Is the next iPhone due for a 4-inch screen?

(Credit:Apple)

Will the nextiPhone actually sport a larger screen? A new report from the Wall Street Journal suggests it will.

Citing “people familiar with the situation,” the Journal said today that Apple has been tapping into its suppliers for screens larger than the ones used in the current iPhone. the new screens are at least 4 inches, compared with the 3.5-inch displays used on the phone since its debut in 2007.

Assuming the sources are on the money, production of the screens could rev up next month, the Journal added. the most recent reports say Apple will unveil the next iPhone in early fall — September or October. An October date would match up with the launch of theiPhone 4S last year.

A larger screen could be a sign that Apple is trying to play catch-up with itsAndroid rivals, particularly Samsung. the Korean handset maker has enjoyed a huge surge in sales and market share over the past year, most research reports now cite Samsung as the top smartphone and mobile phone maker around the world.

Apple is reportedly ordering screens from several manufacturers, say some of the Journal’s sources. those include LG, Sharp, and Japan display, a new outfit formed by the Japanese government and three companies.

The latest smartphones are increasingly inching up in screen size, making them look and feel like mini tablets.

Samsung recently announced its new Galaxy S III phone, measuring a whopping 4.8 inches, one of the largest displays in the market. the company’s Galaxy Note is being marketed as a phone. but at 5.3 inches, it’s actually bigger than a lot of tablets.

The latest intel from the Journal follows other reports suggesting that the next iPhone will offer a larger screen.

However, Mizuho Investors Securities analyst Nobuo Kurahashi told the Journal that the move to a larger screen isn’t necessarily a response by Apple to rival its rivals. Pointing out that the screen size wouldn’t be the phone’s defining feature, the analyst said that “the smartphone market has become diverse, but the iPhone still sets the agenda.”

Apple orders 4-inch iPhone screens, says report

Apple’s attempt to wrest control the iPhone5.com domain name from the hands of a cybersquatter has been a success. TheNextWeb reports that the company’s complaint to the World Intellectual Properties Organization (WIPO) resulted in the iPhone5.com domain being handed over to Apple.

the fact that the company has re-obtained the domain name doesn’t necessarily mean that the next iPhone will be called the iPhone 5, nor that Apple will ever use the domain name. in fact, the domain is currently being held by Corporation Service Company, a firm that specializes in brand protection and may have been used by Apple to grab ownership.

in the world of intellectual property law, it is considered vital for organizations to actively protect trademarks. in this case, the domain had been registered in 2008 by a group that operated an online forum. while registering the domain, the former owners noted that “it was not endorsed, sponsored, nor otherwise affiliated with Apple” and was “for the sole purpose of entertainment and knowledge.”

Apple hasn’t been as aggressive in protecting other domain names. It does not own iPad.com, and hasn’t attempted to take control of the name. Apple did manage to acquire iPods.com after a protracted battle, but doesn’t own iBooks.com (publishing rival Barnes & Noble does) or iBookstore.com.

with all of Apple’s intellectual property battles raging around the world, it must feel good to win a small skirmish like this.

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Apple wins iPhone5.com domain name

Apple wants to get its hands on the domain name iPhone5.com. (Pictured is the iPhone 4S.)

(Credit:Josh Miller/CNET)

You can never have enough clues about what Apple might have up its sleeve for its nextiPhone.

The latest tidbit comes in the form of a domain name — iphone5.com — for which Apple has filed a claim with the World Intellectual Property Organization. to date, Apple’s smartphone line has counted up only to theiPhone 4S, but the company is widely believed to be getting ready to bring aniPhone 5 into the world.

Of course, ahead of the iPhone 4S launch last fall, a good many people expected that device would be the 5 model. by way of comparison, Apple’s latest tablet was generally expected to be the iPad 3, but ended up being called just the new iPad.

While there are no specifications to be gleaned here, the WIPO filing does at least suggest that Apple is considering the iPhone 5 name for the next iteration of its market-defining device. or perhaps it just wishes to take that domain out of play, regardless of what it calls the device.

In its current state, iPhone5.com is a forum site, created in February 2008, according to the WhoIs record. its copyright statement clearly indicates that it is “not endorsed, sponsored, nor otherwise affiliated with Apple” and that it was created “for the sole purpose of entertainment and knowledge.”

And apparently at least some of the denizens of the site like it just fine that way. Worried that if Apple were to take control the site would be shut down, a commenter named Morphius wrote today: “we as members here before the 4s was even released at iphone5.com should stand our ground against Apple. we have every right to be a fan of the iPhone and to talk and discuss about it. THEY WIILL NOT SHUT US DOWN!!!!!

