Over 128 million iPhones sold since 2007, has created a device to complete the challenge of marketing and design of Apple Computer, Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL - News): wow how the consumer smartphone market matures, with lots of options now aspect of Apple gadgets.
It is a challenge for Apple will meet on Tuesday, when the company expects to release a fifth-generation iPhone.
Apple has been working on an iPhone is thinner and lighter with improved eight megapixels of detail, but otherwise are not clear.
Now the question is, what features will be enough to dazzle consumers. For years, Apple has become part because of the freshness of the iPhone and software design that do not exist elsewhere.
The company now faces increased competition from smartphones using Google Android Software Inc., which also has full touch screen and access to thousands of programs. Some phones, even off the side of the current iPhone: Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. has a Droid Bionic eight megapixel camera and access to high-speed fourth-generation wireless networks. Android accounts for 43% of the U.S. market for smartphone operating systems, while Apple has 28%, according to Nielsen Co.
Apple is still the largest producer of smart phones.
Some studies have suggested that consumer demand remains strong for the iPhone, which was last updated in June 2010. A study by ChangeWave Research in July, 46% of consumers planning to buy smartphones in the next 90 days you choose an iPhone. The application could be supported by the United States the agreement provided by Sprint Nextel Corp., the country's third mobile operator by subscribers, to sell the phone.
Although many consumers are waiting for Apple to come up with new designs, "There must be a point where the expectations of ability to run," said analyst Roger Kay Endpoint Technologies Associates, events.
Unlike previous years where CEO Steve Jobs unveiled a new iPhone model to a wider audience in downtown San Francisco, this time Apple is a small gathering at its Cupertino, Calif., headquarters. Mr. Jobs resigned as CEO in August, followed by Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook.
People surprising in the model would be particularly difficult for iPhone 5
"The industrial design is important, but in these small packages, we began to clash with the laws of physics," said Tim Bajarin, a consultant with Creative Strategies Inc. "We're not doing something that I believe that the radical design yet have this set of features and functions. "
The software is even more important now to differentiate the iPhone, Mr. Bajarin.
Apple in 2009 updated its iPhone 3G model with a 3G-S model by adjusting the internal components and highlights the improvements of the software. The company wanted to signal to consumers that the software is an important part of the evolution of the telephone, according to a person familiar with the thought of Apple.
But Apple also faces competition in the smartphone software. Apple in June by viewing the properties of its next generation mobile operating system, including the messaging service called IMessage and music storage and wireless synchronization service icloud. Similar features are already available elsewhere, such as Research In Motion Ltd. 's BlackBerry and Amazon.com Inc.' s digital music store.
Something possible in the handle of Apple software developed at Siri Inc., a start-up of Apple bought last year, making a personal voice assistant, analysts said. Apple has remained silent about his plans for Siri.
Apple has won the first produced effort. IPod company in 2001, revolutionized the music listening. By 2004, when the iPod was in its third generation, Apple introduced a smaller version, the iPod Mini. In 2005, Apple has renovated the iPod shuffle reintroduced even smaller memory cards, and not on the screen.
Apple's internal processes established for its products to avoid the incrementalism, a person who knows the thought of Apple said. The company did not interview consumers what they want the next generation of products, but rather to challenge Apple's engineers are supplied with a dramatic vision of what products can do.
Some models have failed. Power Mac G4 Cube, which Apple released in 2001, displayed an unusual place. But many of the models developed cracks in their cases. That same year, Apple said that the product would be put "on hold".
Jeremy Warren, a film student of 19 years in Dallas, said it plans to upgrade the iPhone when the new one is available.
"Apple got caught with the" magic "of the phone, not the technical specifications," he said.
However, some other gadget lovers will wait and see. "Most of my friends roll their eyes at the constant updates, feel pressured to spend money," said Guy Burns, a designer of 41 years in San Francisco, which has no immediate plans to upgrade.