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San Francisco - Apple Inc looks set to
unveil its much-awaited new iPhone next week, which analysts say will have a bigger screen
and work better with remote computing services.
Apple on Tuesday invited media to a “special event” called “Let’s
talk iPhone” next week at its headquarters in Cupertino, an unusual location for
a company that typically introduces major products at larger venues in San
Francisco.
The invitation did not have any other details, and an Apple
spokesman would not provide further information.
The new iPhone would be the first major product introduction under
Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook, who took over full-time after co-founder Steve
Jobs resigned last month.
It was unclear if Jobs, who is now chairman, will take the stage at
the event.
“This is the iPhone 5,” ThinkEquity analyst Mark McKechnie said of
the event.
Though a good product, the current iPhone4 could use some
improvements, he added. “We talked about it having a bigger screen, a dual core
processor, and probably integrates pretty well with the iCloud.”
The iPhone -- introduced in 2007 with the touchscreen template now
adopted by its rivals -- remains the gold standard in the booming smartphone
market.
Apple introduced the iPhone 4 in June 2010 in black 16 gigabyte and
32 gigabyte versions, with white ones added to the lineup in April. The company
typically refreshes its iPhone lineup during its developer event in June, but
delayed the new model this year.
Apple sold 20.34 million iPhones in the third quarter ended June
25, which analysts say helped it vault past Nokia and Samsung Electronics to
become the world’s biggest smartphone maker.
Shares of Apple were up 0.5 percent at $405.26 in midday trading.
