Author
Cody Sharp
Have you found yourself bored at work and counting the hours until Christmas break? Maybe you need a bit of a pick me up in the style of the newest iPad 2 and iPhone 5 rumors. Those rumors, though sparse, will continue to grow in number as we go into 2011 and really get a feel for Apple’s 2011 release schedule. Let’s start with the newest iPhone 5 rumors that have surfaced over the last week.
The iPhone 5 will have built in GPS navigation, or at least it has been heavily rumored to over the last week. If Apple does have a built in GPS software they will have to either create it from the ground up (which is usually not their forte) or buy or license another GPS company’s software. I see the latter of the two being much more likely. In 2011, Apple buys up one of the GPS companies that create GPS apps for the iPhone. A company like MotionX would be a drop in the bucket for Apple to purchase, has fantastic functionality and would obviously be useful for every iPhone 5 user. Another option is that Apple licenses this technology from a company like MotionX or another GPS brand name. I see this road unlikely. Apple has so much cash that I think they would prefer to buy a company outright like they did with Quattro Wireless which helped them create iAds.
In iPad 2 news (read: rumors), Foxconn (which manufacturer’s Apple’s devices) will reportedly be ready to begin shipping the finished product over to Apple in February of 2011. February!? That’s only 2 months away and even if Apple delays the shipment of the device, that sounds like we could see the iPad 2 by March or April of next year. Honestly, that seems really soon but there could be a good reason for Apple to do this. Now that Samsung has delivered their tablet to the world and had moderate success ( 1 million sales or so), Apple needs to be able to match its functionality. The Samsung Galaxy Tablet has two cameras, Adobe Flash support, a camera flash, voice dictation to text and a built in GPS software. The iPad has never looked so old. The iPad 2 will need to play catch up with some of these features and a March/April release date will make sure that the name iPad doesn’t lose any of it’s cache.
Despite the difference in feature set, the Samsung device is pretty pricy and it just doesn’t have the marketing power of Apple. That being said, Apple has never been one to allow a competitor to look cooler or be flashier for very long.
Comments, ideas, etc? Let us know.