New Lease listing in Downtown LA $2,000/mo


Brettany Harrison | Coldwell Banker Residential | (626) 272-0816
460 S Spring St Apt 502, Los Angeles, CA
Beautiful updated modern one bedroom condo w/ washer, dryer and 1 parking spot- Rowan Building
1BR/1BA Condo
$2,000/month
Bedrooms 1
Bathrooms 1 full, 0 partial
Sq Footage 720
Parking None
Pet Policy Cats, Dogs
Deposit $2,000

DESCRIPTION

This beautiful 1 bedroom loft that sits on the 5th floor of a Los Angeles historic landmark with 180 degree views of Los Angeles. With wood floors throughout, this urban place is perfect for someone looking to be in the middle of hip n trendy little soho. Offered is 24 hour security, spa and lounge room for studying or relaxing. Pets allowed! Being in the heart of downtown LA, you are very close to fabulous restaurants, entertainment and shopping all around. Call this loft your home today!
Los Angeles
see additional photos below
RENTAL FEATURES

- Living room - Dishwasher - Dryer
- Garbage disposal - Microwave - Refrigerator
- Stainless steel appliances - Washer - Central A/C
- Cable-ready - High-speed internet - Controlled access
- Doorman - Elevator - Secured entry
- Wheelchair access - Hardwood floor - Spa


COMMUNITY FEATURES

- Barbecue area - Covered parking - New property
- Vintage building    



LEASE TERMS

*Long term lease is desired.

*$2,000.00 Per Month

*$2,000.00 Security Deposit (Increased with pet)

*$35 Application Processing Fee

*Will work with Credit Issues, no Evictions

* Every Applicant over the age of 18 needs to apply

* Available for move IMMEDIATE move in

ADDITIONAL PHOTOS


Photo 7

Kitchen

Bedroom

Common Area – Lounge

Common Area – Lounge

Common Area – Lounge

Photo Common Area – Loung
Contact info:
Brettany Harrison
Coldwell Banker Residential
DRE Lic#01814189
(626) 272-0816

Posted: May 2, 2013, 11:11am PDT

U.S. Homeowners Are Repeating Their Mistakes

U.S. Homeowners Are Repeating Their MistakesPhoto illustration by 731: Hand: Getty Images

Global Economics

By Brendan Greeley on February 14, 2013

If there’s one thing Americans should have learned from the recession, it’s the importance of diversifying risk. Middle-class households had too much of their net worth tied up in their homes and were too exposed to stocks through 401(k)s and other investments.

Despite the hit many Americans took, there’s little sign they’ve changed their dependence on homes as the mainstay of their wealth. Last year, Christian Weller, a professor at the University of Massachusetts, looked at Federal Reserve data for households run by those over 50. The number of families with what Weller calls “very high risk exposure”—a low wealth-to-income ratio, more than three-quarters of their assets in housing or stocks, and debt greater than a quarter of their assets—had almost doubled between 1989 and 2010, to 18 percent. That number didn’t decline during the deleveraging years from 2007 to 2010; its growth just slowed to a crawl.

The Fed will conduct a new wealth survey in 2013, but don’t look for a rational rebalancing. The same pressures that drove families to save less before the recession are still in place: low income growth, low interest rates, and high costs for health care, energy, and education. Families have been borrowing less since 2007, but the rate of the decline has slowed. As soon as banks start lending again, Weller says, people will put their money back into housing. “The trends look like they’re on autopilot,” he says. “They don’t suggest that people properly manage their risk.”

In a 2012 paper for the National Bureau of Economic Research, economist Edward Wolff concluded that from 2007 to 2010, the median American household lost 47 percent of its wealth. Average wealth—a number that includes the richest Americans—declined only 18 percent. Houses make up a smaller share of the wealth of a rich family. The wealthy also benefit from better financial advice, Weller says.

A home is what economists call a consumption good; you have to live somewhere. It’s also a store of wealth. Unlike other assets, you can’t buy a portion of a house. “You want to consume a big home,” says Sebastien Betermier, an assistant professor of finance at Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University. “But if you want to buy that home, it’s a huge investment—probably more than you really want.” Betermier, who studies consumers’ financial decisions, says homeownership makes it harder to diversify risk. Since 1983, for the richest 20 percent of U.S. households, the principal residence as a share of net worth has been around 30 percent. For the next 60 percent—most of us—housing has risen from 62 percent to 67 percent of total wealth.

