iPhone 5 rumors of 4-inch IGZO screen

By Richi Jennings (@richi ) - November 29, 2011.
[Updated with the latest release date rumor]
 
Apple is believed to be closer to an iPhone 5 release date. The pomaceous company (NASDAQ:AAPL) is rumored to be funding Hitachi and Sony in making 4-inch IGZO (indium, gallium, zinc) displays. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers recall the disappointment of the 4S announcement keynote.
 
Your humble blogwatcher curated these bloggy bits for your entertainment. Not to mention: In France, Photoshop is illegal, or something...
 
 
John Cox reports "reality":

It's real: iPhone 5 will have a 4-inch display. ... [A] Japanese website...claimed that Hitachi and Sony have teamed up to build 4-inch...displays for a "new iOS device". ... The 4-inch screen is already shipping.
...
Maybe the source is one of those...case makers who is still hoping to recoup the money lost when they [gambled on] the big-screened...iPhone [5] that turned out to be the same-screened iPhone 4S.
...
The iOSsphere doesn't process irony.   

   
From Japan, danbo adds:

According to [an] Asian source, Hitachi Displays, Ltd. and Sony Mobile Display Corporation [have] started to ship 4-inch [displays] for [a] new iOS device. ... These 2 companies will [merge] with Toshiba Mobile Display Co., Ltd., as "Japan Display" in...spring.   

Neil Hughes' anonymous minions triangulate the rumor:

The report arrives on the heels of claims...earlier this week that Sharp will also produce panels for the iPad 3 at its...plant in central Japan; Apple typically sources its components from multiple partners.
...
[Rumors say] Apple has invested an unspecified amount in Sharp's factories...to help support Sharp's production capacity for IGZO...panels...that will allow for thinner designs and improved battery performance.   

Meanwhile, Philip Elmer-DeWitt has been grubbing around in analyst reports:

Jefferies analyst Peter Misek...[says] that Apple has sunk...as much as a billion dollars into a new supplier ([i.e.] not Samsung)...to build the next generation of iPads and iPhones with...battery life and prices its competitors will be hard-pressed to match. I quote:
...
"For the iPhone 5 LTE...this new facility will be used to supply displays. The IGZO technology is perfect in that it offers near-OLED power consumption while having a lower cost and [thickness]...only 25% greater than OLED."   

Yes, but what about the **** release date? Lewis Curdie doesn't help much:

The source goes on to suggest that the iPad 3 and iPhone 5 will arrive at some point next year.
...
To be fair, my mum could probably tell you that.   

Update: Steven Williamson thinks he knows when:

Both the iPhone 5 and iPad 3 are likely to make an early appearance at the Mobile World Congress in February, where a host of other[s]...will be hoping to impress.   

  
And Finally...
In France, Photoshop is illegal, or something
 
 
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Richi Jennings is an independent analyst/consultant, specializing in blogging, email, and security. He's the creator and main author of Computerworld's IT Blogwatch -- for which he has won American Society of Business Publication Editors and Jesse H. Neal awards on behalf of Computerworld. He also writes The Long View for IDG Enterprise. A cross-functional IT geek since 1985, you can follow him as @richi on Twitter, pretend to be richij's friend on Facebook, or just use good old email: itbw@richij.com. You can also read Richi's full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.