Sprint iPhone

Rumors of a Sprint iPhone have been flying around lately, but now the Wall Street Journal reports that the company has literally bet its future on the device. Apple's terms require Sprint to purchase at least 30.5 million iPhones over the next four years at a cost of $20 billion. The company has been struggling for years and its stock has lost 80 percent of its value since the first iPhone was sold.

Sprint will be losing money on the proposition until at least 2014. The wireless carrier doesn't have much to lose considering it has been losing subscribers since its 2005 merger with Nextel. Sprint has half of the subscribers that Verizon and AT&T have and roughly 40 percent of these customers are pay-as-you-go.

The wait is almost over! Apple sent out invites to select media outlets for their big event on October 4. The invitation featured four iOS icons of a clock, the date, a phone and a map with the tagline "Let's talk iPhone." Apple CEO Tim Cook is expected to announce either the iPhone 5, "iPhone 4S," or both at the event.

Hopefully most of our questions will be answered and the iPhone 5 will be unveiled. Sprint should be announced as the newest U.S. iPhone carrier, and Facebook is also supposed to launch their new iPad app at the event. At least we know this will put an end to all the wild speculation and internet rumors.

Deutsche Telekom has begun accepting pre-orders for a device they don't even know exists yet. Without any knowledge of a release date, name, or hardware specifications the German carrier started handing out golden tickets for the next generation Apple handset.

A spokesman for the carrier told Bloomberg that customers can visit Deutsche Telekom stores to receive their ticket. The strict first-come, first-served system allows one pass per customer and is not being advertised. This is the first time that Deutsche Telekom will not be the exclusive carrier during a new iPhone launch in Germany. Other German carriers began offering the iPhone last October.

Another day, another iPhone rumor... BGR is sticking to their earlier report that a new iPhone will be released this August, but this time their unnamed source also revealed that Apple plans to offer a cheaper prepaid iPhone and their next generation device by the end of this summer.

According to Boy Genius Report, Apple will begin selling the iPhone 3GS for around $350 with no contract. Their "incredibly solid source" could not confirm the iPhone 5 with teardrop design that they announced back in June, but they did confirm that the next generation iPhone will be announced by "late August-ish."

Those "well placed and anonymous sources" are at it again. The tech blogs Chip Hazard and West Coast Gadgets have kicked off a whole new set of rumors by claiming that the iPhone 5 is in the hands of AT&T and Sprint beta testers. Chip Hazard's "well places sources" in AT&T mobility revealed that beta testers have been testing the iPhone 5 since July 6. Citing no sources, West Coast Gadgets announced that Sprint beta testers will be spotted in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas, New York City, and Chicago starting this Monday.

Why is Apple purportedly using 3rd party testers? According to another tech blog, AT&T and Sprint are ensuring another Antennagate doesn't happen by checking for reception and connectivity. The author also points to Apple's own internal testers losing an iPhone last year, but wouldn't giving out more devices to 3rd parties increase the chances of a repeat, and more leaks? With all the so-called "inside sources" releasing so much information, it seems like Apple is having a hard enough time keeping their own people quiet these days.