Sprint and Verizon clarify iPhone 5 plans: Sprint pre-orders begin at 12:01am Sept. 14th, Verizon requires that you pay full price to keep your unlimited data plan

Earlier this afternoon AT&T announced that it will allow its customers who are on a grandfathered unlimited data plan to keep it even when paying a subsidized price for the iPhone 5. The nation’s largest carrier looks to be taking things a different way, however. A Verizon PR representative confirmed with 9to5mac this evening that customers will only be able to keep their unlimited data plan only if they pay full price for the iPhone 5 ($649 for 16GB). Furthermore, existing Verizon customers can keep their old Nationwide Usage Based plan and won’t be forced to switch to one of Verizon’s new Share Everything Plans when buying the iPhone 5 on two-year contract. New customers will be forced to go the shared data plan route.

If you are an existing customer and want to keep your Nationwide Usage Based plan, you can keep your plan, purchase the iPhone at the discounted price with a 2 yr customer agreement. If you have a Verizon Wireless unlimited data plan, you can pay full price for your iPhone 5 and keep your unlimited data plan.

Only customers who are new to Verizon Wireless will select from Share Everything Plans.

The nation’s third-largest carrier Sprint has also detailed its iPhone 5 launch this evening. In a press release, seen below the fold, Sprint says that it will begin pre-orders at 12:01am PST on Sept. 14th, and we assume that time be the same for all parties that will make the iPhone 5 available. A 12:01am pre-order time took place for the iPhone 4S last year. Also in its press release, Sprint further touted its unlimited data plan — which may be a serious draw to some customers. Pricing for the iPhone 5 remains the same across carriers: $199 for 16GB, $299 for 32GB, and $399 for 64GB — all on two-year contract. There’s also T-Mobile, who has launched a serious “save $1,200″ advertising campaign in hopes of attracting customers with unlocked iPhones.

For those who want to pick up the device in-store, Apple will be opening its retail stores at 8 am on Sept. 21st. All online orders will also be shipped that day. With pre-orders close to two days a way and information from every carrier out (except Verizon’s Facetime over 3G places) comes the serious question: which carrier will you be going with?

(Top image via Slashgear)


Sprint (NYSE: S), the only national carrier that gives customers Truly UnlimitedSM 4G LTE data, text and calling to any mobile, today announced it will offer iPhone 5 on the Sprint network beginning on Friday, September 21. New and existing customers can pre-order iPhone 5 beginning at 12:01am PT on Friday, September 14 at www.sprint.com/iPhone.

iPhone 5 is the thinnest and lightest iPhone ever, completely redesigned to feature a stunning new 4-inch Retina display; an Apple-designed A6 chip for blazing fast performance; and ultrafast wireless technology—all while delivering even better battery life. iPhone 5 comes with iOS 6, the world’s most advanced mobile operating system with over 200 new features including: the all new Maps app with Apple-designed cartography and turn-by-turn navigation; Facebook integration; Passbook organization and even more Siri features and languages.

“iPhone 5 is packed with amazing new features and we are proud to offer Truly Unlimited data to iPhone customers so they can enjoy everything iPhone 5 has to offer on our 4G LTE network,” said Sprint CEO Dan Hesse. “Whether it’s finding a nearby restaurant with Siri, using Passbook to get organized or surfing the web, Sprint’s truly unlimited data plans provide incredible value for iPhone customers, meaning customers can make the most of iOS 6 without worrying about costly overages on their monthly bill.”

The Benefit of Unlimited Data

iPhone 5 requires activation on one of the Sprint Everything Data plans starting at just $79.99 with Truly Unlimited data, text and calling to any mobile. No throttling, no metering and no overages, all while on the Sprint network. With Sprint’s Everything Data and other plans that include Truly Unlimited data, Sprint is continuing its history of data leadership by making it easy for its customers to use data in all the ways that are useful to them, such as news, email, music, TV and GPS navigation, without worrying about data overages on their monthly bill.

