iPhone Hardware

New information is revealed every day surrounding the upcoming iPhone 5 design. As usual, Apple is silent as a whirlwind of leaks and rumors about next generation iPhone hardware makes its way to the public. Seen below is last fall's cool yet ridiculous handyflash concept, one of the first to appear.

The truth is that Apple has been granted a patent for changes to its capacitive touch screen that could lead to thinner iPhones. As described by AppleInsider, separating conductive nodes from the touch surface reduces the hardware necessary for a touch screen and saves battery power. The patent was first filed in July 2009, but it's not clear if this new interface will make it into the iPhone 5.

Several Apple patents have surfaced that hint towards possible iPhone hardware updates. One patent reveals an integrated AM/FM radio tuner that would make conventional broadcast radio listening possible. Not only this, but the app design includes a radio map showing nearby radio stations and the associated musical genres.

Satellite radio is also mentioned in the patent application, as well as a radio tuner card for desktop Mac computers. The app design includes presets and a similar interface to current broadband streaming radio players.

Just last month reports indicated that Apple was planning to integrate reprogrammable SIM cards into iPhones, cutting wireless carriers out of the activation process. Turns out that opposition from European carriers has derailed the project. According to a report in the Sunday Telegraph, the wireless companies threatened to stop paying iPhone subsidies for contract subscribers. Currently, carriers pay the subsidy directly to Apple and collect the money from customers during their service subscription period.

An anonymous source at one mobile operator told the paper that Apple has "been sent back to the drawing board with their tails between their legs." The company's work on embedded SIM cards may not be entirely wasted, as the report also explains that future iPads may include the special SIM. The iPad is not subsidized by mobile carriers, and a reprogrammable SIM card would make it possible to activate the device at the point of purchase on a variety of carrier's networks.

Rumors of a Verizon iPhone 4 are hitting a fever pitch even as Apple and the largest US carrier are keeping mum. Two new reports lend more credence to the claim that a CDMA-compatible Verizon Wireless iPhone will be launched in early 2011, only months after the company started selling iPads in its retail stores. Fortune magazine reports that Verizon executives sought to patch things up with Apple after CEO Jobs was initially rebuffed in his attempts to launch the iPhone on the carrier's network.

Sources also told the magazine that a Verizon iPhone was a done deal, coming to a retail location near you. The device is planned to be the current iPhone 4 model, except with a CDMA chip that will only work on Verizon's US network. No specific date was given, however early 2011 could put launch several months before the iPhone 5 is expected in summer 2011.

Apple is reportedly partnering with SIM card manufacturer Gemalto to come up with its own reprogrammable SIM cards that could ship embedded in iPhones. GigaOm has heard from several European wireless carriers that the project is underway, and they're not thrilled about the prospect. An embedded SIM in the iPhone would make it possible for Apple to allow iPhone buyers to decide which carrier they want at the point of purchase.

iPhone activation could all be handled with a simple app download from the Apple App Store, cutting out the carrier's involvement in the process. Gemalto would provide support for the iPhone to find a phone number and start service on a carrier's network, and the appropriate data would activate the device after it's written to flash memory in the SIM chip.