Apple's WWDC silence over iPhone 5: A giveaway to Android?

Apple fans will cheer the announcement of iOS 5 at the WWDC; but it is the Android camp that will be heartened by the fact that there has been no word on the iPhone 5.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs braved health worries to address the worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in san Francisco, and unveiled mighty improvements on its iOS mobile operating platform that will revolutionise the next generation iPhones, iPads and iPods.

The Cupertino giant took aim at Android at the Conference, claiming that its iOS is the best mobile operating system and promising that this will be improved further to spread panic in the Android camp. While much o the claims are debatable, what is more notable is that there is NO word on iPhone 5.

It's the iPhone 5 that drives Apple customers crazy. And it's their best to stay ahead in the maddening competition in the smartphone sphere.

Apple customers worldwide have been waiting for Jobs to drop some hints on iPhone release, features, at the WWDC. And millions were used to buying a new iPhone every summer. However, when WWDC winds up without word on iPhone, will their loyalty be tested? More likely than not.

Without a new iPhone 5 on the market, more and more users could fall into the temptation of buying an Android smartphone instead of waiting (for how long?) for Apple’s next smartphone to hit the stores, Radu Tyrsina wrote in nextiphonenews.

And the Android camp is brimming over with action with new handsets, new releases, and new tie-ups.

T-Mobile is blazing the summer Android launch trail by announcing the HTC Sensation 4G, Samsung Gravity Smart and Samsung Exhibit 4G in quick succession. while HTC Sensation 4G will be released on June 15, the other two hand sets will also come sometime this month.

Sprint has lined up three handsets, HTC Evo 3D, the Motorola XPRT, and the Motorola Titanium.

AT&T was up to speed by the announcement of Android-based Pantech phone Crossover.

Though Verizon appears not to have any earthshaking smart phone announcement to make, it has showcased 4G LTE version of the Galaxy Tab 10.1.

And then there is talk about HTC Evo 3D. Leaks suggest HTC is mulling the release of the new Android phone on AT&T and T-Mobile.

A report by PocketNow.com said a smartphone similar to the HTC Evo 3D appeared in one HTC Developer website. The phone reportedly had two cameras.

In the tablet sphere, the new arrival will be the 7-inch ViewPad 7x slate from ViewSonic. This will be run on Google’s Honeycomb platform.

There could be some reason why Apple is silent about iPhone 5. Or is it just strange? I rumors are to be believed, iPhone 5 will sport features like edge-to-edge display, 8MP camera, NFC capabilities and the like. It will have ARM Cortex-A9 processor and could offer GSM and CDMA compatibility as well.

Now, most o these rumored features are not quite enough to trump the android devices. There is already talk that most of these rumored iPhone 5 features are already on Android OS-based devices.

If iPhone 5 is released soon, or if at least a pointer to the release is provided, iPhone fans will know when they will catch up with Android devices.

DigiTimes reported last week that Apple iPhone's growth in the U.S. market will be curtailed by the expansion of Android-based handsets.

With more Android-based devices hitting store shelves in the second half of 2011, the Google smartphone OS will further widen its gap with iOS thanks to its more complete ecosystem the report said.

Meanwhile a Nielsen survey showed Android devices have become the most popular smartphones in the US, and are set to leave Apple iPhones way behind. The survey also finds Google's Android operating system (OS) is the most popular among mobile operating systems.

As many as 36 percent mobile users in the US now use an Android devices, while iPhone’s share has dwindled to just 26 percent.

To beat Android, there ought to be superior features on the iPhone 5. Give credit to Apple on this, but when will it hit the market? An iPhone 4 S in August? And the true iPhone 5 in 2012? will that be too late? Or, will it fit better into Apple's strategy?