To compound the problem, home equity dropped for this middle group even as home values rose. Rising house values, low interest rates, and easy refinancing encouraged property owners to take out home equity loans. And Wolff’s analysis shows the middle class reducing their cash cushion from 21 percent of assets, starting in the early 1980s, to 8 percent just before the recession. Cash is bad luck insurance; you pay a premium because you don’t earn a return on it, but it’s available in case of an emergency. Americans borrowed against their homes, spent the cash, and were left only with risk.

How can the middle class manage risk better? Financial education would help. Olivia Mitchell, a professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, is alarmed at how few people understand basic principles. “What we do know is that people who are more financially literate … do accumulate more wealth,” she says.

The other option is for banks to devise ways to reduce housing risk. When Weller worked as a banker in Germany in the 1980s, the bank would set up a savings account with automatic deposit for every mortgage customer. That way, the client would build up a cash reserve to pay the mortgage in a bad month. This remains a common practice in Germany, where banks hold on to their mortgages rather than securitize and sell them.

Weller, Betermier, and Mitchell agree that the mortgage interest deduction contributes to the problem, as it encourages families to move their assets into housing. “When people think about renting vs. buying, the tax subsidy looms large,” says Wharton’s Mitchell. Weller endorses an approach suggested by Senator Barack Obama in 2008: Turn the deduction, which lowers taxable income, into a flat credit, which cuts your tax bill by a fixed amount. That would lead to slower growth in house prices, says Weller, since the credit wouldn’t rise even if people took on a bigger mortgage to buy a more expensive house. As the price of housing climbs more slowly, the shift of a family’s savings into housing would.

In 1999, Robert Shiller of Yale University proposed a way to hedge house values. New owners would buy an option with their mortgage, tied to an index of house prices (such as the one developed by Shiller and Karl Case). The option would function as home value insurance. But “when you buy insurance and you don’t die,” says Shiller, “you think how I spent all this money and got nothing. It takes sophistication.” The problem with his idea, he says, as with similar approaches by the Bank of Scotland and Bear Stearns, was that house prices were rising. People don’t buy insurance for a risk they don’t see.

This leaves Shiller, like Wharton’s Mitchell, pushing for education. At the Obama Treasury several years ago, he suggested the White House hold conferences on housing risk. “They would invite top financial organizations,” he says, “and ask them ‘What are you doing about this?’ ” At the time, Treasury and the banks had more pressing things to do. The federal government could also resort to regulation. Shiller points to the example of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who mandated that homeowners buy fire insurance with their mortgages. “I think it could be expanded to home value insurance,” he says.

The best remedy of all would be a higher savings rate. Mitchell tells her daughters, who are in their twenties, to hold off buying a house and save 25 percent of what they earn. But, she says, “They don’t find this very helpful.”

 

The bottom line: Americans still have too much of their net worth tied up in their homes. There are limited options to encourage diversification.

 

Courtesy of your Arcadia Real Estate Agent

11 Breakfast In Bed Ideas for Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is coming and at Coldwell Banker we definitely believe in breakfast in bed.

Whether you love or despise Valentine’s day truth is breakfast is “the most important” meal of the day, so why not make breakfast on February 14th  special for a loved one in your life. Here are 11 super sweet ideas:

Cocoa Kissed Red Velvet Pancakes 

redvelvetpancakes 300x300 11 Breakfast In Bed Ideas for Valentines Day

Egg in the Basket 

eggsinabasket 300x280 11 Breakfast In Bed Ideas for Valentines Day

Chocolate Chip Scones 

scones 300x198 11 Breakfast In Bed Ideas for Valentines Day

Perfect Heart-Shaped Pancakes 

heartshapedpancakes 300x297 11 Breakfast In Bed Ideas for Valentines Day

Healthy Whole Wheat Cranberry Applesauce Muffins 

muffins 199x300 11 Breakfast In Bed Ideas for Valentines Day

Red Velvet Crepes 

crepe 300x199 11 Breakfast In Bed Ideas for Valentines Day

Valentine Smoothie (Strawberry Banana) 

smoothie 300x292 11 Breakfast In Bed Ideas for Valentines Day

Heart Cinnamon Rolls 

cinnamon 200x300 11 Breakfast In Bed Ideas for Valentines Day

Heart Shaped French Toast

frenchtoast 290x300 11 Breakfast In Bed Ideas for Valentines Day

Hot Chocolate with Marshmallow Hearts 

hot chocolate 11 Breakfast In Bed Ideas for Valentines Day

…and finally what says I Love You more than Heart Shaped Bacon?!

bacon 200x300 11 Breakfast In Bed Ideas for Valentines Day

 

Courtesy of your Arcadia Real Estate Agent

 

 

 

 

 

Should You Pay Your Mortgage With Plastic?

