iPhone 4.0

The fourth generation iPhone is on its way later this year, and reports have already surfaced indicating vast improvements in hardware and functionality. Apple is taking its iPhone to the next level to insure that competition from rival smartphones are held at bay.

Wireless provider KT introduced the iPhone to South Korea in November of 2009, and sources within the company have given The Korea Times a glimpse of what Apple is planning for iPhone 4.0. Hardware upgrades include dual-core processors, improved graphics and a power-sipping organic light-emitting diode (OLED) screen.

The next generation iPhone will sport a 5-megapixel camera if the latest reports from DigiTimes are to be believed. Last year, the iPhone 3GS improved imaging capabilities with the addition of autofocus and video using a 3.2-megapixel camera.

OmniVision Technologies is expected to increase production of its image sensors in 2010 to fulfill demands for Apple's products, including the iPhone. Orders for 5-megapixel sensors have already been received by OmniVision in advance of the iPhone 4.0 launch next year.

Apple is right on schedule to release the next generation iPhone in summer of 2010. Unreleased iPhone hardware version 3,1 has been logged by PinchMedia this month in San Francisco. This means the company is already field testing hardware for the next model iPhone.

In the past, Apple has field tested other iPhone models 6-8 months before release. The jump in hardware designation from 2,1 to 3,1 indicates the hardware update from the 3GS to the next model will be significant.

Samsung, the maker of past iPhone processors, has revealed its latest ARM chip. Clocking at an outrageous 1 GHz, this chip only consumes 640mW of power.

The new ARM, nicknamed Hummingbird, uses the same Cortex-A8 architecture featured in the iPhone 3GS. The new chip includes Neon, which speeds up video and audio tasks.

The Hummingbird is the first ARM-based processor design to be built by Samsung using a 45 nanometer assembly process. This keeps energy efficiency at a maximum and lowers the heat emissions of the chip. The Hummingbird only requires one volt of power to operate.