The bare-minimum WIPO filing page does not indicate when Apple filed its complaint, although the case number D2012-0951 does indicate that it might have been sometime this year. It does say, under the heading decision, “Case active.”

Like many companies, Apple has done battle before to take possession of domain names in a quest to protect the good name of its products. In November, for instance, having filed a complaint with the WIPO, Apple was able to take control of seven “iPhone” domain names, including the straightforward iphone4s.com and the more prurient iphonesex4s.com.

For speculation about what the iPhone 5 (or whatever it ends up being called) might feature, check out CNET’s regularly updated “iPhone 5 rumor roundup.” among the latest reports are claims that the next iPhone will have a 4-inch screen and a thinner, taller body.

Apple is widely expected to deliver the iPhone 5 sometime this year.

We’ve requested comment from Apple and will update this story when we get a response.

[Via AppleInsider]

Apple angles for iPhone5.com domain

Today: Facebook upsizes its IPO, Apple (AAPL) reportedly will make the iPhone bigger, and Google (GOOG) will offer more in its search results.

Facebook adds more shares as investors clamor for IPO

Another day closer to Facebook’s initial public offering, another updated filing from the world’s largest social network that changes key details of its IPO.

The Menlo Park company will sell roughly 84 million more shares to investors than it had previously planned, according to Wednesday’s filing, after raising the proposed price of its initial shares Tuesday. Facebook is now planning to sell slightly more than 421 million shares at $34 to $38, though the company could still sell the shares 20 percent higher than the top of that range without filing yet another amendment to its Securities and Exchange Commission documents.

Facebook’s IPO gets bigger, but the company won’t offer the additional shares or share in the proceeds: the additional shares, along with another 10 million shares added to the overallotment option available to banks in charge of the sale, are all coming from early Facebook investors, mostly venture capitalists. Peter Thiel, famously depicted as the first big investor in Facebook in “The Social Network,” more than doubled the number of shares he is selling, from 7.7 million to 16.8 million. Accel Partners partner James Breyer will sell 49 million shares instead of 38.1 million; Russian billionaire Yuri Milner’s investment firm, DST Global, pushed its sale to 45.7 million from 26.3 million, while the Russian Internet titan he founded, Mail.ru Group, will also increase the shares it sells. Institutional investors Goldman Sachs and Tiger Global, among others, also increased the stakes they will sell.

While the additional shares allow individual investors — who have been clamoring for shares — a better chance of claiming a slice of the company, the bigger exit for early investors scared some analysts.

“The basic question you have to ask is, ‘Do you want to buy a company where all the insiders are heading for the door?’ ” University of Oxford professor Tim Jenkinson told the Wall Street Journal.

“When you see insiders unloading their stakes, you start to wonder why. I could see it turning some institutional investors off,” Greenwood Capital Chief Investment Officer Walter Todd told Bloomberg News.

Then again, demand for those shares are too high to believe that higher cash-outs by early investors will change anyone’s mind.

“An increasing number of institutional investors are looking beyond the value of the business today and looking at the future growth,” Samuel Schwerin, managing partner at Millennium Technology Value Partners, told Bloomberg on Tuesday. “Those drivers are extraordinary in size, including international and mobile and commerce.”

That drive for a piece of Facebook is obvious in the fact that almost all the banks taking orders had closed off orders by the time the markets closed Wednesday, according to Reuters. with all the orders in and shares being divvied up, little is left but to state the final price of the shares — expected Thursday, but possible earlier, including Wednesday evening — and start raking in the cash. if Facebook sells all the shares offered, including the overallotment, at the top of its latest stated range, it would bring in up to $18.4 billion at a valuation of $104.1 billion.

Numbers like those, and all the hype about a record-setting IPO out of Silicon Valley, have observers attempting to frame the discussion outside of financial terms.

“This is much more a spectacle, a media event and a cultural moment than it is an IPO,” GreenCrest Capital analyst Max Wolff told Reuters. “This is not a game of models and fundamentals at this point.”

Apple ordering larger screens for iPhones, reports say

While Facebook confirmed Tuesday evening reports about a larger IPO with Wednesday’s filings, Apple has yet to confirm the other “bigger” story of the day — a bigger screen on the new iPhone.

Notoriously tight-lipped, especially when it comes to upcoming gadgets, the Cupertino tech company is unlikely to dignify Wednesday’s reports with a real response, but The Wall Street Journal and Reuters independently reported that Apple is ordering screens for the next iPhone that are roughly 30 percent larger in area.