Fixed-rate mortgage loans are low, but is no-interest credit card debt better?

Q. I realize mortgage interest rates are at historic lows, but I just got a come-on for a new credit card with 0% interest for more than a year on transferred balances. Should I transfer all or part of the balance of my mortgage ($22,500) to one of these cards? The one I just got in the mail offers cash-back rewards.

–Chicago

A. In prior years, some banks would encourage homeowners to pay off mortgages with credit cards they issued to get rebates or other rewards, but they haven’t done this since the housing bubble burst. The 0% interest rates offered now are really teasers to try to get consumers to transfer their balances from competitor’s high-rate credit cards. Letting borrowers replace low-interest fixed mortgages—or even variable-rate home equity lines of credit—with higher interest, compounding credit card debt is too risky in our still-shaky economy. A borrower without the resources to pay off the balance in full each month could quickly wind up with a ballooning debt and no means to repay it. Eventually, the lender would be stuck with another foreclosure to maintain and sell.

That said, if you have the excellent credit and paid-off credit card balance necessary to qualify for a 0% rate, it is possible to transfer money from your card into your checking account, and then pay the mortgage out of those funds. Or you could use a third-party company that charges your mortgage payment to your credit card each month (thus preserving any rebates or rewards that are only given to new purchases) in exchange for a fee.

But I wouldn’t recommend these strategies unless you are disciplined about paying your bill in full each month. You also should have the means to pay off or refinance the loan completely before the 0% rate expires, even if you lost your job, had a health-care crisis or experienced some other financial emergency.

There are two upsides to paying with plastic: First, if you borrow enough to pay off the balance of your mortgage, all of the money goes towards principal. And second, by borrowing the money from your credit-card company to pay off your mortgage, you free up your savings for other potentially lucrative investments.

But there are also some serious potential pitfalls. Putting a large amount of money on your credit card can hurt your credit. Many credit card companies only give cash back and other incentives for new purchases, not transferred balances. Plus, there are often hefty fees for transferring balances or taking cash advances that cancel out any benefit you get for the 0% interest rate. Worse, if you skip a payment, the card issuer may have the right to raise the interest rates from zero to the double-digits. So it’s important to read the card’s fine print before you make a commitment.

The bottom line: Don’t take this “free” money unless you don’t really need it. Otherwise the risk—potentially losing your home—is not worth a few rebates and rewards.

—Email fletcher.june@gmail.com

Courtesy of your Arcadia Real Estate Agent

Coldwell Banker partners with Videolicious

1,000 agents will get access to automated video creation platform

BY INMAN NEWS, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2013.

Inman News®

In a new relationship that it says could grow, franchising giant Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC has announced it will provide a customized version of the Videolicious automated video creation platform to 1,000 agents who have demonstrated a desire to grow their business through video.

Videolicious will allow Coldwell Banker agents to create videos without complex software, the company said, using their iPad or iPhone and integrating existing stills and video to create shorts in minutes.

“We believe that video content needs to go beyond slide shows, and our system has adapted to video as a critical component in showcasing their personality and industry knowledge,” said Michael Fischer, chief marketing officer at Coldwell Banker Real Estate, in a statement.

Fischer said Coldwell Banker On Location, the brand’s YouTube channel, has more than 50,000 videos and saw a 121 percent increase in views last year.

Videolicious was one of a number of new companies demonstrating new services at last summer’s Real Estate Connect conference in San Francisco, and is one of 25 exhibitors in “Start-Up Alley” this week at Real Estate Connect New York City.

Videolicious CEO Matt Singer will team up at the conference Thursday with HDhat CEO Mark Passerby and Andreas Klavehn of Carl Zeiss AG, to present alive demo at 10:05 a.m. EST on using smartphones to produce high-quality video.

