Apple to unveil faster iPhone in September

Apple Inc. plans to introduce a new iPhone in September featuring faster chip and more advanced camera, U.S. media reported on Wednesday. The new iPhone model, which will closely resemble iPhone 4, will include the A5 processor, a more powerful chip that Apple added to the iPad 2 tablet computer earlier this year, along with an 8-megapixel camera, up from the 5-megapixel model in the iPhone 4, Bloomberg quoted two people familiar with the product as saying. The device will run the iOS 5 operating system Apple previewed at its annual developer conference earlier this month. Aiming at attracting customers in developing countries, Apple is also working to finish a cheaper version of the iPhone which will use chips and displays of similar quality to the current iPhone 4, said the sources. Meanwhile, it was reported that Apple is also testing a new version of the iPad with a higher resolution screen, which, similar to the one currently used on iPhone 4, will be about one- third higher than iPad 2 and feature a more responsive touchscreen. According to a recent projection on smartphone market by the International Data Corp. (IDC), a small market share decline of iPhone is expected as the smartphone market matures and diversifies in 2011. The release of a new iPhone would help Apple gain more market share as smartphones powered by Google's Android system are predicted to grow to more than 40 percent of the market in the second half of this year.