Sprint 4G LTE is now available in 19 cities including Atlanta, Baltimore, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Waco, Texas. Sprint’s build of its 4G LTE network is underway in more than 100 additional cities within its existing nationwide 3G footprint. Major metropolitan areas in which Sprint 4G LTE is expected to be available in the coming months include Boston; Charlotte, N.C.; Chicago; Indianapolis; Los Angeles; Memphis, Tenn.; Miami; Nashville, Tenn.; New Orleans; New York; Philadelphia; and Washington, D.C.

By the end of 2013, Sprint expects to have largely completed the nationwide build out of its all-new 3G and 4G network, a program known as Network Vision. The project also includes significant improvement in customers’ 3G network experience, including expanded coverage, improved network reliability, better voice quality, and faster 3G data speeds. For the most up-to-date details on Sprint’s 4G LTE rollout, visit www.sprint.com/4GLTE.

Committed to Customer Service

Sprint customers have access to Sprint’s Ready Now service where trained retail associates will work one-on-one with customers to personalize their iPhone and set up features like email, Web and apps before leaving the store. Customers have the choice of sitting down with a Sprint retail associate at the time of purchase or they can schedule an appointment for a later time online.

Sprint is #1 among all national carriers in customer satisfaction and most improved,, across all 47 industries measured, during the last four years, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). In addition, Sprint received the highest numerical score among full-service wireless providers in the proprietary J.D. Power and Associates 2012 Wireless Purchase Experience Satisfaction StudySM – Vol. 2.


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- Posted using my iPhone 4

Unlock Your iPhone 4S Without Jailbreaking?

A new unlock method has surfaced today which claims to work without the need of any software, hardware or jailbreak.

A bug in iOS 5 discovered by Michael Capozzi theoretically allows any iPhone 4S to be unlocked to any GSM carrier. However, Capozzi says he was only able to test with T-Mobile.

We are currently working towards independent confirmation of his method. It does require you to have an active T-Mobile SIM card (with data working). Remember it must be cut to micro-SIM size to fit the iPhone 4S.

The Steps:
● Insert original carrier AT&T SIM card
● Dial 611 for AT&T customer service hotline and drop the call
● Turn on Airplane Mode
● Take out AT&T SIM card
● Insert T-Mobile SIM card
● Make sure WiFi is off ( also tap on 'Forget this Network" to make sure it doesn't connect automatically later)
● Switch off Airplane Mode and iPhone will search for network. This is followed by the Apple splash screen appearing.
● Activation Required will be displayed on the screen
● EDGE network will activate automatically – notice the 'E' on the top left corner of the screen
● Wait for about 20-30 seconds and turn off the phone
● Turn on iPhone and the same Activation Required screen will be displayed
● When you see one signal bar, tap on Use Cellular Connection
● Eject SIM card
● Activation Required screen will be displayed the second time
● Insert SIM card
● Unlocked!

We are getting some confirmation reports. If you are able to test this, please let us know your results. Remember this method may unlock your device; however, it will not last through a reboot. So while not practical for day to day use. It may benefit those traveling abroad.

Update:
Gizmodo is claiming some confirmation as well.


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iPhone 4S pre-orders hit one million in 24 hours

Apple has just issued a press release confirming they have topped one million pre-orders for the iPhone 4S in 24 hours. This surpasses the previous single day pre-order record of 600,000 held by iPhone 4. It also comes after AT&T on Friday confirmed processing over 200,000 preorders in the first 12 hours alone. Apple quoted its worldwide marketing honcho Phil Schiller in the release:

We are blown away with the incredible customer response to iPhone 4S. The first day pre-orders for iPhone 4S have been the most for any new product that Apple has ever launched and we are thrilled that customers love iPhone 4S as much as we do.
Full press release:

iPhone 4S Pre-Orders Top One Million in First 24 Hours

CUPERTINO, California—October 10, 2011—Apple® today announced pre-orders of its iPhone® 4S have topped one million in a single day, surpassing the previous single day pre-order record of 600,000 held by iPhone 4. iPhone 4S is the most amazing iPhone yet, packed with incredible new features including Apple’s dual-core A5 chip for blazing fast performance and stunning graphics; an all new camera with advanced optics; full 1080p HD resolution video recording; and Siri™, an intelligent assistant that helps you get things done just by asking.