Courtesy of your Arcadia Real Estate Agent

The Door Is Now Open to Home Builders

Housing is hot again.

[image]

It was a sign of renewed investor enthusiasm last week when real-estate-information firm Trulia Inc.’s TRLA -4.04% share price rose more than 40% on Thursday following its initial public offering. So was the surge Friday in KB Home KBH +16.40% shares after KB reported an unexpected quarterly profit. Although home prices turned the corner just this past spring, shares of home builders have more than tripled on average since their 2009 nadir.

Next up is Lennar Corp., LEN +2.49% which is slated to report fiscal third-quarter earnings Monday. Analysts expect earnings of 28 cents a share for the period ending in August, up sharply from 11 cents a year earlier.

For a while this spring it was possible to debate whether the long-awaited turn had come in house prices, as some measures turned positive while the widely followed S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index lagged behind. Now that measure, due Tuesday, is pointing up as well, although its originator, Robert Shiller, says he isn’t convinced we have hit the bottom yet.

In any case, there is cause for at least short-term cheer, particularly for home builders that rallied after last week’s housing-starts data. Single-family housing starts rose at the quickest pace since April 2010—a period artificially boosted by a tax credit for first-time home buyers. Lennar’s share price broke above $37 Friday for the first time since June 2007, ending at $38. Is it deserved? In its last reported quarter, the company sold 3,222 houses, up 20% year on year. But in 2006 it sold nearly 50,000 in a year. Even though its operating margin nearly doubled to 9.2% in the second quarter, that is still shy of the mid-to-low teens Lennar enjoyed in its heyday.

image

Bloomberg NewsKB Home shares surge Friday after the company reported an unexpected quarterly profit.

In a way, that is encouraging, because there should be more upside even with the stock trading at nearly 27 times 2013 earnings estimates. Housing starts have slumped mightily since their peak, and pent-up demand is significant. Between 1992 and 2007, single-family starts averaged nearly 1.3 million a year, while they averaged just 500,000 the following four years. The Fed’s recent steps to further boost housing by buying mortgage-backed securities bode well, too.

While not home-free, home builders have given investors some grounds to justify recent gains.

By Spencer Jakab

COURTESY OF YOUR NUMBER ONE ARCADIA REAL ESTATE AGENT

Best Productivity Tool? iPhone or Android? Check Out the Answers to the 3 Quick Question Quiz

by Inman Next →

August 14, 2012  |  EventsNext TV

We were thrilled when Real Estate Connect Ambassador Bill Risser showed us his “Three Quick Question Quiz” and filmed ICSF attendees responses.

Check out the videos and get the inside scoop on everything from how these attendees like to spend their time to the tech tools have won their hearts (and work for the their business).

Peter Brewer

Best productivity tool? You might be surprised…

Monica Monson

Does Pinterest or Twitter get the job done? Check out the video to find out:

Raj Qsar

We all know Raj produces amazing videos but what does he do when he is away from work? Find out here:

Ricardo Bueno

MacBook or PC (or too obvious)?

Check out more “Three Quick Question Quizzes” and perspectives from the conference floor on our Inman News YouTube channel. 

COURTESY OF YOUR NUMBER ONE ARCADIA REAL ESTATE AGENT

 

Coldwell Banker $20,000 Giveaway

You could win $20

Click on picture below to enter the $20,000 Giveaway.

You could win $20K

COURTESY OF YOUR NUMBER ONE ARCADIA REAL ESTATE AGENT

 

Only 2% of People Can Multitask Successfully

by 36

Pride yourself on multitasking? You may need to take a closer look at how you tackle your to-do list.

Despite the numerous gadgets and apps that help us get through our days, research suggests that only 2% of people can multitask effectively. As for the remaining 98%? They’re actually lessening their productivity without even realizing it.

This infographic from OnlineCollege.org details how often we confuse multitasking with actual distraction. For example, employees who use a computer for work are, on average, distracted every 10.5 minutes. Students who bring their laptops to class aren’t doing much better, since 62% of the web pages that they open during class are completely unrelated to the lecture. And what about the 67% of people who check their email or use a mobile web browser while on a date?

 

SEE ALSO: 8 Google Chrome Extensions to Boost Your Productivity
 

Focusing on more than one thing decreases your productivity by 40% and lowers your IQ by 10 points, according to Harvard Business Review. And it almost goes without saying how dangerous it is to multitask while driving.

