By a Newsnet reporter
According to the latest rumours on the net the release date of Apple’s iPhone 5 is to be September 21st, with pre-orders beginning on the 12th.
The technology blog iMore announced that a special debut event on the 12th has been confirmed by “accurate” sources.
It is considered likely that the new iPad Mini and the new iPod Touch will also appear in September.
The new iPhone 5 will feature a slightly larger screen at 4 inches, near-field communication (NFC) technology and will possibly be made from LiquidMetal, a super-strong amorphous alloy.
The entirely new iPad Mini, which could also be unveiled at the September event, is thought by some to be a smaller version of the iPad designed to compete with Amazon’s Kindle Fire and Google’s Nexus 7 tablets.
The late Apple CEO Steve Jobs had insisted that he favoured full-size tablets instead of smaller versions. However other sources have suggested the iPad Mini may look more like an iPhone than an iPad.
Rumours surrounding the imminent release of iPhone 5 seem to be damaging sales of iPhone 4 as customers are choosing to wait for the more up to date model.
“Our weekly iPhone sales continue to be impacted by rumours and speculation regarding new products,” said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s chief financial officer in July.
However, there has also been speculation that indirect rumours have been encouraged by Apple to create a buzz effect for the release of the new product.
Apple has been reported to be negotiating with Korean mobile carriers KT and SK Telecom to provide the iPhone 5 through their LTE networks.
“KT is in negotiation with Apple to persuade the latter to support KT’s 1.8-gigahertz frequency in Korea for the upcoming iPhone,” one senior KT executive said, according to the Korea Times.
However, the stated aim to “persuade” Apple may suggest that a deal for LTE-enabled devices is still some way away.
Meanwhile, the results of a perhaps unusual poll released yesterday by RoxyPalace have concluded that one in eleven men would be willing to go celibate for a month if it meant getting the new iPhone 5 two weeks in advance of the release date.
The same survey also found that 22 per cent of men would give up coffee, and that 14 per cent would go without alcohol for the same period.
38 per cent said they would make a ‘significant sacrifice’ to avoid queuing for the device.
According to FBR Capital analyst Craig Berger, the iPhone 5 over its life cycle could sell as many as 250 million units and could be “one of the largest single product opportunities in Apple’s history.”
