iPhone 5 Buzz: October Surprise?

No one (at least no one who is talking) seems to know much about the iPhone 5. That is, except for one thing: Persisting rumor has it coming out in October. Anything iGadget is always a big consumer/fanboy story, but this one also matters to IT managers at midsize firms. In the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) era, consumer mobile gadget stories are also IT stories. And none loom larger than a new iPhone, given its popularity. That popularity notably extends to the C-suite, which makes accommodating the latest and hottest Apple offering a request that IT can't refuse. But can Apple retain its special cachet without Steve Jobs? What happens if its offerings are merely good, not insanely great? For IT managers at midsize firms, the future shape of the BYOD ecosystem might depend on the answer. Specifics Remain Scarce As reported by Chris Matyszczyk atCNET, the rumor mill keeps churning about the next version of the iPhone. But most of the rumors follow no consistent pattern, and therefore, should be heavily discounted. Size, shape, and such details as whether it will have a Home button remain up in the air. But the varied rumors all seem to agree on one thing: that the iPhone 5 will make its debut this coming October. One other report to which Matyszczyk gives some credence is that the release will coincide with a new iPad "mini." Meanwhile, Apple is apparently making a hard push to wrest the URL, iPhone5.com, away from an obscure current holder. (Apparently the site most recently had an ad for the Galaxy Nexus.) Apple in the Post-Jobs Era The Apple rumor mill has a history of missing more than it hits. But one thing beyond rumor is the loss of Steve Jobs. What we don't yet know is how that will impact Apple and the company's mystique as time goes on. The next iPhone (and iPad "mini") will begin to tell us something about the post-Jobs Apple. Will these offerings be new enough and elegant enough to capture the public's collective imagination? Or will Apple's mobile products gradually drift toward generic status, becoming merely an alternative to Android? Before the BYOD era, this would only have been a consumer story, with little direct impact on IT departments at midsize firms. But BYOD means that consumer mobile gadgets are not just for consumers any more. These devices will come into the workplace. Company data will pass through them. From the perspective of IT managers at midsize firms, Apple's iGadgets have both an upside and a downside. The Apple walled-garden model makes these gadgets more secure--but also tightly under Apple's control. In October, we may begin to learn more about how much Apple's offerings and policies will matter to IT down the wholesale accessories,iphone accessories,ipod accessories,ipad accessories