Apple has reportedly scheduled an event for Sept. 12, and the buzz is that’s where the iPhone 5 and the iPad Mini will be unveiled. A new iPod and Nano may also make their debut. The same reports say the new iPhone and the Mini will be in stores on the 21st.
The reports have analysts slicing and dicing all kinds of data to predict what Cupertino may have in store. Observers have said that Apple’s been buying components that point to the introduction of new products. On the other hands, Computerworld’s Jonny Evans speculates that all those purchases may be about launching the iPhone 5 into “a wave of pent-up demand.”
As my colleague Vincent Chow noted yesterday, Apple’s under pressure to get something dramatic into the smartphone market. A year after the iPhone 4′s launch, “Android devices like Samsung’s Galaxy S III and the HTC One X are setting the smartphone bar higher than it’s ever been,” he writes. That means Apple has to confront its competitors with something strong.
Rumors of new features include NFC, LTE, a larger screen and a smaller dock connector.
Apple willing, these won’t be rumors much longer. Stay tuned.
