As Apple gears up to announce the next generation iPhone, and a rumored stripped down version, the rumor mill keep on churning and spewing out more specs and features. Last time we checked the new iPhone was expected to cure cancer and bail out a few EU member states that have issues with fiscal responsibility, or math.

On a somewhat more serious note, Deutsche Bank analyst Chris Whitmore believes Apple is on the right track and it will manage to greatly boost sales thanks to the inclusion of a new mid range handsets. Dubbed iPhone 4S, the phone is said to be loosely based on the 8GB iPod touch and Whitmore believes Apple will sell it between $300 and $350 without carrier subsidies and at a healthy 50 percent margin. The decision to introduce a cheaper iPhone and take on Android in the mid range sounds like a good idea, and a cheaper model would make a lot of sense in emerging markets.

As for the iPhone 5, it is supposed to be an completely new design, with aluminium unibody construction, 8MP camera and an edge-to-edge screen, or as Donald Trump would put it “a ‘uge screen”. As far as features are concerned, the 5 should incorporate something Apple calls Assistant, an advanced voice control system and it will allow users to control more aspects of their phone than previous voice control systems, which were frankly pants.

Assistant will also enable users to create and send text messages without wasting precious time typing them, the phone will interpret speech and just ask the user if it got it right. Sadly, it still can’t fetch a cup of coffee or a sandwich.

More here.