苹果9月发布会的5大传闻盘点

    秋天对于不同的人来说具有不同的意义。然而，对于很多科技文化人来说，他们可能会在今年的9月迎来新一代iPhone的发布。确实，如果猜测没有错的话，下个月的新闻应该要比过去几年的新闻更有看头。苹果（Apple）最终会推出新的廉价iPhone吗？高端机型会配备指纹感应技术吗？苹果商店里还有什么别的新产品？然而，在苹果所公布的9月10日发布会召开之前，我们也只能拿传闻来安慰一下自己。现将各大博客圈津津乐道的传闻总结如下：

全新的廉价iPhone

消息到底属实还是误导性传闻？一年来，分析师、权威人士和各大博客一直都在讨论全新的“廉价”iPhone，也就是被媒体普遍提到的iPhone 5C。去年1月，Topeka Capital Markets公司分析师布莱恩•怀特向《财富》杂志（Fortune）透露，这类产品在中国有着巨大的市场机遇，因为当地普通消费者的可支配收入并不多。最近，美国投资银行派杰的吉恩•蒙斯特指出，这款新机型可以取代上一代的4S机型，而且可能不会安装语音助手Siri这类软件。

指纹感应器

去年，苹果以3.5亿美元收购了指纹感应器制造商奥森科技（AuthenTec Inc.），一些人曾经琢磨过这种技术会通过什么样的方式整合到iPhone、iPad和相关产品当中。凯基证券（KGI Securities）认为，新的高端iPhone——姑且称其为iPhone5S——将整合一种感应器，从而让用户在登录的时候只需简单地把手指按在屏幕上即可。这种安全功能无疑更为迅速、便捷，而且比目前输入4位密码的方法更安全。

不同的颜色

苹果偶尔也会使用缤纷的色彩。（远的不用说，如今iPod Touch或iPod nano就是例证。）而关于iPhone的传闻显示，新机型可能会在黑白颜色基础上增加其他的颜色。但不管怎么说，按照科学家的说法，黑与白在严格意义上来说并不能算是颜色。5C可能会拥有一系列颜色，跟Touch和Nano差不多；5S可能会增加金色边框的机型。

更大的屏幕

苹果去年秋天推出iPhone5时，公司的工业设计高级副总裁乔纳森•艾维曾解释了为什么4英寸是屏幕的甜蜜地带：“通过拉长而不是加宽屏幕，人们可以看到更多的内容，而且可以舒适地用单手操作。”但是竞争对手的机型证明，很大一部分用户更愿意使用屏幕更大的智能手机。也就是说，虽然三星（Samsung）5寸屏机型Galaxy S4的销量低于分析师的预期，但它还是在推出后一个月内卖出了1,000万部。至于苹果，有报道称新iPhone——或者至少是iPhone的其中一种——可能会配备4.5-5英寸的屏幕。

新iPod Touch

一些博客呼吁苹果完全停产iPod Touch，然而，苹果很有可能不会在短期内抹杀这款外观酷似iPhone的音乐播放器。5月，苹果宣布，自2007年底Touch上市以来，这款设备的销量已经达到了1亿部。很明显，此类设备的需求依然存在。因此苹果有可能会引进新的Touch，同时对它的内部元件进行小幅度的升级，从而沿袭公司的一贯传统，即在发布会行将结束时来一句乔布斯式的“还有件事”。（乔布斯在苹果发布会快要结束时都会说“还有件事”——译注）（财富中文网）   

    Fall holds different meanings for different people, but for many technorati, this September will likely see the unveiling of another all-new iPhone. Indeed, next month's news may prove more newsworthy than years past if some of the speculation is right. Will Apple (AAPL) finally introduce a new, cheaper iPhone? Could the high-end model sport fingerprint-sensing technology? What else is in store?

    Until Apple's reported September 10 event, we'll have to content ourselves with the rumors. Here's a roundup of what the blogosphere is currently salivating over:

An all-new, cheap iPhone

Truth or misguided gossip? Analysts, pundits, and blogs have long talked about a new, "cheap" -- largely dubbed in the press as the iPhone 5C -- iPhone for over a year now. Last January, Topeka Capital Markets analyst Brian White told Fortune that there's substantial market opportunity abroad in China for such a product, where the average consumer doesn't have as large a discretionary income. More recently, Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster suggested such a device would replace the older 4S model and possibly exclude software features like the voice-activated assistant Siri.

Fingerprint sensor

When Apple acquired fingerprint-sensor maker AuthenTec Inc. for $350 million last year, some wondered how such technology could find its way into iPhones, iPads and the like. KGI Securities argues the new high-end iPhone -- let's just call it the iPhone 5S -- will integrate a sensor allowing users to potentially log in by simply pressing a finger to the screen. A security feature like that would prove even quicker, easier, and more secure than the current method of inputting a four-digit code.

Different colors

Once in a while, Apple likes to get colorful. (Look no further than today's iPod Touch or iPod nano as proof.) The buzz around the crop of iPhones is that they may come in flavors other than black and white, which let's face it, aren't even technically colors, according to scientists. The 5C could come in an array of hues not unlike the Touch or nano; the 5S could expand to models with a gold frame.

A larger screen

When Apple announced the iPhone 5 last fall, Jony Ive, senior vice president of design, explained why 4 inches was a sweet spot: "By making the screen taller, but not wider, you can see more of your content but still comfortably use it with one hand." But as devices from competitors bear out, there's a large swath of users who prefer their smartphones screens even larger. To wit, although sales of Samsung's 5-inch Galaxy S4 are lower than analysts expected, the company still sold 10 million units within a month of launch. In Apple's case, reports claim the new iPhone -- or at least one iPhone -- may sport a screen between 4.5- to 5-inches.

New iPod Touch

Some bloggers are calling for the end of the iPod Touch entirely, but more likely than not, Apple won't kill its iPhone-like music player any time soon. This May, Apple reported it had sold 100 million units since the Touch hit the market in late 2007. Clearly, demand for the device is still there, so chances are Apple will introduce a new Touch with slightly-beefed up parts inside, keeping in lockstep with the company's oft-held tradition of tossing in a Jobs-ian "one more thing" toward the end.