (I explained this not-quite 4G HSPA iteration in "Why 4G isn't 4G")? I hope so. Homey wants 4G of any kind.

Psst! Wanna a cheap iPhone?

But this week's most interesting rumor is of a pending "cheap" iPhone 4.

How cheap?

iPhone model price differences derive solely from how much flash memory is built-in. iPhone 4 is available in 16 and 32 GB models, priced at $199 and $299 respectively.

Rumors say Apple is considering an 8 GB version, which would launch along with the 4S. It stands to reason an 8 GB iPhone would be priced at $99.

But considering just how cheap flash memory has gotten, I have a sneaking suspicion we could be looking at a $49 iPhone 4.

iPod 3 timing rumors

Finally, it seems Apple has had problems getting its hands on enough high-resolution Retina touch screen displays (2048 x 1536 pixels, half of iPad's current 1024 x 768 screen resolution) to get the iPad 3 out this fall.

As a result, the latest rumor has the iPad 3 arriving early next year, which could be as late as March.

But as I noted in my last iPhone/iPad rumor round-up, iPad 3, which also is likely to get a processing boost via the same 1.2 GHz chip rumored to appear in the next iPhone, is likely to be priced as an additional, more expensive step-up "pro" model, rather than as a same-priced upgrade to the iPad 2.

Of course, with the "success" of the $99/$149 HP TouchPad (it seems no one paid any heed to my contrary buying advice), Apple may want to consider a cheap iPad along with a cheap iPhone 4.

Mystery wrapped in an enigma

This week's last rumor focuses on a mysterious product in a category Apple has not heretofore been involved in. That's all there is to the rumor – a mystery product.

But speculation, of course, is rampant.

It could be a new way of getting video to your TV, or more specifically a way of wirelessly connecting your iPad or iPhone to your TV to play video games – your iPxxx would both play the game – wirelessly transmitted to appear on the TV – and the controller. This technology is called  "AirPlay Mirroring," an extension of the existing AirPlay technology, which I explained in "Wirelessly Listen To Your iPod/iPhone/iPad Music" – although AirPlay also transmits video wirelessly from your portable to your HDTV via an Apple TV.  The idea behind AirPlay Mirroring is to eliminate the need for a separate gaming console such as an Xbox or PlayStation.

Or, it could be a complete Apple HDTV, as I've been predicting for a while. It wouldn't surprise me if Apple – with or without Steve Jobs on stage (and I bet he will be – he resigned as CEO, he's not dead) – sprang it on us as the rumored mystery product sooner than later.

Stay tuned.

By: STEWART WOLPIN

From tech.lifegoesstrong.com