Tuesday Apple Rumors: Sprint Signals Early October iPhone 5 Release

by Anthony John Agnello | September 13, 2011 2:11 pm

Here are your Apple news items and rumors for Tuesday:

Sprint Memo Signals iPhone 5 Release: It’s been well known for weeks now[1] that Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S[2]) will support Apple‘s (NASDAQ:AAPL[3]) iPhone when the next model of the device, thought to be called the iPhone 5, releases later this fall. While it’s suspected that Apple will unveil the device sometime toward the end of September and release it in early October, a new internal memo from Sprint makes that release window more concrete than a rumor. According to a New York Times report, Sprint issued the memo to employees on Friday advising a “blackout” period[4] between Sept. 30 and Oct. 15. Blackout periods are stretches of time when employees aren’t allowed to request vacation days. Looks like rabid Apple junkies will get their next fix in the beginning of October after all.

Survey Says: People Are Freaking Out About iPhone 5: A Tuesday report at Apple Insider reprinted the results of a new survey[5] conducted by RBC Capital Markets and ChangeWave. Analyst Mike Abramsky found that, of the 2,200 consumers surveyed from Aug. 2-10, 31% of them were either “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to purchase the new iPhone when it releases later this year. This is compared to when the iPhone 4 model was released in June 2010 — just 25% of respondents said it was likely they would buy the latest model of Apple’s smartphone. Many current iPhone owners are likely to buy the new model as well, as 66% of those current owners that took the survey said they were very likely to upgrade. Surprise: The iPhone 5 is going to be a sales success.

Everyone Wants an iPhone Except for College Kids: HTC is doing fairly well in the United States at the moment. Verizon (NYSE:VZ[6]) sold 260,000 HTC Thunderbolts within two weeks of the phone’s release in April. Not too shabby at all. Still, the company is posting numbers nowhere near those of Apple. Not many people are, though, so there’s no reason to be bitter or unreasonable. HTC America president Martin Fichter, however, has made a somewhat spurious claim while speaking to Business Week (via 9 to 5 Mac). Citing conversations with girls living in his daughter’s dorm at Reed College, Fichter said he found college students preferred non-iPhone smartphones, including HTC’s Google (NASDAQ:GOOG[7]) Android phones, because iPhones aren’t cool anymore. They are not cool because, as one girl said, “My dad has an iPhone.” Whatever gets you through the night, Mr. Fichter.

As of this writing, Anthony John Agnello did not own a position in any of the stocks named here. Follow him on Twitter at @ajohnagnello[8] and become a fan of InvestorPlace on Facebook[9].

Source URL: https://investorplace.com/2011/09/apple-rumors-sprint-iphone-5-october-htc/

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