“We are blown away with the incredible customer response to iPhone 4S,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “The first day pre-orders for iPhone 4S have been the most for any new product that Apple has ever launched and we are thrilled that customers love iPhone 4S as much as we do.”

iPhone 4S will be available at all 245 Apple retail stores in the US beginning at 8 a.m. local time on Friday, October 14. Every customer who buys an iPhone 4S at an Apple retail store will be offered free Personal Setup service, helping them customize their iPhone 4S by setting up email, showing them new apps from the App Store™ and more, so they’ll be up and running with their new iPhone before they leave the store.

iPhone 4S includes iOS 5, the world’s most advanced mobile operating system with over 200 new features, and iCloud®, a breakthrough set of free cloud services that work seamlessly with your iPhone, iPad®, iPod touch®, Mac® or PC to automatically and wirelessly store your content in iCloud and push it to all your devices.

Pricing & Availability
iPhone 4S comes in either black or white and will be available in the US for a suggested retail price of $199 (US) for the 16GB model and $299 (US) for the 32GB model and $399 (US) for the new 64GB model.* iPhone 4S will be available from the Apple Online Store, Apple’s retail stores and through AT&T, Sprint, Verizon Wireless, and select Best Buy, Target and Walmart stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers. iPhone 4 is available for just $99 (US) and iPhone 3GS is available for free with a two year contract.

iPhone 4S will roll out worldwide to 22 more countries by the end of October including Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

*Qualified customers only. Requires a new two year rate plan, sold separately.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced iPad 2 which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.


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- Posted using my iPhone 4

Early iPhone 4S orders begin shipping to customers, from Sprint at least

The iPhone 4S just went up for pre-sale on Friday the 7th, and shipping notifications are already coming through. Reader Alex has forwarded along his shipping notification from Sprint for his white 32GB iPhone 4S, and according to Sprint, the unit will be shipping overnight/next day. Those in the AT&T camp are reporting that their orders are not longer listed as “backordered” and are now being processed by AT&T warehouses across the nation. Let us know your status in the comments.

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AT&T has 200,000 iPhone 4S pre-orders in just first 12 hours of sales Updated

Apple’s long term carrier parter AT&T has announced that they have processed 200,000 pre-orders for the iPhone 4S, making the new Apple smartphone the most successfully launched iPhone yet. These 200,000 orders only come during the first 12 hours of sales, which started around midnight. Notably, these are just AT&T’s numbers and don’t include Apple’s own online pre-orders or the orders through Apple’s other U.S. carrier partners, Verizon Wireless and Sprint.

AT&T has seen extraordinary demand for iPhone 4S with more than 200,000 preorders in the first 12 hours alone, the most successful iPhone launch we’ve ever had. It’s obvious customers like AT&T’s 4G network, which is the only one that lets their iPhone download twice as fast and talk and surf simultaneously.
The iPhone 4S officially launches on Friday, October 14th and features a substantial internal upgrade from the iPhone 4. This includes the dual-core A5 processor from the iPad 2, a re-designed camera system with an eight megapixel back sensor and an improved optics system, improved battery life, and of course the headlining integration of Siri artificial intelligence technology. This 200,000 pre-order number for AT&T can be compared to 600,000 total pre-orders (on all carriers) on day one of iPhone 4 pre-orders last year.

Update: Sprint has sold out of the 16GB iPhone 4S.

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- Posted using my iPhone 4

iPhone 4S will be faster only on AT&T, unlimited on Sprint, but maybe not interchangeable

Today’s iPhone 4S launch, while bringing a consolidated single phone to three US carriers, also presents some complexities. Some observations:

Probably obvious to some: The 14.4 speed increase is only on AT&T where that speed is actually available. Verizon and Sprint will continue to be at their same 3G speeds. They will also continue to have other CDMA limitations like being cut off of data when talking.
If you buy a Verizon iPhone 4S, you may not be able to head across the street to Sprint with your phone. And vice versa. Phone companies lock their devices so that you can’t move carriers as easy and it appears at first glance that the iPhone 4S won’t be an exception.
IF you have a Verizon or Sprint iPhone 4S, you likely will still be able to stick an international SIM card in your phone while travelling. However, will AT&T work in a VZ or Sprint iPhone? Unlikely.
Sprint is also getting the iPhone 4 but AT&T still has an exclusive on the iPhone 3GS in the US. If you factor in the costs of owning a phone for two years, the $100-200 saved up front is a drop in the bucket.
Sprint is the only US carrier offering truly unlimited data plans. From personal experience, Sprint offers great data connectivity, especially in big cities. It will be interesting to see how that network holds up as 30 million iPhones get onto Sprint’s network over the next four years.

