All signs point to iPhone 5 second week of October

Apple employees are being told they can’t book vacation time during the second week of October, according to a report from Apple Insider, fueling increasingly plausible speculation that at least one new iPhone will hit stores during that time.

Last week, All Things Digital reported that Apple plans to make a major announcement October 4. As the company did not debut a new iPhone earlier this year at the WWDC, traditionally the time when Apple announces new iPhones, it is virtually certain that any announcement will center around an iPhone. Further, last week, former U.S. Vice President and current Apple board member Al Gore, revealed in a speech that two new iPhones are on the way.

The two new devices would likely be a next-generation iPhone 5, as well as a lower-cost model that would allow Apple to capture more market share. There are also strong rumors that Sprint will join AT&T and Verizon as carriers of Apple’s iconic device. T-Mobile, the remaining member of the Mount Rushmore of U.S. carriers, may also begin marketing iPhones if it ultimately gets acquired by AT&T (pending U.S. regulatory approval).

One other piece of supporting information fueling speculation that new iPhones and iOS 5 are indeed a few weeks away are a series of events officially hosted by Twitter focusing on iOS 5 integration, according to a report from The Next Web.

Stay tuned to Appolicious for ongoing coverage and analysis of Apple’s upcoming announcement and the almost inevitable debut of a next-generation iPhone.

Latest from NewsReports