Each successive Apple iPhone that rolls out is a nipped and tucked offshoot of the previous model – with modifications that keep getting more and more sophisticated. However, in its fifth installment, is the iPhone 5 merely a retouched version of its predecessor?

What’s New

At 7.6mm, Apple’s new baby is the world’s thinnest smartphone. And if you thought the 960×640 resolution of the iPhone 4 didn’t play up the subtleties in your photos and videos quite enough, the newcomer’s 4-inch screen features a 1136×640 resolution Retina display. Each pixel doubles as a touch-sensing electrode, a departure from the double-layered touch screens of old that feature touch sensors below the pixel display. It is this clever quirk that enables the iPhone 5 to weigh a wispy 112 grams.

The A6 chip and iOS 6 mobile operating system join forces to deliver “twice the CPU and graphics performance,” claims the press release. Always striving to be superlative, Apple has created the first smartphone with LTE wireless capabilities, which support speeds of up to 150Mbps – a godsend for those who enjoy streaming movies on the go.

Critics have marveled at the ‘Panorama’ feature of the gadget’s 8 megapixel iSight camera, which “stitches” sequences of shots together to form a 240 degree photograph by swiping the phone across a scene. Furthermore, the camera’s sapphire crystal lens is more scratch-resistant and dust-deflecting than the iPhone 4’s standard glass lens. The 1.2 megapixel front-facing FaceTime camera is supported by cellular wideband audio that cancels background noise for clearer video calls.

Apple has bumped off Google Maps, supplanting it for software of its own that features real-time traffic data and turn-by-turn navigation. 3D rendering of major cities and tourism hotbeds is, for the most part, reliable; however, picture quality tends to deviate as users navigate away from these sites.

What the World Says

Despite Apple’s uncanny ability to stretch the iPhone’s product life cycle, technology experts are divided between the impressed and the skeptical. As the first iPhone to feature a 4G network, the iPhone 5 is “playing catch-up with other smartphones on the market,” according to David Bottomley, Business Editor of TODAY. The Economist rates the iPhone 5 a “five out of ten,” dismissing its new advances as “incremental changes.”

The new ‘Lightning’ dock connector has also caused considerable contention, as it renders the charging cables, car adapters and docks of previous models incompatible – unless users purchase the cable or plug adapter for $39 and $29 respectively. “These adapters should not be a profit center for Apple; they should be a gesture of kindness to those of us who’ve bought accessories based on the old connector,” wrote David Pogue in The New York Times.

These minor grievances notwithstanding, analysts have predicted sales of 10-12 million units this September, with stocks for online preorders having depleted within the hour of its 12:01am opening on September 14.

Should users of the iPhone 4 switch to the iPhone 5?

Apple idolaters will no doubt trade their iPhone 4 for the newbie – by no means a shortchange – however, those who watched Wednesday’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live may hesitate. ABC crew took to the streets to ask passersby to test the “new iPhone 5.” Subjects were handed the iPhone 4S, presumed to be the iPhone 5, and asked to compare. Not one person surmised the hoax. “Oh my God, it feels a lot lighter and more high quality!” one man enthused. Three others made remarks about its “superior” speed. One woman took out her iPhone 4, held it up next to the fake iPhone and nodded. “Yeah, that one’s definitely faster.”

While the spoof may have been a hilarious TV moment, audiences began to realize how media hype and trendsetting informs much of Apple’s brand loyalty. In a move that might seem self-effacing, Apple is enabling the iOS 6, the operating system which distinguishes the iPhone 5, to be downloaded for free onto previous models of the iPhone.

The iPhone 5 retails in the USA, UK and Canada on September 21.

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Apple may finally reveal the much talked about iPhone 5 to the world on October 4^th. Tim Cook, the new CEO of Apple, has sent out cryptic invites for members of the press to join him at the Cupertino campus for an iPhone event.  The simple message showed four iPhone app icons one with the date set for October 4^th, one with the time 10:00 A.M. PST, one with a pin on a map hovering over the Apple campus, and the phone icon, with the red number one.

The widespread belief among the tech world is that the conference will be the arena for the announcement of the iPhone 5 due to compiling evidence.  Apple has a steady track record of announcing new iPhones at conferences held in their Cupertino campus. A few weeks ago former Vice President Al Gore, a board member for Apple, let slip that Apple would be releasing iPhones in October.

Some stake has been put into Gore’s comments because it was dropped on stage during a plan speech followed by the line, “…that was a plug.” An internal document from Best Buy was leaked on to the net in early September and revealed, “iPhone 5 product introduction expected, pre-sales begin for expected October week 1 launch.”

The October 4^th announcement date would coincide with October 14^th predictions form the tech world; Apple has consistently had a launch date “a few weeks from now” when revealing an iPhone. The last bit of evidence is that sources from inside Apple report that employee vacation time has been blacked out from October 9-12 and October 14-15.

