IOS 5 ON THE WAY?

There was evidence this week that Apple has iPhone 5 prototypes in-house and is testing them with third-party apps. [See: ""] A developer reported receiving a software crash report that listed the iPhone as running "iOS 5.0." That triggered speculation on when iOS 5 would be released, and renewed interest in what it might have. A number of observers think Apple will unveil the next OS release at the upcoming June WWDC, a time frame that also suggests a very late summer or early fall release for the handset itself.

Many bloggers and Apple watchers are expecting iOS 5 will feature an array of cloud-based improvements to tie the iPhone, apps, and users into an array of cloud services.

on possible iPhone 5 innovations, some of which are a rehash of what's been rumored before, such as it will have Near Field Communications (a very short-range radio link being used for payment and other transactions) and so on.

But she mentions several interesting items. One is a new case, with a brushed metal back; Another is the elimination of the phone's physical ‘home' button, replacing it with an onscreen ‘virtual' button. "This would give it a four-inch screen, half an inch bigger than the iPhone 4's," Worley reports. Of course, this intriguing possibility is somewhat undermined when she immediately adds, "But another rumor has the display bumping up to only a 3.7-inch screen, and the home button getting slightly larger."