Two events took the centre stage last week. One was Hurricane Irene that caused havoc in the Bahamas and North Carolina before heading towards New york City.

The other event was the resignation of Steve Jobs as Apple's Chief Executive, and the naming of Tim Cook as the successor. Though the news was widely anticipated, it really saddened Apple fans. There were media reports that Apple may send out invites for the iPhone 5 event sooner rather than later as the California-based technology giant may want to erase the exit of Steve Jobs from people's mind with the release of iPhone 5.

Well, what is the connection between these two distinct events? The answer is here.

There were doubts in the minds of technology enthusiasts that whether the exit of Steve Jobs may affect the release of iPhone 5.

But few would have thought that Hurricane Irene may force Apple to postpone the release of iPhone 5, which is expected to be launched in late September or early October.

It is strange that a hurricane would delay iPhone launch. But, it could be possible.

Though the potential iPhone launch event is expected to be held in California, journalists from New York City attending the event may experience some travel delays due to the hurricane.

Moreover, the hurricane may shut down the airports in the East Coast, making it difficult for Apple to send inventories to the region.

Also, consumers residing in hurricane Irene's path would predominantly think about their survival and would spend their resources primarily on the basic neccessities and recovering themselves from the impact of hurricane.

In addition, a weak U.S. economy may force consumers in other parts of the country to tighten their budgets and cut down on discretionary spending. Though economic uncertainities may not have impacted Apple unlike others, it is a risk that cannot be ignored.

Let's take a look at the rumored specifications of iPhone 5:

The iPhone 5 is expected to run on an upgraded operating system, iOS 5, and supported by a strong ecosystem including iCloud. iCloud will store photos, apps, calendars and documents without storing them onto the phone's memory storage.

Apple is expected to release iPhone 5 as a World Phone - both GSM and CDMA compatible. It is conjectured that the phone will have a SIM-less design with 3-4 antennas. Another rumor suggested that the iPhone 5 will feature a SIM card slot for other countries except the U.S. This will allow users to insert any SIM card in iPhone when traveling abroad.

Apple has made improvements in the camera department by fitting a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash. Apple's iPhone 5 is expected to sport an 8 megapixel camera.

There is also near-unanimity in gadget circles that Apple will bring its A5 chip on to the iPhone 5. The A5 processor is the same one that Apple rolled out to power its iPad 2. Apple may boost the speed of its A5 chip in the range of 1.2 or 1.5 GHz as several Android smartphones are coming with 1.2 GHz processor.

Apple may fit a near-field communication chip in the iPhone 5 as some high-end Android devices are expected to sport the NFC chip. NFC allows for simplified transactions, data exchange, and connections with a touch. A smartphone or tablet with an NFC chip could make a credit card payment or serve as keycard or ID card.

Apple is rumored to increase the screen size of iPhone 5 to compete with Android smartphones, probably going for a 4-inch screen. The iPhone 4 has a 3.5-inch screen.

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