Check out the infographic below for more stats on how multitasking affects the average person. Do you think you’re part of the elite 2% that can achieve it? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

 

Multitasking Infographic

COURTESY OF YOUR NUMBER ONE ARCADIA REAL ESTATE AGENT

 

New iPhone 5 release date, news and rumours

By Dan Grabham 
iPhone 5 news and rumours
New iPhone 5 release date, news and rumours
Is this what the new iPhone will look like?

Although widely expected, there was no iPhone 5 in 2011 after all, though the company did announce the iPhone 4S.

So we’ll surely see a total revision of the iPhone during 2012. We’ve gathered together all the latest rumours on the new iPhone 5 to give us a reasonable picture of what Apple’s latest handset might be like.

You’ll find all the rumours below, but why not check out our new iPhone 5 rumours video first?

iPhone 5 release date

Given the pattern of Apple’s iPhone launches, we’re expecting the new iPhone 5 release date to be mid to late 2012.

At Apple’s WWDC 2012 event in early June we learnt a lot more about iOS 6, but there was no hardware (well, apart from new Macs). Check out the launch news as well asiOS 6: everything you need to know.

We reported in February that the new iPhone release date would be in October, falling into line with the same release schedule from last year – something backed up by the Verizon CFO.

According to analyst Shaw Wu, the Cupertino firm has reduced the number of iPhone orders by 20%-25% for this quarter ahead of the release.

It seems that Foxconn will again be manufacturing the handset. It’ll put the Samsung Galaxy S3 “to shame” according to the CEO of Foxconn, Terry Gou – though he didn’t say how.

However, a “Taiwan-based supply chain source” told DigiTimes in early May that Chinese firm Pegatron Technology has the iPhone 5 order ahead of a scheduled September launch.

According to the report Pegatron has also received orders for a 10-inch iPad, which is due to launch at the end of this year – which sounds equally spurious.

This does fit in with a mooted August 7 launch date for the iPhone 5, as is currently being quoted by Know Your Mobile through an ‘industry source’, but we’ll wait to see if that actually comes to pass – and it now seems impossible given that actual manufacturing has yet to begin.

And that seems to be ‘backed up’ by a report from App4phone.fr that the iPhone 5 release date will be September 21… although let’s be honest, a Chinese accessory maker with no name to the source being quoted by a previously unknown site when it comes to Apple launches isn’t the most reliable of sources.

Update: The latest rumour in the huge mill of new iPhone 5 release dates comes from another unknown source (*sigh*) – which claims we’ll see Appletake to the stage on September 12 to show off the next handset, alongside the iPad Mini.

Update:Further suggestions that September 12 will be the iPhone 5 launch date have been made, this time via sources for Reuters and AllThingsD.

Update: Networks could be preparing themselves for the arrival of the iPhone 5, as the 32GB model cropped up in a drop down menu in O2′s online accessory store – although the network was quick to stay it had nothing to do with the next iPhone and was purely “human error”, hmmm…

Update: Adding more fuel to the September 12 iPhone 5 release date fire is the rumour which says pre-orders for the new iPhone will start on the same date - something we’ve seen Apple do with other products – with stock expect to ship on September 21.

Update:According to reports, US network AT&T has cleared its schedule in anticipation of the iPhone 5 release date falling in September.

iPhone 5 name

We reckon iPhone 5 is still the favourite for the name of the new iPhone, but it could follow the new iPad and end up being called, simply, the new iPhone. We really hope not. One thing is for sure, Apple has already filed a complaint over the ownership of the iPhone5.com URL.

Update: Apparently Apple is testing two versions of the next iPhone, which are known as “iPhone5,1″ and “iPhone5,2″ – so could handset number six for Apple actually be called number five?

iPhone 5 form factor

Unlike the iPhone 4S, the new iPhone will be a completely new design from what has gone before, so that means an entirely new casing as we saw with the iPhone 3G and, later, the iPhone 4.

Interestingly, someone who claimed to have seen a larger iPhone 5 prototype said in November 2011 that Steve Jobs canned the new size and opted for the iPhone 4S.According to Business Insider, it was feared that a new size would create a two-tier iPhone ecosystem.

Beatweek also claimed in November 2011 that the 5-inch was scrapped “because Apple wouldn’t be able to do it properly” this year. However, the Daily Mail (make of that what you will) then suggested that a four-inch version was likely and that Sony has already shipped top secret demo screens to Apple.

