New rumors suggest Apple will bring out three new iPhone models this year, including one dubbed the "iPhone Math," tech sites say.

Brightwire.com, translating stories from the China Times and Taiwan-based Commercial Times, said the iPhone Math would feature a 4.8-inch screen and an 8-megapixel camera.

Brightwire could offer no explanation for the odd moniker, especially since all previous and current iPhones have model names consisting of just numbers and letters, such as the iPhone 3G and the iPhone 5.

If Apple does indeed release three separate iPhones, it will be a significant departure of its practice of unveiling just one high-end smartphone each year, PC Magazine reported.

Also, Apple has moved to waiting until fall before unveiling its newest smartphone, reserving earlier announcements for its Mac computers and latest version of Mac OS X and iOS operating system software.

Apple may be considering multiple phone offerings to better compete with its chief rival, South Korea's Samsung, which offers cellphones in multiple sizes, colors and features, PC Magazine said.

IPhone tops in US as Android rules the world: report
San Francisco (AFP) Jan 22, 2013 - Apple's iPhone remained the most popular smartphone among US buyers in the closing months of 2012 while Android handsets were on top worldwide, Kantar Worldpanel ComTech reported on Tuesday.

"At the end of 2012, the global (operating system) picture shows Android on top, but clearly the rate of growth it experienced over the past year is beginning to slow as easy wins from first-time smartphone buyers begin to reduce," said Kantar global consumer insight director Dominic Sunnebo.

Apple iPhones accounted for 51.2 percent of smartphone sales in the United States during the 12-week period ending December 23rd of last year, according to Kantar.

Smartphones powered by Google-backed Android software made up slightly more than 44 percent of sales while handsets based on Microsoft's Windows operating system were a distant third-place with 2.6 percent, the report indicated.

Android smartphones continued to be best sellers in major markets including Britain, China, Spain, Australia, and Germany while iPhones were favored in Japan as well as the United States, according to Kantor.

Windows smartphones appeared to be catching on in Europe, with its shares of sales in Britain and Italy climbing to 5.9 and 13.9 percent respectively, the reported indicated.

"Windows Phone is now starting to gain respectable shares in a number of key European countries," Sunnebo said.

"However, its performance in the Chinese and US markets remains underwhelming; these remain key challenges for Microsoft to overcome during 2013."