Foxconn CEO: iPhone 5 Beats Galaxy S III
Source: Eric Zeman
Foxconn CEO Terry Gou took the opportunity to stir the pot a little bit this week with some interesting remarks made at an investor meeting. Gou suggested that consumers around the world should not buy the Samsung Galaxy S III. Gou went so far as to say consumers should wait for the iPhone 5. Why, you ask? The iPhone 5 "will put Samsung's Galaxy S III to shame," said Gou.
The Galaxy S III is Samsung's flagship smartphone for 2012. It is crammed with features and boasts one of the best spec sheets around. It has a dual-core 1.5GHz processor, 4.8-inch 720p HD display, an 8-megapixel camera, and NFC, and it runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich with heavy software customization from Samsung.
The Galaxy S III went on sale in the U.S. this week, though supplies of the device are severely limited. It is expected to have a broader launch next week. The 16GB model costs $199.99 and the 32GB model costs $249.99 if purchased with a contract through AT&T, Sprint, or Verizon Wireless. T-Mobile customers have to pay a little more. It is selling the S III for $279.99 and $329.99 for the 16GB and 32GB models, respectively, though that price reflects a $50 mail-in rebate.
[ Read Samsung Galaxy S III: Hands-On Test Wows. ]
Early reviews of the device, including InformationWeek's, have been positive. Most tech sites have put the S III at the top of their recommendation lists. So why does Foxconn's Gou think the iPhone 5 will be better?
Well, for starters, his company is probably making it. This gives him an obvious bias. Of course he'd prefer that consumers wait to buy the phone his company is making rather than the device of a competitor.
Analyst Shaw Wu believes the iPhone 5 will be dramatically different from previous iPhones. He says three main factors will set it apart: It will have a brand new design, it will have a bigger screen, and it will support worldwide LTE 4G networks. Wu's information comes from suppliers based in Asia.
Part of the redesign includes a brand new dock connector, reports TechCrunch. It says Apple will ditch the 30-pin dock connector it has used since the iPhone's 2007 debut and will replace it with a new 19-pin dock connector. This change means the iPhone 5 won't be compatible with any of the accessories currently sold by accessory makers.
The dock connector is being changed, suggests TechCrunch, for the sake of saving space inside the iPhone 5. Apple has made other design changes to ensure its devices are as thin as possible. The iPhone 4, for instance, moved from a standard SIM card to a microSIM card. Apple said it made that decision because it needed the room inside the phone for other components.
Apple has not yet announced any details about the iPhone 5.
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