A new iPhone 5 backplate leaked in early May – they were acquired by 9to5 Mac, but look like the combination of a lot of the other rumours we’ve heard about the shape and size of the new handset. These feature bigger speaker grills as well as a four inch screen and a two-tone back with brushed aluminum .

And there’s a picture of the front been leaked too, with a lovely side-by-side comparison with the iPhone 4S for good measure, courtesy of KitGuru:

 

iPhone 5

 

The two-tone back was also spotted in a video from eTrade Supply, which again showed the relocation of the headphone jack as well as a smaller connector and redesigned speaker grills.

detailed video render of all the iPhone 5 rumoured/leaked images was also uploaded to YouTube in early June.

Update: Rumours surrounding that famous Apple 30-pin connector on the base of the iPhone have flared up again, with Reuters reporting that thedock connector is getting smaller to make room for a 3.5mm headphone jack on the base of the new iPhone 5.

Update: We’ve now seen a Chinese site claim to have a fully assembled iPhone 5 chassis - bringing together all the design aspects mentioned in previous leaks, including a smaller dock, relocated headphone jack, centralised front facing camera and two-tone back.

Update: More dock connector rumours, this time claiming Apple will opt for an even smaller 8-pin option over the current 30-pin port or rumoured 19-pin version.

 

iPhone 5 LEAK

 

Credit: iLab Factory

Update:According to a video which claims to show off the front panel of the new iPhone, the handset will be the same width as the iPhone 4S, but will be taller and thinner.

Update: Apparently the new SIM trays for the iPhone 5 have leaked online, showing that they will be smaller and the ones found in the iPhone 4/4S – pointing towards the use of nano-SIMs in the new iPhone.

Update: The smaller dock connector rumour is refusing to die, and now we’ve been told that the new iPhone won’t feature a 19-, 16- or 8-pin port, but instead a 9-pin offering will appear on the base of the device.

Update: The new iPhone may touch down at a svelte 7.6mm in thichness, making it one of the slimmest smartphones on the market, and 1.7mm thinner than the iPhone 4S.

iPhone 5 specs

Based on the roadmap of mobile chip design specialist ARM (of which Apple is a licensee), we’ll see a quad-core processor debut in the new iPhone 5 – probably called the Apple A6. We’ve seen other quad core handsets debut in 2012, so it’s not too much of a stretch to say that the new iPhone 5 will be the same.

We had expected some kind of help in terms of predicting the iPhone 5 CPU from the launch of the new iPad, but the announcement of a slightly tweaked A5X processor really didn’t help things there.

According to a tip to 9to5Mac, the CPU will be the S5L8950X. Again this could be a derivative of the A5, but as 9to5Mac points out, Apple is probably working on a low-power 32nm version of the processor. As we could well have guessed, that processor will be manufactured by Samsung but designed by Apple itself.

The same report suggests 1GB of RAM, which seems right to us.

In terms of other specs aside from the screen (more on that below), rumours are persisting that the new iPhone 5 may have a new dock connector. The leaked 9to5Mac iPhone 5 backplate has this smaller dock connector.

 

iPhone 5 backplate

 

[Image credit: 9to5Mac]

TechCrunch reported in June that the sixth generation of iPhone will come with a 19-pin connector on its base, with Apple ditching the iconic 30-pin port which has graced previous iPhones, iPads and iPods.

Well, it had to happen sometime didn’t it?

Update: According to a report from the Financial Times, mobile operators are stockpiling nanoSIMs, as they expect the iPhone 5 to support the latest, and smallest, SIM technology.

Update: Images of a range of internal gubbins, all claiming to be parts of the iPhone 5, have made their way onto the internet – revealing more about Apple’s sixth generation handset.

iPhone 5 will have 4G/LTE support

After the new iPad’s launch brought 4G to an Apple device, it’s widely expected that 4G will come to iPhone 5. And with many 4G handsets already announced in the US, it can’t be long before the iPhone supports 4G technologies – even if we won’t even have a UK spectrum auction until late this year or maybe early next.

Because of the 4G fuss over the new iPad in the UK, we’d expect this to be played down in any UK handset – or the UK might get a different version entirely of course.