The two news sources, relying on anonymous sources, said that Apple has been ordering screens that measure 4 inches diagonally for the next generation of its popular smartphone; the previous five iterations of the iPhone have had screens that measured 3.5 inches diagonally.

The reports make sense, as Apple is battling the new champion of cellphone companies, Samsung, which offers smartphone screens even larger than the new reported iPhone size. However, one analyst is dubious of the report.

“We’ve seen this rumor before … and before … and before,” Avi Greengart, research director for consumer devices at Current Analysis, told Mercury News staff writer Patrick may. “And it hasn’t panned out yet. sure, it’s a logical rumor from the perspective that the iPhone has a significantly smaller display than other flagship smartphones on the market today. but it also has an extremely high resolution, and that smaller design makes the device fit better in your hand.

“Besides,” Greengart added, “the last time I checked the iPhone was selling very well.”

Google taps extensive database for new search results

Google is also doing pretty well, continuing to dominate search. the Mountain View tech giant isn’t leaving its core business alone, however, announcing Wednesday a new feature in its search results.

Google announced it would begin offering tangentially related search results in a box to the right of the main links it currently offers. the information, which will come from the “Knowledge Graph,” Google’s name for a database of 500 million commonly searched topics, will offer more graphical representation and instant information on the search subject and related topics.

“Over the years, as search has improved, people expect more,” Amit Singhal, vice president of engineering at Google and the head of search, told Reuters. “We see this as the next big improvement in search relevance.”

The move continues a trend of search engines offering more than just a standard list of links for each query. For instance, Microsoft announced a major change to Bing that will offer searchers three distinct columns of results for every search, including social results from Twitter, Facebook and other networks.

Silicon Valley tech stocks

Up: Yelp, Google, LinkedIn, Jive, Cisco (CSCO), Electronic Arts

Down: Netflix (NFLX), Zynga, Advanced Micro Devices, Juniper, VMware, Symantec, Splunk, Nvidia, Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), NetApp, Intel (INTC), Apple, Oracle

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index: Down 19.72, or 0.68 percent, to 2,874.04

The blue chip Dow Jones industrial average: Down 33.45, or 0.26 percent, to 12,598.55

And the widely watched Standard & Poor’s 500 index: Down 5.86, or 0.44 percent, to 1,324.80

Check in weekday afternoons for the 60-Second Business break, a summary of news from Mercury News staff writers, the Associated Press, Bloomberg News and other wire services. Contact Jeremy C. Owens at 408-920-5876; follow him at Twitter.com/mercbizbreak.

Biz Break: Facebook’s IPO, Apple’s iPhone and Google’s search results all may get bigger, but are they better?

Many people hear about jailbreaking an iPhone 4 and wonder what the benefits would be of doing so. The first thought that often pops in to their mind is, Well, I could use my iPhone 4 on other networks besides AT&T. while many do have other providers for their phone many of their iPhone 4s are not jailbroken. They are simply unlocked. so what does it mean to jailbreak an iPhone 4?

It means that an iPhone 4 user can get different apps than what are available in the App Store and further customize their iPhone. The main advantage to jailbreaking an iPhone 4 is the ability to turn it into a Wi-Fi hotspot.

Originally there were very different reasons for jailbreaking an iPhone. Before, jailbreaking would allow iPhone users to zoom in on pictures, customize the iPhone’s background, and upload video to YouTube. with the new iOS 4 and the iPhone 4 these options are now available to any iPhone 4 user. It is highly possible that what was being done on jailbroken iPhones had an enormous impact on what Apple put standard in to their new products. so, what are the major advantages of doing it now?

The biggest news currently in jailbreaking is the ability to turn an iPhone 4 in to a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot. Although it does cost money there is an app called MiWi 4.0. This app allows for up to four devices to be connected to Wi-Fi through your iPhone 4. Reviews have found that download speeds were somewhere around 3300 Kbps and uploads were around 340 Kbps.

Another great app for a jailbroken phone is the My3G. This is an app that actually lets people use FaceTime the way many envisioned when Apple announced it would be available with the iPhone 4. My3G allows users are able to use FaceTime over a 3G connection instead of needing to be tied to a Wi-Fi network. so no matter where someone is, if they have 3G, they can make FaceTime calls. This application for the jailbroken iPhone 4 also allows for downloading TV shows and podcast from iTunes as well as watching HD videos on YouTube. Features you had hoped would be available from Apple, right?

