The iPhone 5 has several new or upgraded features, but one noticeable spec is the new 4G network capability.
The latest smartphone has previously run in 2G and 3G technologies, and will still offer 3G upon its official release this Friday, but the addition of the 4G LTE gives the device faster access across a couple hundred markets across the US.
According to Jeffries & Co.'s telecom analyst Thomas Seitz, Verizon will be in the best position when the iPhone 5 comes out due to their advancements in 4G LTE capabilities.
In a report by Seitz, the three mobile carriers selling the iPhone 5 in the US (AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon) are at "different stages of their LTE deployments" and there will be winners and losers on Sept. 21
"As of the end of [the second quarter of 2012], Verizon's LTE network covered 230 million POPs, more than all the other carriers in the US combined. We believe this network advantage could lead to a share shift towards Verizon, primarily at AT&T's expense - which we estimate could see its market share of iPhone sales decline modestly to 45% in 3Q12 from 47% in 2Q12."
Verizon's 4G network covers 75 percent of the company's 375 markets, it is slightly more than what AT&T has to offer as their 4G network covers 275 million people in 60 markets.
The 4G LTE isn't limited to the US, but across a few countries, so far, in three other continents.
LTE Availability:
Australia: Optus, Telstra, Virgin Mobile
Europe: (Germany): Duetshe Telekom, (United Kingdom): Everything Everywhere (EE)
North America: (US): AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, (Canada): Bell, Rogers, Telus, Fido, Koodo, Virgin Mobile
Asia: (Hong Kong): SmarTone, (Japan): KDDI, SoftBank, (Singapore): M1, SingTel, (South Korea): KT, SK telecom
The international release dates are the following:
September 21: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, United Kingdom
September 28: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland
"By the end of this calendar year, we hope to be in a hundred countries, 240 carrier partners around the world. This will be our fastest phone rollout ever," said Apple Inc.'s Senior Vice President Phillip Schiller.
Countries that might see the iPhone 5 in a December date include India, but no word if 4G technology will be available in the nation.
According to CIOL, Gartner India's Principal Research analyst Anshul Gupta said, "I think it should be available in India by the fourth quarter of 2012. Though there is no confirmation on pricing I would expect it to be at the high end of approximately $800+."
Latinos Post has helped break down and define the iPhone 5's specs ahead of next Friday's release, click here to view.
To watch some of the iPhone 5's reviews from YouTube, Latinos Post has gathered them here.
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