Wednesday, September 19, 2012

iOS 6 Apple release date, (AAPL) features: Download new iPhone 5, iPad, iPod ... - NewsNet5.com

What if you found yourself stuck alone at a faraway airport -- with no money, credit cards or ID? How easily could you fly back home again?

You might survive if you had a smartphone. Emerging "empty pockets" technology is increasingly allowing travelers to use their phones to make purchases, book flights, check in and board planes.

Wallets? They're so 2008.

Delta, American and United are already big into electronic boarding passes on smartphones, and stragglers like JetBlue are planning e-boarding programs in the near future.

What's next? If some visionaries have their way, the future of mobile travel will touch virtually every key activity at the airport -- including security and U.S. passports. Smartphone technology might improve airport efficiency and help ease the pain from skyrocketing traffic predicted in the next 20 years.

But is a post-9/11 world comfortable with the idea of merging personal cell phones into the airport security network?

Apple -- still basking in the afterglow of last week's iPhone 5 curtain raiser -- is also unveiling Passbook, an app which organizes e-boarding passes, flight reservations, coupons and other documents.

But Apple has a much more grandiose plan for its empty pocket dreams, according to public U.S. Patent and Trademark Office documents. Read the patent document (PDF).

For example, imagine checking bags with your cell phone -- or passing through security by flashing an official driver's license or U.S. passport displayed on your phone.

Outside the airport, envision using just your phone to rent a car or to check into a hotel. How about using your phone as an electronic hotel room key?

But let's get real, say industry experts and government officials. As cool as all these ideas sound, extending Apple's technology and influence to airport baggage tracking and TSA security would be unprecedented.

"I'm always kind of staggered by the scale and complexity and the ambition that they have," says mobile phone industry analyst Nick Holland of Yankee Group.

As you might expect from the secretive folks at Apple, they wouldn't talk to CNN about the patent documents. But we did grab some time with "Apple Insider" reporter Neil Hughes, who covers nothing but Apple, including its patents for future products.

"Security may be the biggest issue," says Hughes. Carrying all your personal ID and travel documents on a single device would be very tempting for skilled password hacks, says Hughes.

The concept

The 2008 patent application was approved in July and filed under the working title "iTravel." Hughes suspects the iTravel concept will be folded into Apple's Passbook app, which will be available for download on Wednesday. Right now, Passbook will store electronic versions of airline boarding passes which will automatically pop up on iPhone screens when you arrive at the airport. The phone knows where you are, thanks to geo-locator technology.

That aspect alone will make a lot of gadget-geeky travelers feel all gee-whizzy inside.

Even more gee-whizzy: The patent calls for iPhones to automatically check in luggage when passengers approach an airport baggage check-in kiosk. (See details in the photo gallery above.)

Would security benefit from smart-phone based e-passports and e-drivers licenses? Would they increase speed, efficiency or security at TSA check points?

Currently -- as most of us know -- TSA agents briefly examine government ID and boarding passes as each passenger presents their documents at a checkpoint at the end of a security line.

Under Apple's patent, a traveler's phone would automatically send electronic identification to a TSA agent as soon as the traveler gets in line.

While each traveler waits in line, TSA agents would examine the electronic ID at an electronic viewing station.

Next, at the X-ray stations, a traveler's phone would confirm to security agents that the traveler's ID had already been checked. Throughout the process, the phone photo could be displayed on a screen for comparison with the traveler. Facial recognition software could be included in the process. (See details on Apple's proposal in the photo gallery above.)

The patent documents offer a surprising number of details which open doors to key questions about the system, but Apple declined to discuss the patent.

The TSA wouldn't comment either on the viability of Apple's plan. But other government officials, aviation authorities and longtime industry experts say Apple faces at least three high hurdles if they want to see this idea to fruition.

Verification

Several experts say a key question that must be answered is: How would you prove that the phone is yours? In other words, how would you prove that the e-passport is actually you?

