Pre-Order

A document has surfaced on the French site NWE that could point to a summer iPhone 5S release. The details are found in an internal carrier publication purportedly circulated to sales staff at the Japanese carrier KDDI. Assuming the document is authentic, Apple will announce the iPhone 5S in June followed by a July release, with pre-orders coming on June 20.

The leaked information doesn't stop there, however. Employees are briefed on the differences between the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5S, with several new features highlighted. The 5S will include a 13 megapixel camera, built-in fingerprint authentication and iOS 7. These items have all been rumored by analysts and from leaks in the component supply chain.

Can you hear it? That's the stampede of iPhone fans running to get in line at the Apple store in September. With the deluge of rumors and parts leaks it's not hard to believe that Apple will announce the next iPhone in September. More information has surfaced regarding the press event.

According to iMore, Apple will not only announce the sixth generation iPhone on September 12, but pre-orders will go live that day as well. That means iPhone 5 pre-ordering will commence just 4 weeks from Wednesday, in less than a month. Mark your calendars!

Apple opened an online store in mainland China this week and it took only 10 hours to sell out of their entire inventory of iPhone 4 units. The country has four Apple Stores and iPhone buyers have waited in long lines since the release of the device in September. iPhone buyers were clearly enthusiastic about purchasing the phone online, although some reports have indicated many of the phones may have gone to scalpers who will resell for a profit.

iPhones have been in China for some time on the grey market, with millions imported from other countries. There's also a booming market in counterfeit and iPhone look-alike mobile devices as well. Despite this, the official product had no problem selling online or at retail stores, with over a quarter million units sold on launch day at the end of September.

Apple says the white iPhone 4 will hit stores at the end of July. Unfortunately, reports of production issues are making the date sound less likely. Even if the white iPhone 4 does hit stores or pre-ordering commences this month, quantities are going to be limited due to pent-up demand and slow manufacturing.

The glass back featured on the iPhone 4 as well as the white bezel design may be causing Apple more headaches than it had bargained for thanks to a difficult manufacturing process and high standards for the finished product. Chinese supplier Lens Technology is having trouble getting the right level of paint thickness and opacity for Apple's specifications.