1. TMElectric's Avatar
    This could explain the reason Verizon is not announcing the July 28th release date AND why Blackberry picked that date.

    If this is old news I am sorry for the repost.

    Friday: iPhone 5 optimist July 29th release date pumps up tight window
    July 15, 2011
    by Timmy Falcon



    In one of the tightest windows ever floated for an iPhone launch, optimists are pointing to Friday, July 29th as the surface date for the iPhone 5 release date surging to life. That�s a mere two weeks from today, making for a lot to have to happen between now and then for such a launch on the scale which Apple is planning for the first iPhone to ever launch on Verizon and AT&T (and for all we know, perhaps Sprint and T-Mobile) simultaneously. And yet the buzz around the July 29 date is growing heading into the weekend � and one way or the other, its veracity will be verified soon. Here�s a look of what needs to happen for the iPhone 5 (learn more about the iPhone 5) to be released on the last Friday of July, and what the ramifications of such a move would be.

    First, Apple would need enough lead time to pull off both an iPhone 5 announcement and a launch. Invites for one-off Apple press events are typically sent about a week in advance, and those events tend to take place on Tuesdays or Wednesdays. So invites would have to go out early this upcoming week (if that doesn�t happen, forget about a July iPhone 5), the event would early in the week of July 24th, and the release date would be that Friday. It would mean that after having delayed the iPhone 5 further back than most were expecting, Apple is now in a hurry to get its new flagship iPhone into the hands of those who are waiting for it.

    Such a quick launch would also mean that Apple managed to place initial inventory orders much earlier than was reported. It was seemingly only five minutes ago that it came to light that Apple was betting the farm on the iPhone 5 by ordering fifteen million initial units for manufacturing. But if the iPhone 5 is launching this month, that order went in way sooner than expected, and the iPhone 5 has been in production for a bit now, without folks catching on. Apple�s efforts at secrecy have yielded variable results over the years, so it�s possible.


    A quick iPhone 5 launch would also seemingly signify that the iPhone 4 is sticking around for the iPhone 5 era, or at least the early days of it, as there have yet to be significant efforts at iPhone 4 inventory blowout. Even though Verizon has been talking internally about dropping the iPhone 4 to $149 to get rid of stock, that hasn�t happened yet. So unless Apple has been secretly bleeding down iPhone 4 inventory without anyone catching on (you can still get one within 24 hours from Apple.com), this means the iPhone 4 is sticking around as the bargain model. So much, then, for the idea that the iPhone 4 will go away and the iPhone 5 will run the pricing gamut from bargain bin to pro model.

    Finally, there�s the issue of Apple having said that iOS 5 will arrive in the �fall� which doesn�t technically start until late September. Historically, the new iPhone and the new version of iOS have launched in the same week, which means that a July iPhone 5 would also result in a July public release of iOS 5 for existing users � unless Apple wants to break from that by preinstalling iOS 5 on the iPhone 5 now for those who buy it but not giving iOS 5 to users of older iPhones until later. Such a move could motivate existing iPhone users to upgrade to the iPhone 5 on its release date, but it could also elicit anger from existing users who were under the impression they would get iOS 5 as quickly as those who stand in line for the iPhone 5 on launch day.

    So will any of this actually happen? The idea that Apple will suddenly rush the iPhone 5 out the door in a quick timeframe, after having already blown through any consumer expectations for the release date the minute it wasn�t unveiled at WWDC, seems an odd one. And yet the optimists swear they know it�s coming before the month is over. And if Apple has in fact gotten so good at secrecy that it�s been putting things in place for July iPhone 5 launch without the media having yet observed any evidence, it would be a far cry from the leak-prone iPhone 4 launch in which the entire world knew when � and what � they were getting. We�ll know soon enough, though: media invites would need to surface no later than the first half of this upcoming week for the wheels of an iPhone 5 launch to happen quickly enough to be in your hands before August arrives. Here�s more on the iPhone 5.
    07-16-11 02:38 PM
  2. SirVancelot's Avatar
    Saw this info last night. Think its fairly new and fairly optimistic (for iPhone fans). I think it's been said before that Verizon will not use their own resources to advertise and promote the new BB line as much as the iPhone 5 because it's a better sell for them. But you never know really, Droid 3 came out of nowhere which makes me believe that these two devices might do the same..
    07-16-11 02:51 PM
  3. Doc Z's Avatar
    That's the first time I heard about iPhone 5 launching so soon, most reports have it launching in September/October. Either way, the release of the new Bold one day in advance of a potential iPhone release is dumb regardless. Plenty of people on the fence about their next phone, including myself, are waiting for the iPhone 5 and new Androids to surface before they make their choice. With the competition so fierce, RIM releasing a slightly revamped Bold was a terrible terrible move. Had they released it a couple months ago, it would have been a top contender of being my next phone. Now, with the crazy phones just around the corner, many people are inclined to wait.
    07-16-11 02:54 PM
  4. .Britnasty's Avatar
    I've read on my Facebook wall that a friend from hs who works for the Apple Store has to attend a Mandatory Training session July 27th for work and no one knows what its about at his store.
    07-16-11 03:05 PM
  5. .Britnasty's Avatar
    here's her status; cropped her name out as I don't want her getting 9 million messages lol

    07-16-11 03:16 PM
  6. leftypepper716's Avatar
    Yeah, July 29th to announce the BB Bold 9900/9930 arriving in August 21-24 sounds plausable.But a release date...errr no.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    07-16-11 03:27 PM
  7. SirVancelot's Avatar
    here's her status; cropped her name out as I don't want her getting 9 million messages lol

    Sounds promising. Don't think she'd make that up..
    07-16-11 03:49 PM
  8. smartbuddy's Avatar
    Why is this in the 9900/9930 section?
    07-17-11 09:50 AM
  9. teamryan15's Avatar
    i ddoubt an iphone 5 will release within 2 or 3 weeks
    07-17-11 10:31 AM
  10. 2001bmw330xi's Avatar
    Why is this in the 9900/9930 section?
    because the OP is suggesting that this news of the iPhone 5 release date might be the reason that the latest rumor for verizon is a 9930 release on 7/28 (which is earlier than anybody expected) (and a little off topic, but now there's a sprint rumor of 7/23, see the other thread about that)

    i ddoubt an iphone 5 will release within 2 or 3 weeks
    What the OP and the article are suggesting is that the release date would be announced in a few weeks, not the actual product. Apple puts on a show for everything, sometimes rightfully so, so the article is saying that if they are going to do a release date press conference (with teasers of the device) at the end of the month, then the press-invites should be out this week, given the history of the 1-week notice that Apple provides for announcements.

    These are all BIG if's... anything is possible. If so, then Apple did a good job keeping things tight around the iPhone 5 compared to the iPhone 4 (i.e. less bar hopping)
    07-17-11 11:00 AM
  11. Dapper37's Avatar
    This article is just more apple hype! oh boy oh boy. Just trying to break our berries, yes berries. iphone5 oh wow teehee, Its coming with a fart update, you get to light that baby and fly to the moon. WOW. I'll line up for that!
    07-17-11 11:03 AM
LINK TO POST COPIED TO CLIPBOARD