To get around this problem, future phones or electronic ID may require some form of biometric security function -- like fingerprint matching.

In general, passports must be designed to be difficult to copy. Recent security changes to U.S. passports have included a hidden

radio frequency identification chip to hinder counterfeiters. The chip includes the same data as the paper passport, a unique chip ID number, a digital version of the passport holder's photo "which will facilitate the use of face recognition technology at ports-of-entry," according to the State Department website.

Universality

Any company that intends to create an official electronic ID will have to work closely with countless government authorities to come up with secure, verifiable standards. Think about the complexity of that idea across 50 U.S. states and all the nations that travelers visit each year.

An electronic passport would have to be approved by an international standards organization, and it would have to be usable from country to country, according to the U.S. State Department, which oversees U.S. passports.

There are ongoing government efforts aimed at using technology to enhance passport security and convenience, according to a State Department official.

But the State Department says a smartphone portable e-passport is unlikely to become a reality anytime soon.

"We're not at a point where the government is going to go digital for any of that stuff," says Hughes, of "Apple Insider." Then he laughs and says, "I mean, I'm not even allowed to laminate my Social Security card."

Related story: Opinion: Airport Wi-Fi and mobile services are lacking

Infrastructure

Apple's patent calls for the placement of special kiosks around the airport which will automatically exchange data with your phone via a close range wireless technology called near field communication (NFC). Apple phones -- including the new iPhone 5 -- don't include NFC, but they eventually would, according to the iTravel patent.

If consumers, airlines, airports and the TSA don't embrace the NFC kiosks, experts say it's unlikely Apple's vision would become reality.

"First you would have to sell industry on Apple's idea, says Hughes. "Then you'd have to sell it to travel consumers."

Case in point: Google Wallet, a mobile phone app which allows people to make purchases with their NFC-enabled android phones. You set it up by attaching your Wallet account to your credit card. Then, you wave your phone near a special NFC-enabled point-of-purchase terminal, and voila! It's paid for.

Most NewYork City taxis take Google Wallet. Travelers using Newark Liberty Airport can tap their Wallet-enabled phones at the New Jersey Transit rail station and at New York's Penn Station. Many cabs in San Francisco also are Wallet-friendly. Also, using Google Wallet will get you access to special discount offers. Google isn't ruling out adding more travel features to Wallet -- like e-boarding passes. "A wallet can hold all kinds of things," hints Google's Nate Tyler. "Things are absolutely in development."

A little more than a year after launching, Google Wallet has about 200,000 NFC point of purchase terminals nationwide, according to Google.

Although the concept may be ahead of its time, analyst Holland says Google Wallet remains less than successful because there simply aren't enough terminals. "They're probably about three years premature," Holland says.

"It's a chicken-and-egg problem," says Hughes. "You need to have the NFC kiosks there and you need to be aware of it and the stores have to invest in it, so sometimes it just doesn't catch on."

Along with making a buck, Silicon Valley appears to be trying to make travel more convenient through smartphone technology. That makes sense, because travelers will need all the help they can get to plot a course through increasingly crowded airports.

The number of yearly U.S. commercial airline passengers is expected to nearly double to 1.2 billion by 2032, according to the FAA. As increasingly complicated smart-phone partnerships evolve between the tech world and the sprawling travel industry bureaucracy, it looks like growing pains will be unavoidable.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Everything you need to know about Apple's new Lightning connector - Las Vegas Informer

By Alex Kosmach

Las Vegas Informer

In the week since Apple announced its new line of iPhones and iPods, much of the public’s reaction has been focused on the devices themselves. Does it matter that the iPhone 5 is longer and runs faster than its predecessor if it doesn’t contain an NFC chip, improved Bluetooth, or other key new technologies that Android phones either will soon adapt if they have not already? Does it matter how many colors the iPod nano comes in if it only comes in a 16 GB model? Does Apple actually still sell iPod Classics? All of these questions have been hotly discussed but don’t engage what may be Apple’s key new development announced at Wednesday’s event.

