Not only are the consumers who are excited to upgrade their iPhone 3 or 4 watching the unveiling of the fifth generation iPhone. There are also analysts and shareholders that are deciding whether the latest under-the-hood and aesthetics changes, ornew CEO Tim Cook touting new devices, will be a buy or sell for Apple's shares. And of course, there will be a group of people who won't be reacting with a "wow" but will closely monitor the official announcement.

The iPhone defined the smartphone when it was launched in 2007. Since then, Apple has earned a reputation for its innovative flair, and rivals have been playing catch up. Rivals try to exploit on the iPhone 4's weaknesses (inferior camera, small screen, small storage, high price) and the delay in releasing a new model, by releasing powerful and beautifully designed products of their own.

Samsung Electronics, Motorola Mobility and HTC have release new smartphones that have superior specs like 4.3-inch screens, 1.2 GHz dual-core processors, and 8-megapixel HD cameras. Even Google Inc. has tinkered with the Android platform so that its user interface and functionality would at least equal Apple's iOS5.

Samsung will be at the front seat taking pictures. It's readying exhibit A for its counter-attack against Apple. Samsung has been sued by the Cupertino, California-based company on allegations that its devices slavishly imitated the design and functionality of the iPad and iPhone. Samsung, who is ironically a key supplier of parts for the iPad and iPhone, is preparing to strike back, and possibly seek an injunction on the release of the iPhone 5, as Apple has been infringing Samsung's wireless patents since the first iPhone was released.

They will be also closely watching Tim Cook. Cook took over Jobs' post as CEO in August, although the former has been unofficially running the company since January. Cook has been more of a operations and supply chain guy, taking care of Apple's margins and profits. Now taking charge of touting Apple's new devices, Cook is not expected to become the showman and visionary that Jobs was. Shareholders are staying put for now as many Jobs-grade products are already in the pipeline. But rivals are closely watching when Cook will stumble or make one bad decision.

With competition intensifying, and Apple releasing a single tablet, smartphone and laptop model each year, there is no room for error for Apple. And of course, rivals are hoping that early reviews of the iPhone 5 will highlight the device's lack of significant improvements, in order to shake up Cook's early rule on Apple.

Android rivals have been able to gain ground while Apple was facing production issues on the iPhone 5. But only Research In Motion and Nokia were bruised by the Android group's aggressive punches. Notwithstanding that the rivals' phones had superior specs, the iPhone 4 has manageably held the forth, selling

20 million units in Apple's most recent quarter. If the iPhone 5 fails to live up to great expectations, they're hoping that Apple's brand and marketing prowess would lose their glitter.

But if the iPhone 5 continues Apple's stint of unprecedented success, holidays, Samsung, et al., will be setting their sights for next year. They're already preparing their checklists for this year's iPhone 5 but also for the iPhone 6. They already are aware of reports that the iPhone 6 will have quad-core processors (which would make phones as powerful as desktops), a platform that would take advantage of Apple's iCloud infrastructure, and have a screen made of curved-glass.

And, as tradition says, they will always try to come up with something more.

They dream that the iPhone 5 is dubbed a failure at the event in Oct. 4. When they wake up, they'll be scratching their heads on why, no matter what they do, they just couldn't beat the iPhone.