Report: The iPhone 5 Might Actually Arrive in October

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If you’ve been holding out on buying an iPhone in anticipation of the iPhone 5, be prepared to wait a bit longer.

All Things Digital reports that all previous rumors about a September iPhone 5 release are wrong, and that Apple’s newfangled contraption will actually arrive in October. Where does this information come from? Why, more anonymous sources, of course!

(MORE: Latest iPhone 5 Rumors Are All About Shape)

The report specifically takes issue with a rumor that AT&T has blacked out employee vacations for the last two weeks of September, suggesting that the iPhone 5 will launch during that time. “I don’t know why AT&T’s calling for all hands on deck those weeks, but it’s not for an iPhone launch,” one unnamed source told All Things Digital. Other unnamed sources said the iPhone 5 will be released in late October, rather than the early half of the month.

In case you’re (not) keeping score, we now have rumors of an iPhone 5 launch in August, September and October. It’s tempting to think that November launch rumors could be next, although I doubt Apple would want to let the holiday shopping season begin without its latest iPhone in stores.

(MORE: Safe Bet: iPhone 5 by October)

Besides, the October launch rumor isn’t appearing from out of nowhere; the blog MacOtakara reported in March that Apple wouldn’t begin production on the next iPhone until the end of its 2011 fiscal year (September), and AT&T has already confirmed that it’ll start throttling unlimited data users, possibly in preparation for a wave of new iPhone 5 owners.

So what’s the holdup? I’m guessing Apple’s in no rush as it squeezes plenty of sales out of its current generation hardware. Although analysts had expected iPhone 4 sales to decline last quarter, sales were actually up 9% over the previous quarter, making Apple the world’s biggest handset maker. You might be waiting for the iPhone 5 until October, but a healthy chunk of the market isn’t so patient.

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