Jailbreaking an iPhone 4 also allows for more customization. On the lock screen you can put all the information you would like to see without sliding to unlock your phone. This can include if you have any new emails, the calls you might have missed, or the current weather at your location. The header is even customizable with a jailbroken phone giving you options on how your iPhone 4 should be personalized. Finally, all the apps that Apple deems unacceptable for their App Store are available with a jailbroken iPhone 4. there is no limit to what is available and what can be created on a jailbroken phone.

So, there are many reasons why a person should consider jailbreaking their phone. Of course any changes made to an iPhone 4 will void the warranty but if that is OK with you, or you are a product tester and got your iPhone 4 for free anyway, then give jailbreaking a try. It will open up the iPhone 4 to all new apps and possibilities that are not available to the average iPhone user.

iPhone 4 – Why Would You Want To Jailbreak Your New iPhone?

The new iPhone 4S is being released with the brand new version of Apples world famous operating system. This new platform, named iOS5, brings a wealth of benefits for the consumer including the new iMessage application which enables instant messaging between Apple devices. does the release of platforms such as iOS 5 spell the end for the once popular SMS text message?

The new iMessage system enables the easy exchange of text between devices running the iOS 5 operating system. As well as including the new iPhone 4S this will also apply to the iPhone 4 and the 3GS as well as the iPad tablet devices. The platform also enables photos and videos to be easily transferred between friends. This feature builds on the success established by RIM with their own Blackberry Messenger feature which has become popular across the world. in addition to these services that are provided by phone manufacturers there are also a host of third party applications which also perform a similar function. Facebook have recently launched their own chat facility and the new Google Plus social networking site also incorporates a feature that enables instant messaging. It seems that if you own a smartphone then you have access to such a feature and this is great news to millions of phone users worldwide who can use a WiFi internet connection or a cellular data network to send this type of message with no cost at all. Network providers have acknowledged this fact any many contracts now incorporate unlimited data meaning the user has no restrictions on how often they use such a facility.

So does the rise in popularity of the IM signal the end of the traditional SMS text message? The answer is no, well not for a while yet and this is the reason. Powerful handsets such as the iPhone 4S need to maintain a constant internet connection for systems such as iMessage and Facebook chat to work effectively. Even if you are not currently sending a message the program needs to be running in order to instantly receive the message as well as to tell you who is online and when a friend is typing a reply. To maintain such a connection long term places a tremendous strain on the devices battery life. The modern Lithium-Ion battery cannot cope with such a system being used continuously throughout the day. Technology is always improving and soon we may see a battery capable of giving a reasonable performance even with features such as this running but at present the lack of power means that IM does not signify the death of SMS.

There is no question that systems such as iMessage on the iPhone 4S are the future of text communications but it seems the software is a little ahead of the hardware at this moment in time. Until a battery is developed that can provide lengthy standby times even with an internet connection running in the background then we will still have room on our devices for the humble SMS message.

Does iMessage On The iPhone 4S Signify The End Of SMS Messaging?

Sprint Nextel CEO Dan Hesse took a $3.25 million pay cut earlier this month, as penance for orchestrating the company’s pricey iPhone deal with Apple. Has outcry over the agreement — which will cost Sprint an estimated $15.5 billion over the next four years — soured him on it?

“We’re very happy with it,” Hesse said of Sprint’s deal with Apple, during the company’s annual shareholders meeting Tuesday. “Carrying the iPhone will be quite profitable.”

But not for a few years, at least.

By its own admission, Sprint won’t profit from the device until 2015. But according to Hesse, who was reelected to Sprint’s board during Tuesday’s proceedings, that initial heavy upfront investment in the iPhone is worthwhile because it will slow subscriber turnover and create a new segment of higher-value subscribers.

“We believe in the long term,” Hesse said. “And over time we will make more money on iPhone customers than we will on other customers.”

And there, it would seem, Hesse does have a point. Sprint sold 1.5 million iPhones in its first quarter, with about 44 percent of them going to new customers. And those sales helped spike Sprint’s average revenue per user 6.9 percent, the largest year-over-year increase ever charted in that metric in the U.S.

Sprint’s Hesse: We’ll Make Money on the iPhone … Eventually

With more than 25 000 free and pay applications listed on the Apple App Store, the kiosk for downloading programs for iPhone and iPod Touch is a success. Two U.S. companies, Greystripe and Admobis, have also managed to draw in and monetize via advertising in mobile applications for free download. some of the games with Advergaming (a mixture of advertising – advertising – and gaming – games -) are: Pro 21, Blackjack, Cookie Bonus Solitaire, Origami Rose, and Powerboat Racing. These games specialize in the monetization of iPhone games. Greystripe has recently claimed to have passed the 140 million games downloaded that incorporate mobile advertising managed internally.