Lightning.

Lightning, Apple’s new charge and sync connection that will replace the proprietary dock plug that has been used since at least 2003, struck on Wednesday and caused a firestorm. The Apple fanboys either love itâ€"possibly too muchâ€"or loathe itâ€"also probably too much. Android loyalists are glad they still can talk about how the iPhone and iPod can’t connect via MicroUSB. Middle of the road folks are not quite sure what to think.

Lightning, despite all of Apple’s fanfare and the actual advancements it has made in terms of quality and durability, is still much of the same technology that most iDevice users are already accustomed to. Let’s analyze how different the world will be with Lightning plugs as a part of it.

WHY LIGHTNING?

The simplest explanation thus far as to why Apple changed its proprietary dock connection to Lightning is less about the cable or plug itself but the iDevice it connects to. According to Phil Schiller, Senior Vice President of Apple, the Lightning connection was adopted for the iPhone 5 and new iPods so the devices could be made thinner. Put simply, a bigger plug requires more internal hardware to make it operate properly. If Apple wanted a thinner phone, it needed a more dynamic port inside of the phone. Thus, Lightning was born.

WHAT’S THE SAME?

It’s still USB 2.0

The Lightning dock connector, despite the advancements it represents, is still somewhat hindered by the fact that it has not yet made the jump to USB 3.0. Like the cables that have shipped with the iPhone since the debut of the 3G, the new Lightning sync cable still runs on the USB 2.0 standard. This seems counterintuitive for multiple reasons, the least not being that a USB 3.0 cord can still operate over a USB 2.0 connection. A USB 3.0 Lightning sync cable would make sense, especially considering that every iMac, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and Mac Mini ships with at least one USB 3.0 port. With Apple making the jump to Thunderbolt and the increased adoption of USB 3.0, it seems like an upgrade to the Apple Lightning USB cable’s standard might already be long overdue, and it’s only been two days.

It’s still not MicroUSB

With every Android phone, every BlackBerry, and every Windows Phone device syncing and charging over MicroUSB in the status quo, many hoped that Apple would give in to public demand, just this once, and make the iPhone 5 charge and sync via USB micro. Much to their chagrin, the Apple Lightning port and a MicroUSB port are not at all alike. Of course, Apple has always wanted to create a closed ecosystem of products that work over protocols that Apple, and only Apple, gets to dictate.

The Lightning sync port is another step along that line. Lightning allows Apple to continue what they’ve been doing since introducing the long-form 30-pin connector in 2003, which is charging companies who manufacture docks, accessories, and other third-party connectors based on Apple’s proprietary connection a solid amount of money for the right to use that proprietary connection to manufacture their products. Apple doesn’t want that to change anytime soon, even though just a few months ago the mothership threw its support behind a worldwide push for a standard of MicroUSB for charging portable devices. It is possible that future generations will be dual-compatible with Lightning and USB micro, but that seems unlikely. According to Apple’s Senior VP Phil Schiller, “this is the new connector for many years to come.”

WHAT’S DIFFERENT?

It’s 80% smaller

Apple put major work into shrinking the old, 30-pin, inch-wide dock connector to something thinner, smaller, and more intuitive. Mission accomplished.

The Lightning dock connector, compared to its 30-pin predecessor, only has eight pins. That’s 22 less than before. Apple got rid of all those signals by stripping out obsolete technology that made sense for early-era iPods and iPhones, but has been surpassed by alternative methods since. Apple’s new Lightning dock connector is entirely digital; you won’t find any analog channels in the Lightning connector. Apple managed to shrink it and still make it work as well as before â€" a feat indicative of significant technological advancement but one that has been long overdue.

It can plug both ways

Unlike the older Apple proprietary connection that could only be plugged in one way, the Lightning charge and sync plug can be inserted into the iPhone 5′s dock connector regardless of which direction it is facing. As long as it lines up flat with the Lightning dock port, it will plug in. Pretty neat, and definitely more usable.

