We've heard plenty of rumors regarding the iPhone 5 announcement date, but far fewer as far the actual release date is concerned. Today brings us a new one, though, as it seems Verizon is discouraging employees from taking vacation days during the last week of September.
TechCrunch cites an inside source at Verizon who says the carrier has put an all-staff vacation blackout in place from Friday, September 21 to Sunday, September 30. September 21 is roughly a week after the rumored September 12 announcement, which seems to gel with iPhone announce and release schedules of years gone by.
Apple, of course, has yet to send out invitations to any such event, but it's widely believed the company will announce the new iPhone (also referred to as 'iPhone 5') in September. The company last year ditched its June refresh cycle and delayed the iPhone 4S until October. The iPhone 4S was announced October 7 and hit stores a week later, on October 14.
As far as specs go, the iPhone 5 is rumored to boast a larger 4-inch display (compared to the 3.5-inch display in the old and current models), as well as 4G LTE connectivity.