Rumors

The newest iPhone rumor has nothing to do with tear drops or the number 5. Instead the latest suggests Apple will finally be joining the 4G LTE club with its newest handset next year. According to DigiTimes, 2012 is going to be the year of 4G LTE. Sprint plans to launch 15 LTE capable devices next year, and Nokia, Apple, RIM and Sony are expected to jump aboard the LTE bandwagon soon.

Apple isn't known for being "cutting edge" when adopting new technologies, but with so many 4G LTE devices available right now, Apple fans are growing tired of waiting. However, the technology is still young, and Apple is probably waiting for all three major U.S. networks to expand their coverage before deciding if it's worth making the leap or not. Verizon plans to have 175 markets nailed down by the end of this year, and Sprint plans to cover 260 markets by 2013.

Tim Cook is ready to host Apple's big iPhone event tomorrow at 10am PT, 1pm ET, but will the redesigned iPhone 5 and Steve Jobs be making an appearance? Word is Jobs is too sick to attend, and recent evidence points to the iPhone 4S being Apple's next device, not the rumored iPhone 5 with "teardrop" design.

Both the iPhone 4S and iPhone 5 have been popping up in random carrier and store inventories. A 16GB Sprint Apple iPhone showed up in a questionable Radio Shack leak, and the German carrier Vodafone added an 8GB iPhone 4 and three iPhone 4S models (16GB / 32GB / 64GB) to their website.

Apple watchers have long known that the company integrated social networking service Twitter into its next generation mobile operating system iOS 5. What remains to be seen is whether or not Facebook will join Twitter and enjoy its own iOS 5 integration on iPhones and iPads. The screenshots below are from MacRumors however the site couldn't vouch for their authenticity.

For one thing, the word addresses is spelled wrong which points to these being a simple mockup or someone's independent dream. On the other hand, with Twitter hitting iOS 5 full force it's hard to imagine that Facebook doesn't want a piece of this attention from Apple users. Not only this, but Facebook is strangely said to be planning an iPad app announcement on the same day that Tim Cook is scheduled to announce the next generation iPhone.

Did you really believe Apple announcing its big iPhone event would put an end to all the next generation iPhone rumors? Sorry, not gonna happen! Prepare your last grains of salt, because here's the latest, and hopefully the last, iPhone 5 gossip!

While speaking at Macworld Asia, China Unicom's Deputy Director Huang Wenlian said the new iPhone 5 would feature HSPA+ 21Mbps data speeds. This comes from a poorly translated PC Watch report, but the image below is quite convincing.

9to5Mac found three next generation iPod Touch SKUs and two iPhone 4S SKUs in Apple's inventory system. The new iPhones are listed as N90A. The new device is believed to be the iPhone 4S since the iPhone 4 is codenamed N90. The new listings could also be for the rumored 8GB iPhone 4 mentioned by Reuters in August.

Apple has blacked out employee vacations from October 9th through 12th and October 14th through 15th. A tipster told Apple Insider the first blackouts will coincide with the release of iOS 5, and the second block of dates are for the launch of Apple's fifth-generation iPhone.

"The first block of dates -- the 9th through the 12 -- could pertain to the release of iOS 5 for existing iOS device owners on Monday the 10th. As AppleInsider reported last week, certain segments of the company's AppleCare divisions have been told to prepare for an influx of iOS-related inquiries on that same day."