It’s more durable

Apple claims to have made the new Lightning USB cable more durable and sturdy, which should be a welcome improvement. For as many fully broken iPod and iPhone charge and sync cords out there, there exist an equal number of ones wrapped up in electrical tape as a form of emergency technological triage. Plain and simple, iPhone and iPod sync cables have plain old stunk up the place in terms of overall long-term durability. They rip and tear easily and don not often last more than a year or two. If Apple speaks true and the Lightning charge and sync cable is, in fact, more durable, that is a solid improvement on a longtime shortcoming.

ADAPTATION

All of the hullaballoo and hubbub revolving around the iPhone 5′s new Lightning dock connector is not so much about how it works, but how the new connector is going to work with older devices that use the former Apple proprietary connection. Most iPhone, iPod, and iPad users have some sort of additional accessory for their device, like a speaker dock, charger, cradle, or car mount. Those users, who also may want to upgrade to the new iPhone 5, do not want to go out and buy all new accessories and devices to replace ones made for the older connection standard. Apple is making it somewhat easy for users to adapt their devices to older legacy dock connections, but not everything will work like a charm. Here are the adapting issues you need to know about.

It’ll run you about $30-$40

Apple’s already offering adapters for the new Lightning dock connection on its website. The first is a simple 30-pin to Lighning adapter plug that you’ll need your old 30-pin cable to use, and that costs $29.

The second employs the same concept of plugging the older 30-pin cable or dock connector into the adapter to make it work, but this one is 0.2 meters long and offers a little more flexibility and length. It costs $39.

It can charge and sync

Both of the Apple Lightning dock connector adapters will be able to perform traditional charge and sync duties. As long as you have that older 30-pin dock connector, you can charge your Lightning-equipped devices or sync them via USB. The performance, though not necessarily improved by the new Lightning charge and sync connector, will not be hampered by the extra adapter.

It supplies analog audio

You can process analog audio from your Lightning device to your old speaker dock or speaker adapter in your home or car. Any speakers that ran off of the proprietary 30-pin dock connector will be able to play audio from a Lightning-equipped iDevice.

It doesn’t supply video output

In a push by Apple to encourage users to use other methods of sharing video like its built-in AirPlay technology, the new Lightning dock connector adapters won’t be able to supply analog video through a connection to a display or a television. If you want to share video to another screen from your Lightning-equipped iPhone 5 or iPod touch, you won’t be able to do it with the new adapters.

It doesn’t support iPod dock controls

If you have an iHome or other home iPod or iPhone dock that has controls for iPod functions like play/pause, skip, fast forward and such, the Lightning dock connector to 30-pin adapter will not support those controls. Dock remotes and on-board button controls that help you control your music will not work with the 30-Pin to Lightning adapter. This also applies to car stereos with proprietary iPod input and on-face iPod controls.

Video adapters are coming soon

According to Schiller, Apple will be debuting two different video adapters for the Lightning dock connector in the coming months. Apple has both Lightning to HDMI adapters as well as Lightning to VGA adapters in the works that willl be available soon.

It’s already sold out

As of publication, the wait to receive your adapter will be about two to three weeks thanks to a quick sellout and rapidly increasing backlogs. If you want to adapt your Lightning dock connector to your other 30-pin devices, you’ll probably have to wait.

Apple iPod shenanogans - ZDNet

Summary: Something's going on with the iPod nano and I can't put my finger on it. It's almost too lame to be an Apple product. Could it be a smokescreen to divert attention away from another product?

Shenanogans - Jason O'Grady

Lost in the hype of the iPhone 5 announcement was a less memorable product, the new seventh-generation iPod nano.

Unlike the big star of the event, the new iPod nano is a nothing upgrade to a dead-end product. It doesn't have iOS, apps or WiFi, so there's no way to consume music from the cloud (Spotify, Pandora, Sirius, YouTube, etc.) The only music supported on the iPod nano is whatever you sync from iTunes -- via a cable, no less. Which is Lame.

