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Next iPhone In Final Testing Stages — Report

Lead columnist Charles Moore reports on the latest testing and production news surrounding the iPhone 5, and what is being said about its purported features.
9To5Mac is reporting that an Apple source they’ve found reliable in the past tells them that the next-generation iPhone has reached the final testing stage and is now being field-tested by high-level Apple and wireless carrier execs, with the current plan shooting for a September launch. However, the word is thatApple and Verizon have not yet reached agreement on FaceTime over 3G for the Verizon network, and the companies are still ironing out kinks associated with support for iOS 5′s over-the-air updates, the latter which ” may or may not be delayed past fall 2011.” Verizon’s iPhone 4 CDMA version has Apple’s FaceTime software disabled, a decision speculatively attributed to the wireless provider’s concern about the Apple software’s high data demands, and the scuttlebutt is that 3G FaceTime on Verizon is not a lock yet either, and 4G video chat even less so, with over-the-air updates for the iPhone 5 also an outstanding point of contention
More Tidbit iPhone 5 Details Emerge
DailyTech blogger Jason Mick suggests that Apple’s decision to push its major iPhone upgrade release date this year to September from June — if indeed a September release does materialize, will be costly for Apple, which he notes has already fallen behind Google’s Android OS in U.S. and worldwide sales.
Mick notes that the iOS 5.0 SDK refers to two new iPhone hardware versions designated “N94″ and “N93,” with the former reportedly supporting both a GSM and CDMA chips as well as the dual-core A5 ARMv7 CPU that powers the iPad 2.
The purpose of the N93 is more murky, but may refer to a model tailored for Sprint and/or T-Mobile in the U.S., as we reported on the weekend.
Mick also reports that the iOS 5.0 SDK indicates that the iPhone 5′s rear-facing camera will remain a 5 megapixel resolution unit, and will not support the 8 megapixels that have been rumored.
The Register’s Tony Smith ponders whether the September iPhone will actually be the iPhone 5 or a souped-up iPhone 4 tweaked to match the upgrade from the 3G to the 3GS, with some insider information sources hedging their bets by referring only to the “next-generation iPhone,” although Smith thinks that even if it does turn out to be a souped-up iPhone 4 Apple will probably call it the iPhone 5 regardless.
4G LTE Interference With GPS Reception Discovered
In other news of the day, HardMac’s Lionel comments on a Wall Street Journal report that tests conducted on the LightSquared determined that that the LTE signal can cause serious interference with the signals of GPS and other devices. Resolving that problem could lead to more holdups.

This post was written by: Irfan Jam

Irfan Jam is a professional blogger, web designer and front end web developer. Follow him on Facebook