Hasta La Gadget!

You just pre-ordered the newest iPhone. Or you’re going to be the first in line to snatch one up next week. You’re beaming. You’re going to have the phone that everyone’s talking about—the best iPhone ever. More »

A Bill-Of-Materials (BOM henceforth) story is always interesting as there are many ways you can spin it, depending on the angle which you are approaching from. After all, we only know one side of the story, but whatever arrangements that Apple has made with their suppliers and component vendors are industry secrets. It is openly known that Steve Jobs in the past had always done his best to squeeze the most out of his suppliers, and who are we to say the same mindset has not changed? Majority of such BOM calculations are based on standard issue “volume prices”, and things might be very different where Apple is concerned.

Still, let us see what UBM Tech Insights come from. They say that a 16GB iPhone 5 has materials worth around $168 to build it, with the most expensive component being the Apple A6 processor at $28 a pop, with the 4G LTE modem from Qualcomm coming in a close second at $25. Surprisingly, the larger display is not that expensive at $18 a pop, but bear in mind that these are extremely raw figures (and in all probability, inaccurate) as the iPhone 5 has yet to be properly analyzed.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Verizon enables cellular FaceTime use regardless of data plan, AT&T outs iPhone 5 this September 21st,

I guess most folks have gone past the “denial” stage of the iPhone 5 and have adopted a “Shut up and take my money already” attitude, considering how the iPhone 5 pre-orders have sold out a few hours ago, making it 20 times faster compared to its predecessors, the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S. To put things in their proper perspective, the iPhone 4S required 22 hours to sell out its pre-order, launch day stock, while the iPhone 4 held the previous record of 20 hours. As for the iPhone 5, it took all of 60 minutes, resulting in shipping expectations being shifted by a fortnight.

The record breaking demand also resulted in issues on Apple’s website in addition to other wireless carriers who offered the smartphone, where many folks late to the game were shown error messages during their attempt for a new iPhone 5 pre-order. There is one very huge factor to take into consideration though, is the iPhone 5 sold out in record time simply because the available stock at launch was far less than that of the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S? Perhaps so, as something this underwhelming appearing to be so “in demand” does smell somewhat suspicious. What do you think?

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Samsung blows iPhone 5 away in newspaper ad, iPhone 5 A6 chip probably has custom core design,

Apple’s new iPhone 5 went up for pre-order today, and demand has already been huge: new orders from Apple’s online store face a two week wait, as day-one supplies were snapped up within an hour. Yet, with three different models to choose between – before you even get to color and capacity – there’s a big decision upfront if you’re not going to get increasingly frustrated over the course of your two-year agreement.

Apple probably would have liked to have offer a single iPhone 5 SKU and simply vary it by color – black or white – and capacity – 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB – but the hassles of LTE connectivity forced its hand. In fact, there are three different hardware variants, each equipped with slightly different radios and antennas, to handle 4G LTE networks (among other things) in different locations and with different carriers.

Each of those variants has its advantages and its compromises, however. AT&T’s model, the GSM A1428, supports the US carrier’s LTE network as well as those of Bell (and Virgin), Rogers, (and Fido), and Telus (and Koodo) in Canada. However, its two LTE bands and absence of CDMA support mean there’s no slapping in a Verizon LTE SIM and using that carrier’s network, nor indeed roaming onto LTE networks in Europe or Asia.

In fact, take the AT&T iPhone 5 out of North America, and the best you can hope for is HSPA+ or DC-HSDPA, depending on the capabilities of the network you’re roaming onto. That doesn’t necessarily mean tiny speeds – DC-HSDPA is capable of up to 42Mbps download rates, in theory at least – but it’s certainly slower than LTE can manage.

In fact, when it comes to roaming, Verizon’s CDMA A1429 iPhone 5 comes out on top. That version supports five LTE bands – including three commonly used in Europe and Asia among LTE operators – as well as HSPA+/DC-HSDPA roaming. However, you won’t be able to use it on AT&T’s LTE, even if you somehow managed to persuade Verizon to unlock it, and – more frustrating in day to day use – there’s no support for simultaneous voice calls and data. Instead, Verizon expects iPhone 5 users to rely on WiFi for their data needs while they’re making calls.

Finally, there’s the single international version offered outside of North America. That, the GSM A1429, supports multiple LTE carriers in Europe and Asia; however it also lacks all support for North America LTE, meaning no 4G fun if you’re roaming in the US or Canada. The spray of different bands supported by European LTE roll-outs so far means that you’ll be working with HSPA+/DC-HSDPA on the majority of carriers actually offering the iPhone 5.

Interestingly, according to ExtremeTech, there are really only two versions out there: the A1428 and the A1429, with the GSM version of the latter simply having the CDMA and two bands of the LTE radio disabled. Meanwhile, FCC documents seemingly confirm that the A1428 secretly has LTE band 2 (PCS, 1.9GHz) and LTE band 5 (Cellular 850, 850MHz) support, despite Apple not actually mentioning it.

Of course, arguably most pressing is the fact that you really get what you’re given. In the US, you can’t buy the GSM A1429 version of the iPhone 5, so if you want the best option for international roaming then you probably should opt for the Verizon model. If you plan on making calls while simultaneously browsing over 3G/4G, however, the Verizon model’s lack of support for that means the AT&T version is your friend. And, if you’re in Europe or Asia, you’re stuck with no option to buy the Verizon handset, even though it’s arguably a more flexible version.

Let us know if you plan to pick up the iPhone 5 in the poll below.

Choose carefully: Each iPhone 5 version has its compromises is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

T-Mobile’s American branch would really like to scoop up a few iPhone owners, and we’re getting a better sense of just how far it’s willing to go to lure refuseniks who’d otherwise go to AT&T. A product matrix leaked to TmoNews both shows the US carrier’s specially branded nano-SIM cards and suggests they’ll be available in October. And while there wasn’t really any doubt, the cards should be in stores just for unlocked iPhone 5 models — “no T-Mobile devices require this SIM card,” the company tells its staff. The wait could be a pain, but the sighting at least provides some comfort to those who would only let their iPhone 5 run on Magenta’s network.

Update: Talk about under-the-radar confirmation: T-Mobile has mentioned in conversation that it hopes to carry nano-SIMs in mid-October.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

T-Mobile USA nano-SIM poses for the camera, may arrive in October (update: official) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Sep 2012 10:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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