unYOUsual

It’s finally happened, folks. Apple has officially announced its next iPhone event to take place on October 4th. The Loop reports that Apple has sent out invites saying that the event will be held on October 4th at Apple’s Cupertino headquarters campus, as was previously reported.

The message simple says: “Let’s talk iPhone.“

The event will be held at 10:00 am PT.

Apple is expected to unveil a new iPhone will significant spec upgrades and the secret iOS 5 feature called “Assistant.” It’s also rumored that Apple will introduce a cheaper, re-tooled iPhone 4 or a 3G-capable iPod touch.

Folks, what about you expecting? a newly design iPhone 5? a redesigned iPhone 4S? or both? stay tuned with unYOUsual!!

Last night we told you about a report from The New York Times quoting multiple Apple employees that a “fairly different” iPhone 5 was only “just weeks away.” The report didn’t specifically mention the rumor of Apple announcing two new iPhone models at once, and now 9to5Mac is claiming that there are some interesting developments in the iPhone 5 department.

According to 9to5Mac, Apple is indeed working on two iPhone models, but the iPhone 5 design has seen production delays. While a re-tooled iPhone 4 will be available this Fall, a completely redesigning iPhone 5 won’t be seen until early 2012…

First, the good news:

“We’ve heard that there are indeed two different models of iPhone coming out next month (announced this month?) We still think October 7th is the scheduled release date give or take any delays. We’ve heard the low-end model, which is essentially an iPhone 4 look-alike (glass front and back), is rolling off the assembly line in big numbers right now. Apple expects to have 10+ million of these things on hand for launch and full ramped production into the holiday shopping season. These will be priced aggressively and be everywhere. They will also be offered in both prepaid and post paid plans.”

Now, the bad news:

“It appears that the tear-drop shaped iPhone 5 with larger screen and thinner, rounder body is seeing continued design and production delays, at least on one assembly line (Apple has multiple production sources – Pegatron, Foxconn, etc). We therefore think that iPhone 5 will be delayed slightly at the very least and may see shortages all the way into 2012.”

9to5Mac goes on to reaffirm previous reports that the iPhone 5 will feature a gorgeous ‘teardrop’ design and be “impossibly light.” The camera on the device will allegedly rival most point and shoot cameras, and the iPhone 5 will likely feature an aluminum frame and back.

Case leaks from yesterday strongly indicate a significant redesign for the iPhone 5.

For the past 4 years, Apple has always introduced an iPhone in the summer. This year is different, so everything is up in the air. Speculation and leaked information starts pouring out during the weeks leading up to an Apple announcement, and Apple has yet to send out invites to the event.

It’s important to note that Apple has taken over a year to hold an iPhone announcement, so it’s a huge gamble to say that the smartphone maker won’t introduce a device that leapfrogs the market all over again. It’s highly unlikely that Apple would simple relaunch the iPhone 4 this Fall and wait until 2012 to pull out the big guns.

What would you think if Apple chose to not unveil the iPhone 5 at its next announcement? If your 3GS contract just expired, would you wait till 2012, or just go ahead and upgrade?

Hot on the heels of the purported iPhone 5 screen protector surfacing this morning, BGR is reporting that more accessories have turned up in the next-generation iPhone department. Case-maker Case-Mate just unveiled 6 new iPhone 5 cases.

Sure, we’ve already seen several cases that are reportedly for Apple’s next smartphone. But not from a company as well-known as Case-Mate. And the phone design depicted in the pictures is better looking than anything we’ve seen so far…

The form factor shown in Case-Mate’s photos matches up fairly well with previous iPhone 5 case designs we’ve seen. The mute button is on the opposite side of the volume controls, and the body looks slimmer and more tapered than the previous model.

The images even depict a device with an aluminum backing, something we’ve been hearing for several months.

Given the fact that accessory-makers have a history of exposing the design of Apple products ahead of announcement, we had to give these cases some attention. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t a bit skeptical.

As many have suggested, this could very well be a publicity stunt — a move to generate website traffic. However, the design falls in line with previous rumors, and all of them seem to point to the same thing. Caste-Mate isn’t an obscure accessory maker, either. It would be a shame for the company to put its entire reputation with Apple and its customers on the line with a move like this. I guess we’ll know for sure in a few weeks.

What do you think of this iPhone 5 design? Is it an improvement over the iPhone 4?

UPDATE: Case-Mate has pulled the case renders from its site. The wrath of Cupertino is not to be trifled with.

With an official announcement from Apple expected in the next few weeks, the tech world at large still doesn’t have any firm knowledge of details regarding the iPhone 5. Tim Cook’s team has done an excellent job of concealing their plans.

But outside of concrete information, there has been a lot of purported leaked parts and accessories that all point to a similar redesign. And this morning, another puzzle piece surfaced that appears to confirm the change…

unwire.hk uploaded some images of what they claim may be screen protectors for Apple’s upcoming smartphone. While no one can confirm their authenticity (obviously), the accessory seems to match up perfectly with previous evidence.

Not only did the site provide snapshots of the screen protector, they also provided photos of the accessory compared with the iPhone 4. Like many of the rumors and “leaked” cases, the protector suggests a wider body than its predecessor.

The accessory also has a spot for the elongated home button we keep hearing about. The wider button is expected to be capable of reading finger swipes and gestures to make on-screen actions more convenient.

Of course, nothing is for certain until Apple shows off the device at their late September event. But you have to admit that the evidence of a substantial change in design from previous models is overwhelming. Our fingers are crossed.

What do you make of this new “puzzle piece?”