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Please fill in your choice of carrier for your new iPhone 4 or iPhone 4s on the right hand side tab.


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- Posted using my iPhone 4

Sprint announces iPhone 4S, opens pre-order for iPhone 4

Sprint has updated its website to indicate that it is now taking pre-orders for the iPhone 4 and will obviously be offering the iPhone 4S on October 7th with Verizon and AT&T (and about 100 others) for delivery on October 14th.


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- Posted using my iPhone 4

Apple's 'Let's Talk iPhone' keynote liveblog!

Hey! You made it! But it's a little early. Not to worry, though -- bookmark this page (yes, this one!) and return at the time listed below for our blow-by-blow coverage live from Cupertino!



Psst... and toss your own time zone / day in comments below!

07:00AM - Hawaii
10:00AM - Pacific
11:00AM - Mountain
12:00PM - Central
01:00PM - Eastern
06:00PM - London
07:00PM - Paris
09:00PM - Moscow
02:00AM - Tokyo (October 5th)


10:43AM We just wrapped our pre-show broadcast, and are holding down the fort here in line. Looking like a bright, vibrant day in Cupertino. Pretty much the perfect day for a new iPhone. Or two. Or three.



9:57AM And, we're on campus! We're setting up now for a live broadcast outside of 4 Infinite Loop! Stay tuned for a post on that.




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- Posted using my iPhone 4

Apples 'Lets Talk' event Live blog

We will be hosting a live blog updated every for seconds. Please tune in at 10am Pacific time and 1pm eastern time. Refresh the page often for new information. We will be gathering the information from various sources and posting it all in one live blog.

For a full live blog tune in at LimeRain.com, a full live blog will be posted on our site after the even is done.

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Apple confirms October 4 event: Let’s talk iPhone

The Loop reports that Apple has finally confirmed the long-awaited media event. The wait will soon be over: Apple has scheduled a press conference next Tuesday, October 4. The event will take place at Apple’s home turf, its Cupertino campus in California at 10am PT, as rumored. If an email invitation is any indication, this will definitely be an iPhone-focused media event. AllThingsD has it on good authority that Apple CEO Tim Cook will deliver the presentation, a first for Cook in his new CEO role.

As 9to5Mac reported yesterday, Apple’s next iPhone will sport a dual-core A5 chip from iPad 2 with nine times faster graphics, giving the handset a leg up over the latest Android phones in the graphics department and gaming. The processor will pack in 1GB of RAM, twice as much as the iPhone 4′s A4 chip or iPad 2′s A5 processor.

Camera on the back will be upgraded to eight megapixels and will sport a backlit sensor that takes incredibly high-resolution and clear shots, even in low light conditions. The camera app might support panorama photography. Other treats include a Qualcomm Gobi baseband chip so a single hardware SKU should address both GSM and CDMA networks.

The biggest selling point is understood to be a voice activated feature called Assistant, stemming from Apple’s acquisition of Siri, a search intelligence startup. The “Let’s talk iPhone” tagline on the invitation could be deciphered as a subtle hint at Assistant.

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Sprint CEO reveals he will have to change guidance for the ‘rumored device’

Clearly, Sprint CEO Dan Hesse knows (whether or not) he’s getting the iPhone in a few weeks. But he’s obviously sworn to secrecy by Apple.

The problem is that he has to tell investors how he’s going to come up with all of the additional money and subscribers that will come with getting the iPhone and offering it on unlimited data plans. When asked about the “rumored device” he said,

“If we get it–if–we may have to adjust our guidance for that,”
Last week, Sprint CFO Joe Euteneuer did the same dance, saying that Sprint’s network could handle the iPhone, not that it was getting it.