The Verge's Nilay Patel called it "an impulse buy holiday present that almost makes it seem like you care about the recipient."

Unlike the iPhone and the iPod touch, the iPod nano is a product looking for a problem to solve. Someone looking for an inexpensive music player, could easily pick up a $49 iPod shuffle instead.

Patel put it even more succinctly when he said that "anyone thinking about spending $149 on the iPod nano should tap-dance on street corners until they make the extra $50 it takes to buy the entry-level iPod touch instead."

I'm also a little bitter about the 7th-gen iPod nano because it completely killed the growing and fun iPod-watch industry.

There are two potential reasons why Apple eliminated the square iPod nano form-factor:

1) It cares more about selling (and renting) movies that it does about giving you the time of day, or...

2) Apple's building its own iWatch and doesn't want to compete against itself. 

The latter is a conspiracy theory raised by gdgt's Peter Rojas that I happen to like. Maybe it's just wishful thinking? 

It's easy to imagine all the things that an iWatch could do: it'd be the perfect accessory for an iPhone or iPad. Bluetooth 4.0 could make it a satellite screen for your larger iOS device (which could stay in your pocket or bag) while it displayed things like Tweets, Facebook posts, text messages, emails or the currently playing track. If Apple sold it for $99 (granted, a long shot) it would sell one with every iPhone and iPad sold.

Apple's already innovated the hell out of the palm, now it's time to tackle the wrist.

Apple iPod shenanigans - ZDNet

Summary: Something's going on with the iPod nano and I can't put my finger on it. It's almost too lame to be an Apple product. Could it be a smokescreen to divert attention away from another product?

Shenanogans - Jason O'Grady

Lost in the hype of the iPhone 5 announcement was a less memorable product, the new seventh-generation iPod nano.

Unlike the big star of the event, the new iPod nano is a nothing upgrade to a dead-end product. It doesn't have iOS, apps or WiFi, so there's no way to consume music from the cloud (Spotify, Pandora, Sirius, YouTube, etc.) The only music supported on the iPod nano is whatever you sync from iTunes -- via a cable, no less. Which is Lame.

The Verge's Nilay Patel called it "an impulse buy holiday present that almost makes it seem like you care about the recipient."

Unlike the iPhone and the iPod touch, the iPod nano is a product looking for a problem to solve. Someone looking for an inexpensive music player, could easily pick up a $49 iPod shuffle instead.

Patel put it even more succinctly when he said that "anyone thinking about spending $149 on the iPod nano should tap-dance on street corners until they make the extra $50 it takes to buy the entry-level iPod touch instead."

I'm also a little bitter about the 7th-gen iPod nano because it completely killed the growing and fun iPod-watch industry.

There are two potential reasons why Apple eliminated the square iPod nano form-factor:

1) It cares more about selling (and renting) movies that it does about giving you the time of day, or...

2) Apple's building its own iWatch and doesn't want to compete against itself. 

The latter is a conspiracy theory raised by gdgt's Peter Rojas that I happen to like. Maybe it's just wishful thinking? 

It's easy to imagine all the things that an iWatch could do: it'd be the perfect accessory for an iPhone or iPad. Bluetooth 4.0 could make it a satellite screen for your larger iOS device (which could stay in your pocket or bag) while it displayed things like Tweets, Facebook posts, text messages, emails or the currently playing track. If Apple sold it for $99 (granted, a long shot) it would sell one with every iPhone and iPad sold.

Apple's already innovated the hell out of the palm, now it's time to tackle the wrist.

Monday, September 17, 2012

Apple's new iPod lineup pops up on Amazon - CNET (blog)

Amazon buyers can preorder the new iPod Touch, Nano, and Shuffle.

September 17, 2012 5:56 AM PDT

(Credit: Screenshot by Lance Whitney/CNET)

Unveiled last week, Apple's 2012 iPod lineup is now available for preorder through Amazon.

