iPhone 4S

More reputable sources are coming out of the woodwork and pointing to inside information that Apple plans to release a redesigned iPhone by the end of September. None other than the Wall Street Journal reports that key components have already been ordered, including an improved 8 megapixel camera that will be installed in the back of the next generation device.

The mockup above may look slick, however sources have told the Wall Street Journal the iPhone 5 will be more similar to the current generation iPhone 4 form factor. Regardless, Apple has redesigned the handset and the new model will be thinner and lighter than the iPhone 4. Other changes are coming to the hardware inside the device.

I don't know why I started following all these analyst reports, but since I did here's the latest:

Monday: Deutsche Bank analyst Chris Whitmore predicts Apple will announce an unlocked mid-range ($300 to $500) iPhone to penetrate the pre-paid mobile market share.

Tuesday: BMO Capital analyst Keith Bachman believes Whitmore is wrong because Apple will never release a low-end phone. Instead, Bachman thinks Apple will discount the iPhone 3GS to attract people on a budget.

Today, analyst Mike Abramsky with RBC Capital Markets said Apple will break tradition and not discontinue the iPhone 3GS when the iPhone 5 is announced. Abramsky said Apple is “expected” to offer the iPhone 3GS for free to attract mid-market buyers and slow the growth of the Android market.

On Monday, Deutsche Bank analyst Chris Whitmore told his clients to expect Apple to release two iPhones, one of which would be an affordable device to help Apple grab a part of the pre-paid mobile market share. But BMO Capital analyst Keith Bachman says Apple is all about making exciting high-end devices, and he doesn't see them releasing a low-end phone this year. Bachman believes that AT&T's re-marketed iPhone 3GS will be the phone Apple uses to hook budget-conscious consumers.

Deutsche Bank analyst Chris Whitmore thinks Apple should and will embrace the mid-range/pre-paid mobile phone market in 2011. Two-thirds of the 1.5 billion mobile customers worldwide are pre-paid users, and Whitmore believes Apple will try to reach these customers by releasing an unlocked iPhone priced between $300 and $500. Perhaps the iPhone 4S?

“With Nokia and RIMM struggling,” Whitmore said, “the time is right for Apple to aggressively penetrate the mid range smart-phone market to dramatically expand its market share.”

Whitmore predicts that an affordable iPhone priced around $349 will not negatively impact profitability, and will help give Apple a bigger share of the $70 billion worldwide market.

The next generation iPhone rumors are steadily increasing while orders for the iPhone 4 are decreasing.

Tech blogs have the iPhone 5 arriving this August, September, November and not at all. There are rumors that Apple's next phone will be the iPhone 4S, an iPhone 5 with new case, and everything in-between, but the closest report that I've seen that even supports a next generation device being released in the near future, comes from the DigiTimes.

The Times reports that Taiwan-based PCB companies are lowering quotes for Apple orders.

"Despite the third quarter being a traditional peak season for the consumer electronics industry, Taiwan-based PCB suppliers have cut quotes for the quarter by 10% on average for their orders placed by Apple, according to industry sources."