As of today there have been 30 million Apple application downloads. 50% of these downloads are games on the iPhone. Interestingly, Greystripe has developed a specific version of flash to manage mobile advertising. This software has not been authorized by Apple to be integrated into its games available on the App Store.

For its part, Admobis, a self proclaimed mobile advertising network for iPhone, is larger with more than 1000 applications planning to launch soon. Admobis plans to introduce a new system of exchange between developers of commercials for Apple’s touch terminals. Developer volunteers may therefore incorporate a tag advertising in their application to invite app users to advertising partner sites. Admobis allows for an increase in visibility without investing in a major advertising campaign. Admob currently offers mobile advertising on nearly 7.2 million iPhone around the world.

The world is changing, Admobis and Greystripe provide businesses and developers a new and innovative way to generate revenue.

Apple – iPhone App Advertising Companies

Back in June of 2010, Apple came out with their 4th generation iPhone. Last year (December of 2011), BlackBerry released their BlackBerry Bold 9790. Now, let me tell you about two of the best smartphones that ever hit the market. In this article, we will talk about and compare the iPhone 4 and the BlackBerry Bold 9790. these handsets may be released one year apart (2010 and 2011) from each other, but they have been the best handsets that ever hit the market during their time. Please allow me to compare them for you. Read on!

I will start with their display screens. to start off the comparison note, let’s talk about Apple’s phone followed by BlackBerry’s handset. Apple packed its handset with 3.5″ LED-backlit IPS touch screen and it comes in with a screen resolution of 640 x 960 pixels (pixel density of 330 ppi). BlackBerry on the other hand packed its phone with 2.45″ TFT capacitive touch screen and it comes with a resolution of 480 x 360 pixels (pixel density of 245 ppi). when it comes to having a bigger screen and higher screen resolution, I can easily give a whole good point to Apple for packing its handset with a 3.5″ screen.

Another feature we should discuss and compare is their cameras. Apple packed its phone with 5MP shutter with 2592 x 1944 pixels. It can also record videos at 720 pixels at 30 frames per second. there is also a VGA front-facing camera on this with 480 pixels resolution and can shoot at 30 frames per second. BlackBerry on the other hand packed its handset with the same 5MP shutter with the same resolution (2592 x 1944 pixels). But it packs a VGA video recording capability only. there is also no front-facing shutter on this handset. Another good point and a half goes to Apple for packing a front-facing shutter and being able to record videos at 720 pixels.

Let’s now talk about processors and memory capacity. Apple decided to ship its handset with 1GHz Cortex – A8 processor chip. you can also choose from their 8, 16, or 32GB worth of memory storage handsets with 512MB RAM. BlackBerry on the other hand came up with 8GB worth of memory storage phones and backed it up with 768MB RAM. if the 8GB memory capacity is quite small for you, then you can easily add more memory via the phone’s microSD card slot. yes, you can basically add as much as 32GB more worth of memory. when it comes to owning more memory storage or memory capacity, I give BlackBerry a whole good point for packing its handset with a memory card slot for more storage option.

From the main features mentioned above, Apple received two and a half good points and BlackBerry received only one. the answer is clear as to who wins in this comparison note. But whether you are an iPhone 4 fan or BlackBerry Bold 9790 fan, you always have the upper hand in choosing what is best for you.

This is my brief comparison note on the iPhone 4 and BlackBerry Bold 9790.

A Comparison Between The iPhone 4 And The BlackBerry Bold 9790

The iPhone 5 has been a very rumored device for the past two years and, and even after its non existence, and the rather disappointing announcement of the 4S, everyone is wondering, what will happen to the iPhone 5?

Recently, Apple has filed ownership for the internet domain name “iPhone5.com” and what makes this interesting is that the website is already a forum for the device. from the looks of it, there are only two equally possible options. Either the phone exists, and this is Apple trying to claim the domain name in order to set up a redirect for the announcement and launch, or this is a just Apple acquiring domain names related to their brand.

I feel like, and certainly hope, that is the first. since the closing of Apple’s forums, Apple has always promoted fan sites, so it seems unlikely they would want to close one down. then again, they could always request the site to transfer to another domain.

I also feel like the next iPhone could go the way of the iPad in the terms of the naming of the device, but in a world of numbered and uniquely identifiable, I don’t see them changing their working advertising method for the very successful phone.

The identification number for the filing is D2012-0951 if you want to follow the news further.

iPhone5.com Filed For Ownership by Apple