Steve Jobs’ iPhone 5 legacy

Many sites have reported that Steve Jobs was working hard on the iPhone 5 project, which will apparently be a “radical redesign”. We shall see… but the fact the iPhone 4S was so similar to the iPhone 4 suggests that Steve was working on something pretty special before

Check out this handy iPhone 5 video detailing the latest rumours on release date, spec and more – so check if out for a quick fix of next-gen Apple fun:

The Wall Street Journal has previously reported that: “Apple is also developing a new iPhone model, said people briefed on the phone. One person familiar said the fifth-generation iPhone would be a different form factor than those that are currently available… it was unclear how soon that version would be available to Verizon or other carriers.”

According to Bloomberg, sources familiar with Apple’s plans, Jobs “had worked closely on the redesigned phone before his death”.

iPhone 5 screen

Various sources claim the iPhone 5 will feature a larger, 4-inch screen. Digitimes quotes the source as saying that Apple is expanding the screen size “to support the tablet PC market as the vendor only has a 9.7-inch iPad in the market.”

On 23 May 2011, we reported on rumours that the iPhone 5 could feature a curved glass screen. These rumours also came from Digitimes, which said that Apple has purchased between 200 and 300 special glass cutting machines because they’re too costly for the manufacturers to invest in.

In March 2012, new reports suggested that the new iPhone 5 would come sporting a larger 4.6-inch retina display, while April rumours even suggested the next iPhone will use new touch technology.

During May, The Wall Street Journal cited sources as saying the device will definitely sport a 4-inch display – which seems to be the broader consensus as well - other prototypes are similar in size. However, Apple CEO Tim Cook seemed to dampen the ‘larger screen’ speculationat the recent D:10 conference, saying the company has “one phone with one screen size, one resolution”.

Those of you who are keen Apple watchers will, however, know that he is wrong – the currently-available 3GS does not have the same resolution as the iPhone 4 and 4S.

Whatever, it seems Sony is involved with the display and it has been making the screen since February, ramping up production from May. A larger screen will also be welcomed by developers, as Mobilebloom points out.

Update:The Wall Street Journal reports that the iPhone 5 will use new in-cell technology to produce a thinner, lighter screen – which looks set to be 4-inches in size.

Update: Sharp has confirmed it will start shipping displays for the next-gen iPhone in August – although it didn’t reveal what size, blast.

Update: Apparently the front panel of the new iPhone has made its way online in the form of a video, and reveals that the iPhone 5 will indeed sport a larger screen, 4.06-inches in size and with a 16:9 aspect ratio.

Update: After some digging around in the beta version of iOS 6 a scalable option to increase the OS to fit a 640×1136 resolution version has added more fuel to the larger screen fire.

Which retina is the best? We compare the high-res displays on Apple’s new iPad, iPhone 4S and 2012 MacBook Pro up-close:

iPhone 5 digital wallet – NFC

There’s been some speculation that Apple might include Near Field Communication (NFC) technology in the iPhone 5, turning it into a kind of credit/debit card.

However, with the tech being inside the Google Nexus Sand Samsung Galaxy Nexus, as well as a host of other top smartphones, the time for NFC may finally be here.

On 24 June 2011 it was reported that the Google Wallet mobile payment platform could feature on the new iPhone. Eric Schmidt admitted that Google is looking to port the software to other manufacturers.

However, on 31 January 2012 9to5Mac claimed to have spoken with a well-connected developer who disclosed information received from Apple iOS engineers saying they are “heavily into NFC”.

The developer in question has not been named, but is working on a dedicated iOS app which includes NFC reading for mobile transactions. When questioned how confident he was on the information he had received his reply was “Enough to bet the app development on”.

On April 30 2012 an Apple patent filing reinforced the idea NFC in iPhone 5 – and leaked code from something purporting to be the new iPhone alsocontains a lot of information on NFC in the new iPhone.

iPhone 5 camera

Sony makes the camera for the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S. Speaking at a liveWall Street Journal event, Sony’s Sir Howard Stringer was talking about the company’s camera image sensor facility in Sendai, a town that was recently ravaged by the recent Japanese earthquake and tsunami.

According to 9to5Mac, he said something along the lines of, “Our best sensor technology is built in one of the [tsunami] affected factories. Those go to Apple for their iPhones… or iPads. Isn’t that something? They buy our best sensors from us.”

