Is iPhone5 waiting for 4G?

 

Why is the iPhone5 not coming this year?

One thing stuck in my mind about the iPhone4S event, there was no 4G network compliance for the iPhone4s. So, does that mean that Apple is going to wait until 4G networks are rolled out globally BEFORE they drop the iPhone5 on us?

Not a bad strategy if that is the play here. 4G will allow much faster data speeds than 3g, and this will translate into an even bigger story at announcement. The ‘newest iphone to run on newest networks’, has a ring to it and let’s face it, people read Apple headlines because they are innovators and that is what they expect.

If I was a telco like Telstra or Optus, I would be begging a powerful handset company like Apple, with a proven handset sales track record, to release their king product onto their newest 4G network. This will drive sales of new accounts to the most data hungry early adopters. These guys are the first to buy people, they’re the customer evangelists so many Australians turn to for advice before buying technology. To get them onto 4G is the goal, for starters, they know what 4G is and what it means for mobile phone handsets. They will start using it for the many benefits 4G provides and share that experience at a grass roots level through social media and other viral channels.

Further to that, it is no secret that 3G networks are getting clogged with the huge customer growth they have experienced in the last 12 months. So much so that Optus is moving their 900Mhz spectrum from their 2G network to their 3G network to follow the customer migration and upgrade to smart phones.

It is a great plan, but first, their needs to be critical mass on 4G networks across the planet. That will be 2012 for the US, Europe and parts of Asia (including Australia). If you don’t have 4G, then maybe you can just use the iPhone 4GS until you get!

The more I think about it, the more clear it sounds – ‘iPhone5 to release on 4G’ 2012.