It will indeed be interesting to see how Sprint’s network can handle the iPhone, especially with unlimited plans.

In other ‘News’, Al Gore mentioned that Apple would be releasing new iPhones next month.

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Apple to Hold iPhone 5 Press Conference on October 5th?

Apple will reportedly hold its iPhone 5 press conference on October 5th, according to a PocketGamer source.

Our inside source says there will be a press conference announcing the new hardware on October 5th, with retail release occurring a week later. This broadly fits with the movement of recent rumours, which peaked with a - since proven erroneous - 21st October release date, bought forward to a October 15th date, according to Orange CEO Stephane Richard.

The symbolism works well too: iPhone 5, iOS 5, October 5.

The currently rumored iPhone 5 release dates have been October 7th, 14th, and 15th.




*thanks iclarified*

In my opinion it would be more reasonable that Apple would make the 5th it's release date.

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- Posted using my iPhone 4

AT&T Files Response to Department of Justice Lawsuit

AT&T has filed a response to the Department of Justice lawsuit to prevent its acquisition of T-Mobile, reports Physorg.com.

AT&T claims the DOJ's analysis reflects a misunderstanding of the market. They say T-Mobile isn't a significant competitive threat to AT&T and has been losing market share in recent years, a trend which will discourage Deutsche Telekom from investing further in the carrier.

In contrast, AT&T says it spent more than $30 billion in network upgrades from 2008 through 2010, yet still can't keep up with customers' growing demand to transfer data over phones and other wireless devices, according to the court documents. But if it can snap up T-Mobile, AT&T believes the added capacity will put it in a better position to deliver better services. AT&T already has pledged to invest at least $8 billion and transfer 5,000 jobs currently in overseas call centers back to the U.S. if the T-Mobile purchase goes through.

The company also says that, "Without this merger, AT&T will continue to experience capacity constraints, millions of customers will be deprived of faster and higher quality service, and innovation and infrastructure will be stunted. If this transaction does not close due to Plaintiff's lawsuit, wireless consumers will, as the FCC Chairman predicts, increasingly face higher prices and lower quality."




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- Posted using my iPhone 4

More Sprint iPhone clues: Blackout for first two weeks of October

Sprintfeed provides a screenshot of Sprint’s internal systems showing a blackout of some kind due to a major phone launch. The dates September 30th to October 15th fall in line with all of the recent rumors and Sprint’s Galaxy S 2 gets released next week so that ain’t it. Yeah, Sprint. Welcome to iPhone.


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Want unlimited data on your iPhone 5? Sprint will hook you up mid-October

Bloomberg reports that Sprint will differentiate itself from AT&T and Verizon iPhone offers by offering a truly unlimited plan.

Sprint, the third-largest U.S. wireless carrier, plans to begin selling the device in mid-October under a deal with Apple for the next model, the iPhone 5, said the people, who wouldn’t be identified because the plans aren’t public. Becoming the country’s only operator to offer the device with unlimited data service for a flat fee may help Sprint draw customers from AT&T and Verizon Wireless, which already carry the phone, they said.
Sprint, probably because it has to, offers reasonable plans without data capping or tiers. Its subsidiary Virgin Mobile would be even better with its $35-$55 unlimited plans.



