If you were counting on the rumored late September release of the iPhone 5 to stave off the end-of-summer blahs, you might have to save it for your Halloween treat bag.
Apple
iPhone 4 from Verizon
Reports that AT&T banned employee vacations for the last two weeks of September to prepare for the launch of the iPhone 5 are misinformed, sources with inside knowledge told All Things Digital.
"I don't know why AT&T's calling for all hands on deck those weeks, but it's not for an iPhone launch," a source familiar with Apple’s plans told the website.
The source added that the phone was due to arrive in October, but declined to offer a specific date. Other sources point toward later in the month rather than earlier.
The sources couldn’t offer any details on the iPhone 5’s design, the subject of Internet gossip forums for months.
Online chatter hints that the new iPhone will use the faster A5 processor that is installed in the iPad 2. A higher resolution eight-megapixel rear camera—at present a far cry from the sharpness of the main front camera—is also rumored to be in the works.
iPhone 5 Set to Soar
Investment banking firm Piper Jaffray predicts “significant pent up demand for the next iPhone,” particularly among Verizon customers, even though Verizon's recent iPhone sales fell short of expectations.
Verizon customers eagerly awaited the February 2011 arrival of the hot smartphone as AT&T had reined as gatekeeper over it since its debut in 2007.
Among Verizon subscribers who do not already have an iPhone, 55 percent expect their next phone to be one, reports Piper Jaffray. The majority of those—74 percent—are holding out for the iPhone 5.
As if Apple hasn’t heard enough good news, Piper Jaffray’s survey also indicates the tech company will more than double its market share with the next iPhone release, even wining over users from the competing Android platform.
While 94 percent of iPhone owners expect to buy another iPhone in the future, only 47 percent of Android users feel the same loyalty to the Android platform (42 percent confirmed they expect to switch to the iPhone).
Piper Jaffray has an overweight rating on Apple.