Apple is not known for its lack of attention to detail.
So it is perhaps no surprise it sent out invites to its September 12 event, widely expected to be the unveiling of the iPhone 5, on the eve of Microsoft and Nokia’s big phone launch in New York.
'It's almost here', says the Apple invitation, with a shadowed '5' underneath the date.
The event is set for the same San Francisco theatre where Apple launched its latest iPad.
If the rumours on the blogosphere are right – the new iPhone will be in shops nine days later.
The tech headlines had been around the new Windows 8 phone – due to be revealed at a press conference tomorrow - kicking off seven days of new releases into an increasingly crowded mobile market.
Google-owned Motorola will launch their latest smartphone at an event across town later on Wednesday evening, with Amazon due to unleash their new 'Kindle Fire' on Thursday.
Samsung introduced its 5-inch tablet - the Galaxy Note 2 – at a Berlin conference last weekend.
All had been conveniently timed to get their products to market ahead of the new Apple iPhone – even if they will now be caught up in the accompanying hype.
There is no shortage of speculation about how each device will reinvent its respective wheel: the new iPhone will reportedly be thinner, in a metallic case, and with a redesigned dock, while the new Nokia Lumia, apparently codenamed Phi, is said to be made of curved glass and polycarbonate, the first wirelessly charging phone.
But the real story here is the battle of the platforms – shiny handsets to one side, this is about the operating systems inside: Apple’s iOS versus Android versus Windows 8.
Nokia has put all of its eggs into Microsoft’s basket – a risky strategy for a company that once dominated the market, with 49% smartphone share at its height in 2007, but which now accounts for just under 10%.
The one big advantage it has over Samsung is that Apple shows no signs of suing it. In fact a Nokia smartphone was held up by an Apple lawyer during the latest Samsung trial as an example of a new handset that did not infringe its patents.
Windows is a familiar platform for PC-users and programmers, but its real downside as a smartphone is the availability of apps.
Research by technology analysts Gartner (Market Trends: Mobile App Stores, Worldwide 17 August 2012) found 600,000 apps available for Apple’s iOS platform, 500,000 on Android, and 88,000 for Microsoft.
James Chandler, head of mobile at media agency Mindshare UK, told Sky News: "It's difficult to see where Nokia would go after this – in Window's 8 they've put all eggs in one basket.
"In not carrying Google’s Android platform on their handsets, it sets them apart from rivals like Samsung, HTC, Sony & LG – but also leaves them vulnerable should Windows 8 not deliver.
"For Microsoft and Nokia both, this is ultimately their final throw of the dice."
