Things we want in iPhone 5

The release of iPhone 4S was sort of like a Kubler-Ross experience. There was: 2. Denial � (No, I don�t mind that it�s not an iPhone 5.). 2. Anger � (Wait, WHAT! It�s not an iPhone 5??!!) 3. Bargaining � (Come on, Apple, please, just �One More Thing�) 4. Depression � (Whatever, I guess I�ll get a Droid) 5. Acceptance � (Hey, the 4S rocks.) Now we�re through that neurosis, we can move on to what the iPhone 4S immediately makes us think of: What we want in the iPhone 5. We�re leaving out silly stuff like removable batteries, expandable storage or Flash support that Apple just doesn�t do and going right to the realm of reality, ranked by how likely it is we�ll get each feature. #5 NFC, Near Field Communications. This is that swipe-to-pay-with-your-phone technology that everyone is cranking up in 2012 and which most consumers thinks is some sort of voodoo that will siphon their bank account, expose their ID or both. That nothwithstanding, it�s pretty likely Apple will build it in to 5 because they have a huge stake in the payment space with iTunes. Chances here about 40%. #4: Better battery life. The 4S is pretty much a lateral on this front, so now Apple�s REALLY on the hook to make the 5 go longer on a charge, especially since the MBA goes all day on a charge and the iPad goes all month on one, making the iPhone the one Apple mobile product that doesn�t have a battery life story to tell. New CPU and GPU�s we expect in 5 will help here and the odds on this one about 50%. #3 is actually the #1 thing CNET users tells us they want: A screen bigger than a credit card. The longstanding 3.5� iPhone screen is just plain dinky these days, you really feel it when watching video or using the phone as a PND. Yet we still rank this one at about 50% likelihood due to the battery hit it might mean - see #4 we just did -- and the fact that same user who want a bigger screen also don�t want a bigger phone. #2 4G. If the iPhone 5 doesn�t have 4G when I will officially whistle Apple�s Golden Era over. 4G phones and networks are a little green now but will be a given by iPhone 5 time and 3G phones will moving fast to the bargain category. Also, 4G bandwidth will do wonders for iCloud which might dovertail nicely with an expansion of that service to work with video for the first time. Odds here, a solid: 80 percent. Before we hit #1, remember another reason for a lot of anticipation around 5: The reports that it was the last product Steve Jobs focused on, reportedly allocating the limited time he knew he had left to this product. It makes sense: It�s far and away Apple�s biggest product and may be the last physical evidence we ever get of Jobs vision.. #1 thing we think we�ll see in the iPhone 5 is a new design. We don�t know WHAT the new design might entail - thinner, more sculpted, wider, longer, curved -- those rumors are all in play -- but we know this: In the handheld device space you have to change up the design once in a while to keep the coals burning under the hype machine. Consider patents that suggest �backside multitouch� which isn�t that thing you try to get away with in a strip club but a technology where control the screen from behind the device...or maybe we�ll get a competely button free interface -- both of those would create a more spacious screen experience, answering you #1 request. Whatever it is, new design 99% likely with just 1 percent reserved in case Tim Cook drinks a whole lot more than we know. If you�re intrigued by this short list and want to see the full one, including the stuff that everyone wants and WON�T be coming, check out David Carnoy�s fill 15 things we want in iPhone 5. You can find that link and a lot more Top 5 vids like this at Top5.CNET.com. I�m Brian Cooley, thanks for watching.