Phil Schiller Announces the iPhone 5, Preorders Begin Friday, In Stores Sept. 21

Following a rousing introduction by CEO Tim Cook, senior marketing VP Phil Schiller takes the stage at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco to announce the iPhone 5, which pretty much matches to a tee what has been leaked and rumored in recent weeks.

Wasting no time in a likely packed media event, Apple senior VP or market Phil Schiller has introduced the iPhone 5, which claims to be 18 percent thinner than the current iPhone 4S at only 7.6mm and 20 percent lighter than its predecessor.

As rumored, the iPhone 5 includes a new four-inch display with a 16:9 aspect ratio at 1136 x 640 resolution and a 326ppi Retina Display. "This is the monumental challenge we had," Schiller notes. "Can you make a phone with more features that is smaller and lighter? Anyone can make a bigger phone."

Schiller claims the iPhone 5 is designed for a user's hand, but the larger display will allow for a fifth row of icons to be displayed. All of Apple's built-in apps have already been updated for the taller display, while third-party apps yet to be updated will simply run as before with black bars taking up the extra space.

The iPhone 5 screen also includes 44 percent more color saturation and integrated touchscreen. "This is the most accurate display in the industry," Schiller boasts. "The touch sensors are integrated right into the display itself. We removed a layer and made it sharper. This is the world's most advanced display, and I couldn't be prouder of it."

Also as rumored, the iPhone 5 brings "ultrafast wireless" in the form of HSPA

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There Are 8 Apple Stores in Pennsylvania, But Only 6 in All of China

Sure, Pennsylvania might be one of the larger states in the U.S., but when Apple has eight retail stores to serve a population of 12.7 million but only six such outlets serving more than 1.3 billion in all of China, it's clearly a problem for Cupertino.

Reuters is reporting that Apple's retail store presence in China is no match for its population. With a population of 1.3 billion people hungry for the company's products, six retail stores pretty much guarantee long lines, scalpers and frustrated customers.

Back in 2010, then head of Apple retail Ron Johnson predicted the company would have 25 stores in China by 2012 -- a goal that is clearly no longer realistic.

"There's certainly more demand than Apple can serve with their store footprint currently," explains Torsten Stocker, a partner at the Monitor Group.

With two Apple Stores in Beijing, three in Shanghai and another in Hong Kong, Cupertino's retail footprint pales in comparison to the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, which has eight stores -- three of which are located in Pittsburgh alone -- serving a population of 12.7 million.

Now that Apple has settled its trademark dispute with Proview, the situation is expected to get even worse when the company's third-generation iPad is finally introduced in China.

However, the slow pace of growth at retail may not be entirely Apple's fault.

"There are complications around opening stores in China that you don't get in Western countries," said Andrew Milroy, the Singapore-based vice president of ICT Research who cites "red tape" as a key roadblock for foreign companies looking to expand in China.

Follow this article’s author, J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter

(Image courtesy of MacRumors and WeiPhone.com)

 

Tags: NewsApple RetailApple Retail StoresChinaexpansionHong Kongnew ipadPennsylvaniaretailReutersRon Johnson Here's What You'll Get:The latest Apple news, reviews and how-tosThe hottest articles from MacLife.comYour recommended daily dose of awesome Also, send me e-mail announcements and special offers from Mac

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Apple Expands App Stores to 32 New Countries

Mentioned briefly during the WWDC 2012 keynote, Apple has notified iOS and Mac developers that their work can now be sold in 32 new countries around the world. Jeez, we didn't even know Mauritania was a real place!

Apple has issued an email to iOS and Mac developers through its iTunes Connect portal, notifying them that 32 new territories have been added to the App Store lineup, which should be a nice way to rack up some additional revenue for their hard work.

"Before you can sell your apps in the new territories, you must agree to the new iOS Paid Applications or Mac OS X Paid Applications contract," the email to developers reads. "Once you have agreed to the new contracts, your apps will be available in all new territories."

To make life easier, sales in the 32 new countries will be done in U.S. dollars rather than the local currency.

So where can you now find the App Store and Mac App Store?

It's available in Albania, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Chad, Congo, Fiji, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritania, Micronesia, Mongolia, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Sao Tome e Principe, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Swaziland, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Zimbabwe. Whew!

Kudos to the 32 new countries now enjoying the App Stores, and be sure to chime in on the comments if you're reading from any of these places.

Just one question: Is Swaziland like a place where they worship Patrick Swayze? Because that would be kind of cool...

Follow this article’s author, J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter

 

Tags: NewsApp StoreApple Inc.international app storeiOS developersiPadiPhoneiPodiTunes ConnectMacmac app storemac developers Here's What You'll Get:The latest Apple news, reviews and how-tosThe hottest articles from MacLife.comYour recommended daily dose of awesome Also, send me e-mail announcements and special offers from Mac

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Nest Learning Thermostat Now Available at Apple Stores

From rumor to fact, just like that: The Nest Learning Thermostat has arrived at Apple Stores -- including the company’s online store -- just a day after the $249 device makes the trek up to Canada.

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Nokia Lumia 900 Launch Finds a Wasteland of Stores Closed for Easter

It’s always an entertaining thing to watch a new device launch, especially one the carrier themselves claim will top anything they’ve done before -- including the iPhone. So why in the world did AT&T choose to launch their new flagship Windows Phone, the Nokia Lumia 900, on a date when most of their stores were closed?

The New York Times is reporting that the new Nokia Lumia 900 launched as scheduled on Easter Sunday, April 8 -- but the debut became something of an Easter egg hunt itself, given that almost all of AT&T’s retail stores were closed, as were Microsoft and Best Buy outlets. Ma Bell started accepting preorders for the new Windows Phone handset more than a week ago, and those orders were delivered last Friday, April 6.



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