Apple unveils iPhone 5 amid feverish rivalry

Apple has taken the wraps off its fastest, thinnest iPhone, packing a much larger screen and 4G capability on the fifth version of the smartphone that helped it become the world’s most valuable corporation.

The iPhone 5 goes on sale in the US on Sept 21 priced from $199 (about €150), but Irish gadget lovers will have to wait until later in the year to get their hands on one.

Sporting a 4in “retina” display and ability to surf a high-speed 4G LTE wireless network — something Samsung’s Galaxy S III and many other iPhone rivals already do — the device is 20% lighter than the previous iPhone 4S.

Apple is updating its phone software and will ditch Google’s mapping service for its own. The two have become rivals as Google promotes phones running its Android operating system.

CEO Tim Cook, who took over from the company’s late co-founder Steve Jobs last year, faces pressure to keep Apple at the forefront of the industry.

The latest iPhone comes as Apple tries to fend off competition that has reached fever-pitch. Google’s Android has become the most-used mobile operating system in the world, while key supplier and rival Samsung has taken the lead in smartphone sales.

Rivals have been first to market with phones that have bigger displays or run on faster networks. Apple closed that gap with the newest iPhone.

Now, Microsoft Corp is pushing its Windows Phone 8 operating system as a third alternative to Apple and Google’s.

One enhancement unveiled by Apple was improved battery endurance — the iPhone 5’s power core can support eight hours of 4G web browsing.

The new iPhone also has three microphones instead of two.

They are located on the back, the front and the bottom. It also comes with a noise-cancelling earpiece for better sound.

One big change: The iPhone is getting a new connector to attach to computers and chargers.

That means the new iPhone won’t be compatible with old accessories, though the company says accessory makers are already working to update their products. Apple will sell an adapter to work with older accessories.

Although the iPhone was the big announcement, Apple also unveiled a new version of its iTunes software for traditional computers.

There are new ways to create playlists and to decide what to listen to next. It also promises improved search — as you type the name of an album, for instance, those in your music library will be suggested.

The iTunes software comes with a new mini player — a small window from which you can play songs while you are still in your music library.

The new software will come out in late October.

Apple is also refreshing its iPod Nano. The seventh generation of the device is thinner than the previous one, with a bigger display. It now has a home button similar to that on the iPhone and the iPad. It also will come with Bluetooth wireless capability, allowing you to stream music.

Meanwhile, the iPod Touch — essentially an iPhone without the ability to make calls — is also up for an overhaul. Like the new iPhone and the new iPod Nano, it will use the new connector, which Apple calls Lightning.

It will have a 5-megapixel camera and the same panorama feature as the iPhone. It will be possible to edit photos on the Touch for the first time. Siri, the virtual assistant launched on the iPhone last year, is coming to the iPod Touch for the first time. Apple has already said Siri will appear on the iPad with the new software update.

Meanwhile, the iconic white earbuds are getting an update. Now called earpods, they sport an earpiece that is more cylinder. Apple says they were built to meld to the shape of your ear.

Cook began yesterday’s event by saying the company’s notebooks now rank tops in US sales, leading in market share in the past three months.

However, it is the iPhone that carries the weight of Apple’s future on its slim frame, especially with the company continuing to play its cards close to the vest about future growth drivers, including an oft-rumoured TV device.

Analysts have forecast sales of 10m to 12m of the new smartphones this month alone.

The iPhone 5 comes with Apple’s newest “A6” processor, which executives claimed runs twice as fast as the previous generation. It will have three microphones and an 8-megapixel camera that can take pictures in higher resolutions.

Apple has sold more than 243m iPhones since its 2007 arrival, and the device proceeded to upend the industry and helped to usher in the current applications ecosystem.

Big mistake

Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg has shown the value of admitting you made a mistake — even when the error cost you millions.

Shares in the company rose immediately after Zuckerberg, that it had botched its effort to tap into the mobile phone market and had changed direction.

He said making amends for its previously flawed strategy would allow the firm to reap the rewards of mobile phone advertising and this news energised stock market investors.

“Over the next three to five years I think the biggest question that is on everyone’s minds, that will determine our performance over that period, is really how well we do with mobile.”

He said Facebook had built an application for Apple iPhones and would follow that up with one for Android systems.

Facebook rose as much as 4.7% in German trading and gained as much as 4.8% in late US trading.

Doubt about the company’s business model have seen its initial stock market flotation value fall by 49% since May and Zuckerberg’s comments were contained in his first public interview since the trouble move to the stock exchange.