The fifth-generation iPod Touch offers the same 4-inch display found on the new iPhone and includes a more powerful A5 processor and a 5-megapixel camera. The new Touch comes in both 32GB and 64GB versions and offers a choice of five different colors. Some models list an estimated ship date of two to five weeks; others three to five weeks. The 64GB pink version shows a wait time of one to two months.

The 16GB version sells for $299, while the 32GB model goes for $399.

The seventh-generation iPod Nano has grown in size, offering a 2.5-inch display. The new Nano comes with 16GB of storage and sells for $149. Buyers can choose among seven different colors - silver, slate, purple, green, blue, yellow, and pink. Some models point to a ship time of two to five weeks and others three to five weeks. But as with the new Touch, pink seems to playing hard to get, with an estimated wait time of one to two months.

Apple's online store doesn't list a specific ship time for the new Touch or Nano, simply listing October as the availability date.

The fifth-generation iPod Shuffle offers 2GB of storage and a choice of the same seven colors as those for the Nano. Depending on the color, shipping dates from Amazon range from two to five weeks all the way to one to two months.

But the only change to the Shuffle is a wider choice of colors. Otherwise, the device is the same as last year's model. Apple's store lists the Shuffle's ship time as three to five business days.

(Via 9to5Mac).

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Is the iPod Anti-American? - Opposing Views

Apple released its latest iPhone model last week, sending its stock price to record levels. Some even believe the Chinese assembled phone could significantly boost the U.S. economy. Back in 2009 Reason TV looked at Apple's iPod to show just how much America has benifited from modern global manufacturing.

Here is the original text from the July 20, 2009 video:

Is your iPod unpatriotic? 


Its 451 parts are made in dozens of nations, and creating the little doodads employs thousands of foreigners. Final assembly is done in China-a country that right-wingers and left-wingers alike fear is an economic threat to the U.S.


As the recession worsens, maybe patriotic Americans should be smashing foreign-made iPods in protest. Or at least hiring bikini-clad American women to do the job, which is exactly what Reason.tv did. Our patriotic, sledgehammer-wielding bikini bandits headed to California's Venice Beach to smash some foreign-made iPods to make a political statement about saving American jobs.

 
Maybe the United Steelworkers Union (USW), one of the biggest "Buy American" backers would like to hire these patriotic ladies for their next rally.


"Every other nation during this economic downturn is directing their stimulus money inward," thunders USW's Billy Thompson at a rally in West Virginia. "Now if they can do it, why in the hell can't we?"


Actually, we are. President Obama's $800 billion stimulus package came equipped with a "Buy American" provision, and more than 500 state and local governments have signed "buy American" resolutions. And that may be just the beginning of the protectionist push. 


Reason.tv went to a Washington, D.C. event where business owners and activists learned how to lobby for more protectionist laws. "If you want to sell it here, build it here," says one participant who referrs to those who ignore the "buy American" imperative as "uneducated, ignorant people." 


And shouldn't we be patriotic purchasers? That's what car ads, draped with Old Glory and heartland visuals, suggest. What could be more patriotic than buying a Jeep Patriot? With American automakers hurting so badly, that's got to help America.
"That's nonsense," says George Mason University economist-and Cafe Hayek blogger-Donald Boudreaux. 


"The Jeep Patriot, despite it's name is actually less American than some Toyota products. It's literally impossible-at least in any practical sense-to buy American.'" 
Boudreaux argues that Americans should buy whatever products they choose; neither guilt nor laws should push them to buy American. "The thing that is most distinctively American is freedom. To insist that Americans should not be free to buy good from foreigners that's very anti-American."


And what about your iPod?


Even though plenty of foreigners have jobs thanks to it, so do 14,000 Americans whose duties include designing and marketing the little buggers. So the iPod is a product of America and the world, and these days that describes nearly all the items we buy. 
Welcome to the iPod economy, where just about everything is made everywhere.
After hearing the whole story, Reason.tv's bikini bandits decided to put down their protectionist sledgehammers. Will America's people, pundits, and politicians follow suit?


