Apple

T-Mobile Chief Marketing Officer Cole Brodman confirmed that they would not be getting the iPhone 5 "this year." However, his statement could mean a lot of things.

According to one sales associate, Sprint will be offering the iPhone 4 to their subscribers in 2011, not the iPhone 5. This could be a mistake on the employee's part, or maybe both Sprint and T-Mobile customers will have to wait longer for the next generation device.

J.P. Morgan analyst Mark Moskowitz thinks Apple is going to have a great year by offering the "iPhone 4-plus", a low-end replacement for the iPhone 3GS, on more carriers. Apple doesn't seem to be in a hurry to launch the iPhone 5, and could have decided to expand its customer base by only offering the revamped iPhone 4 to T-Mobile and Sprint. This could also be due to the iPhone 5 production delays mentioned by 9to5Mac a few days ago. If Apple is expecting iPhone 5 shortages in 2011, they could be limiting the amount going to new carriers until production picks up in 2012. According to 9to5's report, the iPhone 4-plus is flying off the production line, and Apple should have plenty available for the upcoming holiday season, but the iPhone 5 might be limited in numbers.

A fresh Apple patent has been discovered that promises to make all iPhones and computers just like Tony Stark's talking, holographic assistant in Iron Man. Well, it's a start at least and Apple's ideas include an affordable, compact 3D imaging and display system that can be used for input and more. The diagram below from Patently Apple shows one aspect of the 3D system in operation.

Apple's plan is to give the user feedback with audio and visual signals as they provide 3D input in a defined space. This space would be scanned continually and the results of user action displayed in real time. Not only this, but a projection beam could be used to create holographic images within the space.

The golden master version of iOS 5 is due for release on Friday September 23rd according to a recent report from BGR. The same inside source indicated that iOS 5 beta 8 will kick off on Friday September 16 to developers.

If Apple holds to this schedule, it's likely that the golden master of iOS 5 will be the version of firmware that gets installed onto already completed iPhone 5 hardware sitting at factories in China. Carriers must approve the software for use on their networks, and its possible this deadline would be Wednesday October 5th.

What iPhone 5 release date? Even though there's still no official confirmation from Apple that the iPhone 5 even exists, reports are now surfacing that Foxconn is ramping up production of the mystery handsets to the tune of 150,000 per day. This puts Apple on track for over five million units per month ahead of a single announcement by the company revealing the new device.

Above is a rendering concept produced by Macrumors based on leaked iPhone 5 case schematics from manufacturers in China. Despite Apple's apparent success at hiding the next iPhone from prying eyes, reports from the supply chain continually leak out indicating possible specifications and the status of iPhone 5 manufacturing.

Apple employees, unreleased iPhones and alcohol obviously don't mix well. Last year an iPhone 4 prototype was lost in a bar and sold to the tech blog Gizmodo for $5,000, which led to a desperate search by Apple and law-enforcement to recover the missing device. In an odd case of deja vu, CNET reported that an iPhone 5 was lost in a San Francisco bar in late July, and possibly sold on Craigslist for around $200. A lot of Apple blogs questioned the story because a spokesman for the San Francisco Police Department said Apple never filed a police report about the lost phone at the bar. But remember, San Francisco was the first place the elusive iPhone 5 was purportedly sited, and in July, West Coast Gadgets announced that Sprint employees would be testing the next-generation device in the city. Maybe a Sprint employee lost his prototype while sipping on tequila in the Mexican restaurant known as Cava 22 -- the scene of our crime!

According to CNET, the phone was traced to "a two-floor, single-family home in San Francisco's Bernal Heights neighborhood." San Francisco police searched the home, but discovered nothing. The unidentified man was offered money for the phone with no questions asked, but he maintained that he had no knowledge of its whereabouts.