Sources have also suggested the new iPhone could have an 8MP camera. Indeed, Sony announced in January 2012 that it had developed new back-illuminated stacked CMOS image sensors which are smaller in size. It’s also been reported that the new iPhone will have an HD front-facing camera as well.

An interesting titbit via MirrorlessRumors is around a removable iPhone back panel that would include the camera lens has been spotted in a patent document. It seems to show that the device would work either by swapping the panel, or rotating the panel to change lenses.

iPhone 5 price

If the iPhone 5 is an evolutionary step like the move from the iPhone 4 to the iPhone 4S then we’d expect the price to stay more or less the same, although in the UK higher VAT rates may well mean a higher price tag.

It’s pretty much nailed on that the new iPhone will cost around £500 for a 16GB / 32GB model (depending on the capacity Apple whacks in there) and unless the iPhone 5 comes with some truly next generation technology that pricing model should hold firm.

Will the iPhone 5 be Liquidmetal?

Apple has added a further two years onto its exclusivity deal for the Liquidmetal technology, which also includes future updates to the tech.

Liquidmetal is a metal alloy which is super strong and boasts a range of unique properties, apparently making it perfect for consumer products.

Apple has only used the technology once so far, and that was for the small SIM card tray ejector tool for the iPhone 3GThere are rumblings that iPhone 5 could sport a Liquidmetal chassis.

iPhone 5 review

TechRadar is renowned for its detailed phone reviews where we look at every aspect of a handset, and we’ll be bringing you a full, in-depth iPhone 5 review when we get our hands on one.

As for the name, well it looks like it will be called iPhone 5. Apple has certainly been trying to protect the name iPhone 5 – and has even launched a claim over the iPhone5.com domain name.

There’s a lot of ‘information’ out there on what the new iPhone 5 will look like – be it larger screens, coloured backs or a whole glut of new technology tagged on the back.

However, while there’s (unsurprisingly) nothing in the way of a genuine leak from Apple when it comes to the iPhone 5, there’s a wealth of content from fans trying to guess/hint what the new iPhone will look like.

We’ve sifted through the wheat and dropped the chaff – here’s our gallery of images we think show the most likely design of the iPhone 5 (or just things that would clearly never happen, but come on… it’s cool).

TechRadar has now got on board with the 3D render gang and produced its own video of what the iPhone 5 may look like, taking inspiration from the most talked about rumours.

And here’s what everyone else came up with…

 

iPhone 5

 

Credit:Martin Utrecht (Flickr)

This is the pick of the bunch – a very impressive render based on all the iPhone 5 rumours collated so far. The two tone back and sleek design fromMartin Utrecht are so on message that a number of sites were fooled into thinking this was THE new iPhone. It’s not though. Don’t get excited.

 

iPhone 5

 

Credit:Ciccarese Design

We’re fans of this design not because it’s likely to happen, but more because it will appeal to the Apple fanboys of the world. It’s basically the unholy fusion of a Magic Mouse and an iPhone (with more than a nod to the much-fabled iPhone HD) from Ciccarese Design.

Although if it did double as a mouse, you’d have to pray that’s going to be the next generation of Gorilla Glass protecting the screen.

 

iPhone 5

 

Credit:NAK Phone Design

This is the most ‘normal’ of all the renders we’ve chosen here, and for that very reason we’re happy to state that if Apple goes in a new direction with the iPhone 5 design, this could very well be close to the mark with a more rounded-yet-industrial design.

However, it does look a bit like a Sony Ericsson Satio, which is a BAD THING. Although we do like the smorgasbord of colours here from NAK.

 

iPhone 5

 

Credit:tob!s

What’s this?A phone with a smart cover? That makes a lot of sense. The rest of the concept is a little on the bland side (although you should check out the full range over on Concept-Phones) with a more angular design, but we love this cover notion.

 

iPhone 5

 

Credit:ADR Studios

We love this concept for one reason: the idea of incorporating the home button into a dock at the bottom of the screen. Would it work in practice? Probably not, as it would only be relevant for the home screen and engineering that into an LCD panel would be a pain in the posterior.

But we’re in concept land here – there are no limitations, so kudos to ADR Studios for a decent range of ideas on the next iPhone.

And to that end, here’s the ultimate in concepts for the iPhone – a video from Aatma that comes up with the idea of projecting a keyboard from the iPhone using a laser.

Make. This. Happen.

 

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