"Is Your iPod Unpatriotic?" is written and produced by Ted Balaker and hosted by Nick Gillespie. Field producer is Hawk Jensen and director of photography is Alex Manning. 


iPod 5th generation release date uncertain - Techwatch

ipod-5th-gen

Uncertainty remains about the launch of the 5th generation iPod, despite it’s announced launched last week and pre-order status.

When we covered the Apple news conference about the headline launch of the iPhone 5, it was also announced that a new 5th generation iPod, and iOS 6, were to be released as well.

However, while the iPhone 5 is currently under pre-order status, Apple have stated it will hit the shops from September 21st.

iOS 6 has been officially slated for release on October 19th.

But as yet, no launch date has been provided for the 5th gen iPod, with any pre-order on the Apple website simply suggesting a delivery date in “October” but with no suggestion as to whether this will be at the beginning or end of the month.

A new iPod

The Apple iPod’s 5th generation is a much improved affair â€" it gets the same larger 4″ screen as the iPhone 5, and will also sport the iPhone 4′s coveted iSight camera, allowing for 5MP photos and 1080p HD video recording.

It will also come with iOS 6 preloaded, and Apple’s new Earpod headphones â€" as well as the same new colour range as the iPhone 5.

Although the iPhone 5 will have a 8MP iSight camera, the iPod 5 will in effect be an iPhone without the phone capabilities â€" which is hardly a bad thing for anyone who doesn’t want to spend the few hundred extra pounds on a new iPhone.

However, confusion remains as to when the iPod 5 will be launched.

No set date

Unlike other Apple products announced at the 12th September news conference, the iPod 5 has yet to be given an official launch date.

While the iPod 5 is available to pre-order from the Apple store, there is no delivery date provided â€" simply the message “Dispatched: October”.

This can only be disappointing for those people looking to either upgrade their iPod, buy it as a mini-tablet, or else treat it like a phone-less iPhone 5.

Especially for those of us looking to not only buy one for ourselves, but also as a birthday present for a loved one.

The danger is, that by delaying the sale, iPod 5 sales may end up being cannibalised by a heavily-rumoured mini-iPad release.

Mini iPad â€" the new iPod

Normally Apple can never be considered a budget manufacturer. The company sells at premium prices, making around 30% gross profit on each item sold.

While Apple reinvented the tablet PC market for mass appeal, there have been clear budget rivals intruding on the scene, not least the Nexus and Kindle Fire, both of which are 7″ tablets that retail for less than £200.

Apple has no 7″ tablet â€" Steve Jobs was originally against the idea â€" but it has been heavily rumoured that Apple are about to release a new product line known as the iPad mini.

That would mean a 7″ tablet joining Apple’s product range, standing somewhere between the iPod and iPad.

However, if that really is the case, then what we would then be looking at is a homogenisation of Apple’s products. The iPod, iPad mini, and iPad, would also effectively be nothing more than different size tablets, at 4″, 7″ and 10″ respectively.

That also suggests that Apple could even end up dropping the names â€" why call something an iPod when it’s just a small iPad? And what’s mini about the iPad mini when it’s just a big iPod?

So far Apple have let on very little. Yet because of the general accuracy of the iPhone 5 rumours, it remains quite likely that we will see the iPad mini coming in early October at Apple’s new big product launch.

The question is, if the iPod 5 isn’t going to be released until then, then why announce it alongside the iPhone 5 and not the iPad mini?

Either way, the lack of clarity on Apple’s iPod 5 release can only disappoint consumers ready to part with their cash for them.

While Apple may be hoping some of these buyer will instead be tempted to “upgrade” to an iPad mini, the iPod is an established best-selling product, and Apple customers, past and present, certainly should expect a little more information on the release date of a product already announced.