This insinuates that something big is happening at Apple and needs all hands on deck. However there is speculation that this invite could not be about the crown jewel the iPhone 5, and more to do with presenting new speech-based features for the iPhone.

Apple acquired voice-based personal assistant service, Siri, about 18 months ago, and hasn’t developed anything with that acquisition that the public has access to yet. Also the tag-line that came with the invite “Let’s talk iphone” could be a play on words. Instead of meaning let’s talk about iPhones, it could translate into having a conversation with your iPhone to access several features.

If the iPhone 5 is announced at the upcoming conference, Cook needs to have an ace up his sleeve if wants to wow the crowd like his predecessor Steve Jobs. A lot of upgrades and changes have already been predicted and seem expected such as a higher resolution 8 megapixel camera, the installation of the faster processing A5 chip, a thinner and tapered body, and the ability to access 4G networks.

Whatever is eventually launched at this event, one thing is certain: the whole world will be watching. If only our current iPhones could predict the future and tell us. Unfortunately there’s no app for that, yet.

Image Courtesy of   http://www.flickr.com/photos/elisfanclub/

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Five Chinese non-governmental organizations have accused Apple of adding to environmental degradation by using suppliers with known histories of environmental violations. The American company also faces strong criticisms for undermining social responsibility as its suppliers have been involved in serious work-related accidents and deaths.

A report released on Wednesday, which calls Apple out for taking “advantage of the loopholes in developing countries’ environmental management systems,” is threatening to cast a big shadow on Apple’s image.

One of the co-authors of the report Ma Jun, director of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, has been outspoken in several media outlets about Apple’s apparent disregard and unresponsiveness. The coalition of environmental groups has requested the help of businesses to map the companies’ impact on local communities;

Apple shied away from contributing to the report. Several electronics brands, including Samsung, Nokia and LG outsource all or part of their manufacturing. These orders are then picked up by suppliers with factories in, among other countries, China.

According to the New York Times, Apple spokesman Steve Dowling responded on Wednesday that the company had been aggressively monitoring its supply chain regularly.

“We require that our supplier provides safe working conditions, treat workers with dignity and respect, and use environmentally responsible manufacturing processes wherever Apple products are made,” Dowling said.

But at the same time, Apple has, according to GOOD magazine, defended its ranking in the environmental groups report as a result of their suppliers’ actions — not theirs. CNN reported that the Apple company found 80 facilities where storage and handling of hazardous chemicals was not done properly during the 2010 audit.

According to Apple’s own report, the company had requested the non-compliant facilities to correct their mistakes and document these processes but nowhere does it say if the request was granted.

Apple’s market share in China has grown exponentially and the busiest Apple store in the world is located there. Yet their presence in the mainland has caused controversy. Despite keeping their suppliers under wraps, the company has faced multiple production challenges.

The New York Times reports that one of Apple’s biggest suppliers was hit by a suicide wave among workers at several mainland facilities last year while an explosion at fire at another plant in southwest China in May killed two and injured more than a dozen.

Apple is not the only company to face harsh criticism for taking advantage of the Chinese system — several multinational corporations have, according to the New York Times, been accused of employing child labour, violating local labor laws and polluting water resources and land.

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Fake Apple stores have begun popping up in China, fooling not only the customers, but the workers as well. The quickly developing country is renowned for creating and selling remake products, however this is more than a step up from product recreation.

A blogger who goes by BirdAbroad found the store, located in China’s Yunnan province in the city of Kunming. The blogger says that the first giveaway was the glowing apple outside the storefront. Instead of standing alone as it should, the words Apple Store accompanied it, giving away its mirage of reality.

Inside all things would appear fine, exactly identical to any authorized Apple store found across the world. However, the blogger admits that upon closer inspection little things including paints jobs and intricate staircases appear to be unprofessionally done.

In a recent update from BirdAbroad, she explains that many different media outlets have been able to contact workers or managers from the fake store. The Toronto Star said they spoke with a manager who claims that while they now know they are unauthorized, the products they are selling are real.

BirdAbroad has also begun taking heat from the population of Kunming, as well as other cities across China. She has recieved many different complaints about her blog and posts commenting on the fake apple store.

Some are looking for a public apology for mudding their good name, while others are irritated at the ongoing attention to knockoff production in China. They are saying, “shanzai is unstoppable in China;” shanzai, meaning knockoff.

Regardless, while the store is unauthorized, and there remains to be confusion on whether the products are real or not, many citizens in Kunming are saying that they don’t mind the knockoff store.

BirdAbroad quoted someone saying, “Apple deserves to have shanzhai stores, since their products are absurdly expensive, despite being made right here in China.”

1000 Words / Shutterstock.com

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