next generation

Apple plans to invest $1 billion dollars to secure a supply of LCD screens after having issues with LG Display and Samsung.

The proposed move is a product of the Samsung/Apple feud. Apple is looking to move away from their new rival, and invest in a Sharp Corp factory to manufacture LCD screens for iPhones and iPads in the future. Japanese chipmakers are hoping to benefit from the switch, and are preparing for increased orders from Apple if they can't patch their relationship with Samsung.

"If the situation escalates into a state of war, this could mean a huge shift in orders," an unnamed source told Reuters.

Sometimes the Apple rumor mill spins out of control. Way out of control. The hype surrounding the iPhone 5 is no different, but lately we've seen some stories surface that are complete speculation or absolutely bogus. Separating the wheat from the chaff can be tough, but other times it's so easy we have to laugh.

First of all, for those expecting a September 7th Apple event you can cancel the party planning. Japanese site Kodawarisan first brought up the date after being told by "a source in the know" but we're not buying this. The Loop has confirmed with their Apple sources that the company has no such plans. Given The Loop's track record it would appear that the first Wednesday in September will be boring after all.

Just when I thought late October would be the last invented iPhone 5 launch date, KitGuru comes along and extends the possible release window to March 2012! According to the rumor mill, this means that the iPhone 5 could be launched sometime between late August and March of 2012. So basically, us tech bloggers have spent the last few months telling you that Apple will most likely release another phone after the iPhone 4, possibly sometime between today and the end of time. You're welcome!

On Friday morning, the Japanese website Kodawarisan announced that Apple's Fall Event would be held on September 7th. This event is normally reserved for iPod news, but Apple is expected to switch gears and announce their next-generation iPhone. However, KitGuru reports that a "slimmed down, cheap version of the iPhone" will be announced instead, and go on sale around October 1st. This supports the Wall Street Journal's latest report that a new iPhone will be available sometime this October.

You may have heard that past results do not indicate future performance. Well when it comes to leaked iPhone case designs the track record is relatively good. That's why MacRumors decided to hire some professional designers to speculate on what the iPhone 5 might look like.

Pictured above is one of the renderings, based directly on leaked Chinese iPhone 5 case designs. Measurements were taken to reverse-design the Apple device that would fit inside these cases and the result is an iPad-like refinement of the fifth-generation iPhone.

Those unnamed sources close to Apple are at it again, this time they told The Wall Street Journal that the iPhone 5 will not be released until October, possibly late October.

John Paczkowski of the Journal said that an e-mail sent to Gizmodo from an AT&T employee has nothing to do with the iPhone 5. The so-called AT&T employee who sent the e-mail wrote that AT&T blacked out vacations at the end of September so the company can prepare for the new launch, but Paczkowski's inside source says otherwise: “I don’t know why AT&T’s calling for all hands on deck those weeks, but it’s not for an iPhone launch." The Wall Street Journal source added that the iPhone 5 will be released in October, but didn't give an exact date.