NEW YORK (AP) - The iPhone is coming!!!
After weeks of speculation,
anticipation and a dose of hype, Apple is holding an event Wednesday
during which it's widely expected to announce a new smartphone.
Apple isn't saying anything
about the topic of the event, but the email invitation it sent to
reporters contains a shadow in the shape of a "5'' - a nod to the iPhone
5. It is being held at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater, where
Apple has held many product launches.
The new model is expected
to work with fourth-generation, or 4G, cellular networks. That
capability is something Samsung's Galaxy S III and many other iPhone
rivals already have. A bigger iPhone screen is also possible. The new
model will likely go on sale in a week or two.
Apple Inc. also plans to
update its phone software this fall and will ditch Google Inc.'s mapping
service for its own, as a rivalry between the two companies
intensifies.
In a related development,
Google said Tuesday that it is releasing a new YouTube app for the
iPhone and the iPad. The changes come amid the expiration of a five-year
licensing agreement that had established YouTube as one of the built-in
applications in Apple's mobile devices.
Still unknown is whether Apple will announce a smaller version of its iPad on Wednesday.
Apple dominates the market
for tablet computers, shipping seven out of every 10 tablets in the
second quarter, according to research firm IHS iSuppli. Rivals have been
trying to compete by producing smaller, cheaper models -such as
Amazon's Kindle Fire. A mini iPad would challenge those relative
newcomers.
Sales of Apple's iPhones
are still strong, though the company lost the lead in smartphones to
Samsung this year. Samsung Electronics Co. benefited from having its
Galaxy S III out in the U.S. in June, while Apple was still selling an
iPhone model it released last October. A new iPhone will allow Apple to
recapture the attention and the revenue.
Amid expectations of a new
iPhone, Amazon, Nokia and Motorola all tried to generate interest in
their products last week, hoping that a head start on the buzz will
translate into stronger sales. Makers of consumer electronics are
refreshing their products for the holiday shopping season.
Amazon announced four new
Kindle Fire models and a new line of stand-alone e-readers, while Nokia
and Motorola unveiled five new smartphones between them.
Nokia and Microsoft, in
particular, are trying to generate interest in a new Windows operating
system out next month. The two phones announced by Nokia are among the
first to run Windows Phone 8.
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