While the ever-growing list of specifications the next iPhone will boast has kept the media guessing, it hasn't hurt sales of the iPhone 4 -- which is still the best-selling phone in Verizon network.

BTIG Research, which polled 250 Verizon and AT&T stores across the United States, found the iPhone 4 still perched atop of the charts at 89 percent of Verizon stores and 65 percent of AT&T stores. Of the Verizon stores surveyed, 51 percent said the iPhone was their top seller. An additional 38 percent said it was tied with a rival Android device, typically the Samsung Droid Charge or the HTC Thunderbolt.

Another smartphone coming to Verizon, the Motorola Droid Bionic, packs the punch to deliver the goods as it comes with 4G LTE support. After the approval from FCC a week ago, Verizon has revealed a special sign-up page just for those interested in the Droid Bionic.

However, the important factors determining the long stay of Motorola Droid Bionic are:

Battery Life:
The HTC Thunderbolt, with its 4G LTE compatibility, surely was a smartphone devised for speed. But due its poor battery life performance, the dream run of becoming the best was short-lived. When the HTC Thunderbolt was launched, it claimed to have close to seven hours of talk time, but the battery life lasts only for four hours when 4G is active. Meanwhile, consumers have opted for Samsung Droid Charge, which has gained the distinction as best-selling Android phone at 90 percent when compared to HTC Thunderbolt’s 10 percent, as it gives noticeably longer battery life.

Hence, Motorola Droid Bionic coming with 4G LTE and 1 GHz dual core processor can face similar situation as that of HTC Thunderbolt, as 4G LTE and the dual core processor can take a lot out of 1930 mAh battery of Droid Bionic. If the battery life in Droid Bionic lasts for a long period of time then it can become the best selling smartphone at Verizon network giving a very stiff competition for iPhone 5.

4G LTE:
The 4G LTE technology to be adopted in iPhone 5 is becoming a less probable venture. Any phone coming with 4G technology has to bare the highest component costs of any other smartphone coming without it. In fact 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless chips required for the faster speeds in the Thunderbolt cost an extra $39.75, according to industry researcher IHS.

With Apple trying to keep its relatively higher pricing for iPhone’s compared to other devices, the implementation of 4G LTE can become a very costly affair. That means if Apple brings in 4G LTE support for iPhone 5, then Apple has to device a new heavier price tag for the device.

However, the company has already dropped hints, saying at a Verizon press conference in January that it will be conservative with the implementation of LTE, primarily because of battery and other concerns that didn't meet Apple's demands. Also, given the size of the LTE chip, Apple iPhone's minuscule printed circuit board (PCB) will have to grow in size in order to support the first-generation LTE baseband processor as well as all the supporting chipset which is in clear contrast against Apple’s plans to deliver a lighter and thinner smartphone in the form of iPhone 5. So most probably iPhone 5 will not be featuring 4G LTE support.

Having no 4G LTE means, Apple will have to bare the burnt and this huge mistake can cost Apple dearly. Never day’s consumers are increasingly using their smartphones for online searches, banking, bill payment and for booking tickets online. 3G doesn’t offer the cutting edge and demand of more speed has become a necessity.

As Google Android powered phones are gaining popularity over the iPhone and with many other smartphones along with Motorola Droid Bionic coming 4G LTE, the paradigm shift of looking over from iPhone to other smartphones offing consumer needs is imminent.

Design:
Although Motorola was about to launch Droid Bionic during Q1, the plan was not pursued as the company wanted time to modify and upgrade the product. The main reason may be due to the poor performance of Motorola Atrix 4G, the revolutionary device that came with laptop dock. Perhaps Motorola blamed the rounded look of the Atrix for its poor sales. But, the recent leaked picture of Motorola Droid Bionic shows an improved design looking similar to an iPhone.

When it comes to the iPhone, Apple has always updated the design of their smartphone each year. Also the leaked photo shots of Droid Bionic looks very polished, light and thin. And this time around Motorola Droid Bionic is expected to feature the laptop docking feature found in Atrix which can give the smartphone an added advantage over iPhone 5.

Display:
Apple may follow its may follow its iPad 2 specs and may maintain the existing 3.5-inch display size in the upcoming iPhone 5. When Apple released its iPad 2 it did not change the display size, keeping it at the 9.7-inch form factor, even while multiple Android tablets were released with 10.1-inch, 7-inch and 8.9-inch displays. Apple launched the iPhone 3GS with the same form factor 3.5-inch screen and instead of increasing the size of the iPhone 4 display, Apple focused on offering higher-resolution retina display. Also keeping the display size at 3.5-inch offers significant economic benefits to Apple, as it does not have to re-work on its manufacturing process, since increasing the display size requires a major capital outlay. Thus, Apple could possibly optimize the display rather than increase the display size.

The Motorola Droid Bionic has a 4.3-inch qHD display. Lately more people are opting for iPad than iPhone showing that bigger devices matter. Hence, Motorola Droid Bionic will have clear advantage over iPhone in this regard.

Flash support:
The flash support may look like a minor problem but it is not. Flash has become a major setback in iPhone. Android phone supports flash that even Apple iPhone 5 will not support in near future.

In fact Jobs cited other reasons to the list like Adobe's proprietary control over the Flash platform, the existence of its favored HTML 5 platform, besides questioning the reliability and security of Flash, citing it as the No. 1 reason behind Mac crashes.

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