ITWire

iPhone 5 has finally started, according to Taiwanese newspaper, Digitimes, suggesting that the Pegatron factory in Shanghai, China, has finally commenced the long-awaited production of the Android-killing iPhone 5.

Not only is this news expected to save Pegatron following a drop in notebook orders, the company has also reportedly picked up a contract to also manufacture iPads, although whether this includes the fabled and equally anticipated iPad Mini was not disclosed, and likely remains one of Apple’s worst-kept yet best-kept “doubled down” secrets.

That said, Digitimes reported that this contract was for a “new version” of the iPad, although this could also be for the future 2013 iPad 4, or “new, new iPad”, but if it is the iPad Mini, Apple’s double whammy of iPhone 5 and iPad Mini will go a long way towards slaying the Nexus 7 and smartphones such as the Samsung Galaxy SIII – or, at least, slaying the chance of massive fourth quarter sales as the world goes iCrazy for Apple’s latest and greatest yet again.

Then there’s the ongoing rumours of the iPhone 5’s new “dock connector”, said to be smaller at 19-pins, rather than the current 30-pin dock connector.

None of the rumours indicate this socket might end up being compatible with the microUSB connector for power charging, but instead, as seen in this ZDNet report, the connector is now smaller because space needed to be saved at the bottom of the iPhone to make room for the headphone socket.

Having the headphone socket at the base of the device matches the iPod Touch configuration of the headphone socket, which also makes it easier to manage when you have your iPhone in your pocket, and headphones sticking out from the upwards facing “rear end”, rather than popping out from the top of the iPhone as with the current version, which sees the headphones at the bottom of your pocket – a less elegant way to have cables and connections protruding in your pocket!

Picture it if you can’t follow it, but it should all make sense.

One interesting rumour that ZDNet has relayed is that the new 19-pin dock connector could well feature Apple’s famously brilliant MagSafe technology, allowing the connector to easily disengage should a hard force come between your charging cable and your iPhone, thus potentially saving your iPhone from flying off the table onto a hard floor surface.

The MagSafe connector would simply magnetically detach, just as it does on MacBooks, and would be a most unique solution and one that exudes Apple’s typical style, charm and ease-of-use.

The second last and welcome dock connector rumour is that it will be “more water resistant”, while the last rumour doesn’t fare so well in the welcome stakes.

No, this final rumour suggests a chipping technology to ensure that Apple earns deliciously profitable licensing fees from companies that make licensed dock connector compatible devices, while also suggesting that “unlicensed cables” may no longer work at all, something that would make life more complicated for any company that makes iPhone or other iDevice connector cables without paying Apple any license fees.  

Hopefully that does not mean a $50 iPhone dock connector cable as is the case with Apple’s Thunderbolt cables, but it probably won’t mean a $5 cable either.

So… if Digitimes is to be believed, Pegatron has finally begun the manufacture of 2012’s most anticipated smartphone, and if the rumouristas are to be believed, the new dock connector is coming too, and for all your devices, whether a 30-pin to 19-pin adapter plug or cable is offered, a world of upgrade pleasure and pain awaits too.