Apple is reportedly prepping for a launch of the iPhone 5 sometime between September 6 and 15. According to China Times (translated via MacRumors ), suppliers are currently preparing 400,000 trial run iPhone 5 units, with an initial shipment slated at 4 million units. As the iPhone 5 features guessing game picks up steam, Apple has not formally announced anything.

Rumors began to swirl this past June at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference when Apple's lack of iPhone 5 news suggested to some it was prepping for an iPhone announcement later in the year, likely in September. For the past three years Apple has held a media event in September, where it has introduced products in the iPod line, but this year the company is expected to launch the long-awaited iPhone 5 and a final version of iOS 5 at the same time too. iOS 5 is currently advertised on Apple's website as "coming this fall".

The Chinese publication also reports that the iPad 3, a widely rumored upgrade to the iPad 2 with a high-resolution display, is actually delayed until Thanksgiving due to component shortages. A recent report from Taiwan's Economic Daily claims the next-gen iPad display resolution will be five to six times higher than that of the iPad 2. However, some are skeptic that Apple will make the iPad 2, still a best seller, obsolete after nine months of availability.

The iPhone however, is due for a refresh, as the iPhone 4 was launched more than one year ago. Conflicting rumors over the past few months are split between an incremental upgrade to the iPhone 4, with an A5 dual-core chip (as found on the iPad 2), and a camera boost, or a rather more radical refreshed iPhone 5, as suggested by alleged cases for the upcoming device.

Apple reinvented the mobile phone, and revolutionized the smartphone when it introduced the iPhone. It has been surpassed in overall market share by the me-too, copycat Android OS, and Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 is a worthy challenger as well, but this fall Apple has an opportunity to set the bar for the industry once again, and leave the competition in the dust with the iPhone 5.

1. Verizon (et al). The iPhone 5 will be the first new iPhone model introduced since the exclusivity with AT&T ended (no, the white iPhone does not count--not even a little). The Verizon iPhone 4 has been a huge success anyway, but many Verizon customers held off knowing that a new iPhone is just around the corner, and not wanting to be shackled to an iPhone 4 with 18 months left on the contract. The new unlocked iPhones will make a difference as well.

2. iOS 5. Apple has already shared with us the details of iOS 5. The new iOS will finally free the iPhone (and iPad) from the PC--syncing and updating wirelessly instead of requiring a physical connection to a USB port. The improvements in the iOS mail client, the addition of iMessage, tabbed browsing in the default Safari browser, and the behavior of the Notification Center will all contribute to the success of the iPhone 5.

3. iCloud. Along with iOS 5, Apple will also officially launch iCloud around the same time the iPhone 5 is expected. iCloud will enable effortless, seamless syncing of email, files, music, contacts, calendars, and other content between the iPhone, iPad, and Windows or Mac PCs.

4. The Specs. The iPhone 5 is expected to (or rumored depending on your perspective) to use the same dual-core A5 processor Apple uses in the iPad 2. The processor really just plays catch up to the status quo rather than blowing rival smartphones away, but Apple somehow squeezes better performance and a superior experience out of equivalent, or even inferior hardware.

5. The Camera. The smartphone is quickly replacing the point and shoot, and emerging as the camera of choice for most consumers. It has already put the nail in the coffin of the Flip video camera. But, there is more to digital photos than maxing the megapixels, and most smartphone cameras take inferior quality photos. Speculation suggests that the iPhone 5 will have an 8 megapixel camera, with dual-LED flash for better low-light photography, and that the iPhone 5 camera will set the bar for smartphone photos.

Some of this is based on speculation--we don't really know what the camera functionality or hardware specs will be just yet. But, just the things we already know for a fact are enough to make the iPhone 5 the king of the hill and leave all smartphone competitors playing catch-up.

Apple iPhone is always the hottest topic to discuss and these days, a lot of rumors are around us about the iPhone 5. One thing is confirmed that Apple will launch the next iPhone because they refresh their iPhone line every year and they will do it this year too but everyone have only one question, when it’s really coming out? From last 2-3 years, Apple was launching the new iPhone in June-July period, but this time there will be no iPhone in June-July time frame as AT&T confirmed it. We are hearing rumors that Apple will launch the next iPhone in September and they will also start production in September.

Now China Mobile’s employee is claiming that world’s largest mobile network China Mobile will be launching the iPhone in September, he posted this on Weibo.com which is a Chinese social network site; unfortunately the post is now deleted. Recently, Apple COO Tim Cook was in China and he met China Mobile executives and the reason of meeting was obviously new iPhone I think. China Mobile currently have 500 million users and 5 million out of them are iPhone users, so actually there are a big number of iPhone users in China and the next iPhone will increase it to the new level.

Currently, we don’t know what will be the official name of the next iPhone, is it iPhone 5 or iPhone 4S? We are hearing that it will be known as iPhone 4S, as we recently saw an image which is probably the image of next iPhone. It was almost like iPhone 4 and if the next iPhone will be known as iPhone 4S, then what can you expect from it? Probably, it will be running on a dual-core A5 chip, an 8 MP camera, bigger display, and I am sure it will be rocking on iOS 5. There are also rumors that next iPhone will be a completely redesigned product and will feature some mind blowing features. Well people, we can just make some guesses but I am sure Apple will clear the air after 2 months.