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Deutsche Telekom confirms iPhone 5 reservations Christian Zibreg Apple InciOS Devices no comments September 5, 2011 at 4:59 am German-language Focus.de is reporting (Google translation) that T-Mobile customers in the country are now allowed to reserve Apple’s unreleased handset, the iPhone 5, since this morning. The iPhoneblog.de first broke the story and 9to5Mac has also received several tips from our readers confirming that the Deutsche Telekom-owned wireless operators has in fact begun issuing so-called Premieren Ticket. These are basically support tickets – one per customer – for early adopters and informed buyers who couldn’t be otherwise convinced into buying the existing iPhone 4 or iPhone 3GS. Those coupons will eventually let folks claim their handset, when it arrives, on a first-come-first-served basis. Only the carrier’s customers are eligible and only upon contacting sales representatives in one of the carrier-owned brick-and-mortar stores or by calling customer support. As you could imagine, Deutsche Telekom is pretty low-key about the initiative and thus shuns from advertising it apart from a rather cryptic hint on their website. Shortly after the report was published, Bloomberg was able to verify it with a company spokesperson, who said: Deutsche Telekom AG (DTE) will allow customers to reserve the next generation of Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s iPhone as of today in anticipation of supply bottlenecks for the device, spokesman Alexander von Schmettow said by phone. The operator will hand out coupons to people who expressly request the successor model to the iPhone 4, without providing the name or release details of the device, he said. Hints have been multiplying since last week that Apple could be close to unveiling a fifth-generation iPhone. Apple store employees have received their iOS 5 and iCloud training material and internal Best Buy documents have pointed to a Sprint iPhone 5 launch in the first week of October. Both nuggets confirm 9to5Mac’s discovery from July that Sprint would get iPhone 5, based on an April job posting seeking cellular engineers in the Kansas City region, right in the neighborhood of Sprint’s headquarters. 9to5Mac also originally broke the news that Apple would begin accepting iPhone 5 pre-orders in early September, gearing up for an early October launch. Also… …This past Saturday, Japanese blog Macotakara wrote (Google translation) that contract manufacturers Pegatron Technology and Foxconn have begun assembling iPhone 5 at a rate of 85 percent and 15 percent, respectively. The blog notes that the units are not yet being packaged in boxes until Apple iOS 5 is ready for prime time. With so much clues out in the open, it’s safe to assume that invites for an Apple media event are ready and that it is now up to Apple’s marketing and CEO Tim Cook to hit the Launch button.

German-language Focus.de is reporting (Google translation) that T-Mobile customers in the country are now allowed to reserve Apple’s unreleased handset, the iPhone 5, since this morning. The iPhoneblog.de first broke the story and 9to5Mac has also received several tips from our readers confirming that the Deutsche Telekom-owned wireless operators has in fact begun issuing so-called Premieren Ticket. These are basically support tickets – one per customer – for early adopters and informed buyers who couldn’t be otherwise convinced into buying the existing iPhone 4 or iPhone 3GS.

Those coupons will eventually let folks claim their handset, when it arrives, on a first-come-first-served basis. Only the carrier’s customers are eligible and only upon contacting sales representatives in one of the carrier-owned brick-and-mortar stores or by calling customer support. As you could imagine, Deutsche Telekom is pretty low-key about the initiative and thus shuns from advertising it apart from a rather cryptic hint on their website. Shortly after the report was published, Bloomberg was able to verify it with a company spokesperson, who said:

Deutsche Telekom AG (DTE) will allow customers to reserve the next generation of Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s iPhone as of today in anticipation of supply bottlenecks for the device, spokesman Alexander von Schmettow said by phone. The operator will hand out coupons to people who expressly request the successor model to the iPhone 4, without providing the name or release details of the device, he said.
Hints have been multiplying since last week that Apple could be close to unveiling a fifth-generation iPhone. Apple store employees have received their iOS 5 and iCloud training material and internal Best Buy documents have pointed to a Sprint iPhone 5 launch in the first week of October. Both nuggets confirm 9to5Mac’s discovery from July that Sprint would get iPhone 5, based on an April job posting seeking cellular engineers in the Kansas City region, right in the neighborhood of Sprint’s headquarters. 9to5Mac also originally broke the news that Apple would begin accepting iPhone 5 pre-orders in early September, gearing up for an early October launch. Also…




…This past Saturday, Japanese blog Macotakara wrote (Google translation) that contract manufacturers Pegatron Technology and Foxconn have begun assembling iPhone 5 at a rate of 85 percent and 15 percent, respectively. The blog notes that the units are not yet being packaged in boxes until Apple iOS 5 is ready for prime time. With so much clues out in the open, it’s safe to assume that invites for an Apple media event are ready and that it is now up to Apple’s marketing and CEO Tim Cook to hit the Launch button.



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Best Buy expects Sprint iPhone 5 the first week in October?

