2, 3G, 3GS, 4...?

Technology blogs have today been boring non-American's with incessant chatter on what amounts to an inferior model of an existing phone now being available on a carrier that may well turn out to be as bad as the one everybody really hates once it gets a similar load.

The only remotely interesting article in the mix pondered whether future versions of the phone would continue to follow a split release cycle between the two carriers.

What will the next version be though?

It's hard to picture. It's not that there aren't features now found on the more recent Android handsets that Apple could adopt and no doubt make their own, but is that how Apple works?

They have the option of somehow correcting the now almost forgotten antenna issue, though would they want to put the antenna back in it's shell now it's spent time on the outside, and failing that, is there really an attractive alternative solution?

Cameras as always continue to increase in resolution not particularly matched by an increase in quality, though there is a lot of praise for the cameras on the 4. Do they need to improve this?

Screen resolution was a key reveal for the 4, but can you see many betting on a further increase? Can you even remember the buzz-phrase used to describe this screen 8 months on?

Of course, we're ignoring the obvious. The second model had a 3, then the third model had a 3 again so that the next one could have a 4 regardless of whether it included newer radio technology. It didn't, but this one probably will. Couldn't you just see it being called a 4G rather than a 5 this time? The little gleaned barely listening to others boring us on the topic of 4G technology tells us that it's not a clear-cut single standard and that it's all very confusing. Are the masses really that interested in more speed though? It doesn't feel like a driving factor. Let's not forget that most networks now cap usage somewhere between a few hundred MB and a few GB. Is the allowance to make real use of the faster flow of data really there?

If any of this is on the right lines, it would suggest that there isn't an enticing enough set of features to encourage upgrades, but have you forgotten the 3GS? S is for speed, and
that's about it. The model was sold on the basis of being faster with a slightly better camera. If anything that model felt like the most popular one. Certainly the breakthrough model in the UK.

Who cares anyway? This is all at least 5 months away.