BGR reports that Best Buy’s internal sales forecast is expecting an iPhone 5 on Sprint with pre-sales beginning the first week in October. That lines up with our earlier report, though as both we and the Best Buy statement mentioned launch dates are subject to changes.


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Sprint tells employees not to discuss upcoming iPhone 5 launch

While it may seem obvious, Sprint is telling its dealers not to discuss the possibility of an upcoming iPhone 5 according to SprintFeed.

If the nation’s third largest carrier wasn’t getting the iPhone, would they put in such harsh lockdown measures? Why not instruct employees to tell customers to look at a nice Blackberry or Android instead? Color us skeptical.

Earlier this month, the WSJ reported that Sprint would be getting the iPhone 5 at launch. That followed our report a month earlier that Sprint engineers were preparing for the iPhone 5. In May, an Engineering job had been advertised for an iPhone technician to work in Sprint’s HQ city, Kansas City.

T-Mobile is also likely to get access to the iPhone 5 later this year, though they already have 1 million iPhones on their network.

*thanks 9to5mac*

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- Posted using my iPhone 4

Analyst estimates 6 million more iPhones this year on Sprint, sends Sprint shares up 10%

Today’s Sprint iPhone 5 news hit at around 3PM Eastern (well unless you count June) which sent Wall St. scrambling. Immediately, traders hit Sprint shares driving the third biggest US Wireless company up over 10% in just minutes. It’s not just gravy for Sprint, however, Apple Bull Gene Munster estimates that Apple can now count on selling 6 million more iPhones.

AAPL was also up on the news with the broader market.



Why does anyone care about Sprint? Well, Sprint has lower data costs, and offers truly unlimited data plans. They also have two of the more popular Pre-paid options in Boost and Virgin Mobile. Sprint also offers integrated Google Voice (if you are into that sort of thing).

One thing most people don’t expect however is to see a 4G WiMAX iPhone. The chips, costs and battery sacrifices aren’t something that Apple has done in the past, especially for a relatively small market. Still, it’s not out of the realm of possibility. Read more



*thanks 9to5mac*

Send us a story or tip @ TipsForLimerain.com@gmail.com and follow our pages for the latest limera1n, rubyra1n, and all tech stories, follow us on Twitter at @iphonepixelpost or @limerain_com
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- Posted using my iPhone 4

WSJ: Sprint to carry iPhone 5 at same time as AT&T and Verizon

We’d originally heard that Sprint was getting iPhone engineers ready in their Kansas City headquarters in May and heard directly that they were ramping for the iPhone in June. Today the Wall St. Journal is reporting that Sprint will carry the iPhone 5 along with AT&T and Verizon in the US. The nation’s third largest carrier has been struggling of late and the addition of the iconic device on TRULY unlimited plans would certainly be a differentiator.

Sprint Nextel Corp. will begin selling the iPhone 5 in mid-October, people familiar with the matter said, closing a huge hole in the No. 3 U.S. carrier’s lineup and giving Apple Inc. another channel for selling its popular phone. The timing, however, indicates Apple’s new iPhone will hit the market later than expected and too late to contribute to sales in the company’s fiscal fourth quarter, which ends in September. Most observers had expected the device to arrive next month. Top U.S. carrier Verizon Wireless and No. 2 AT&T Inc. will begin selling the phone in mid-October as well, two of the people said. Sprint had more than 52 million subscribers at the end of the second quarter, compared with 106 million for Verizon and nearly 99 million for AT&T.
Sprint will also carry the iPhone 4, starting at the same time, one person familiar with the situation said. There has been some question previously whether the Sprint iPhone will be launched simultaneous to AT&T and Verizon. A Sprint forum member last month was able to get the same information as the Wall St. Journal but questioned the release timing.

Additionally, Sprint subsidiary Virgin Mobile has been refiguring its plans for throttling in early October, perhaps signalling that the iPhone may make its first US pre-paid appearance.

*thanks 9to5mac*

Send us a story or tip @ TipsForLimerain.com@gmail.com and follow our pages for the latest limera1n, rubyra1n, and all tech stories, follow us on Twitter at @iphonepixelpost or @limerain_com
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- Posted using my iPhone 4