Scratch August off the list, but hope remains supreme for the iPhone 5 release date to commence in the early part of the month following. However that’s merely the best case scenario, as the fifth generation iPhone could run the gamut from Labor Day in three weeks (which would be a rush job) to the middle of next year (interfering with everything from the iPad 3 to iOS 5 and having people fuming at being stuck with an iPhone 4S in the mean time). Here’s a look at the possible timeframes and the odds of each being a legitimate candidate. We’ve already placed our wagers on September, but chaos reigns supreme now that the originally expected early-summer iPhone 5 release date (here’s more on the iPhone 5 carrier breakdown) has come and gone. In chronological order:

Labor Day: or shortly thereafter, of course. Apple likes to launch major retail products on Fridays, so September 9th would be the magic date for release. It would have the iPhone 5 going on sale a few days after the Labor Day holiday, when people’s attention is off their summer road trips and back onto what’s happening in the news. It would also mean that Apple would need to hold its press event on either Wednesday the 7th (a mere two days before the actual retail rollout) or the week before, which would place the press event before Labor Day in August. And last we checked, August is almost over. So while this is possible, it feels a bit rushed…

Late September / early October: This would give Apple ample time to hold its iPhone 5 press event in early to mid September and then hold the rollout a few weeks later. There would still be plenty of time to get the entire iPhone 5 marketing machine and ecosystem fully underway by the start of the holiday shopping season. It’s also the timeframe in which Apple has publicly promised iOS 5 (“fall” it says), the official operating system of the iPhone 5. It would also tie in nicely with the fact that iOS 5 will power the iPod touch 5, Apple tends to introduce the new iPods in September anyway, and the new iPhone/touch generation could be rolled out as a package deal. From a marketing perspective, this remains the ideal time for Apple to launch the iPhone 5. And it’ll happen by October unless there are serious issues transpiring on the marketing side, which would lead to browner pastures.

Just before Christmas: This represents Apple’s emergency plan if it can’t get the iPhone 5 to market in the September-October range but feels it must do so in 2011. It would be a rush job of a different kind, as retailers would be trying to stock up on it and shove the old iPhone 4 out the door even as crowds are pouring in. It’s not how Apple tends to operate, but it can be done. Otherwise, those looking forward to the iPhone 5 would be left facing the horrifying scenario known as…

Spring 2012: That’s right, a 2012 iPhone 5 release date. This is highly unlikely, as it would mean that things have gone so wrong with the iPhone 5 launch that Apple would be pushing a full nine months later than the iPhone 5 would originally have been expected. Moreover, Apple tends to release the new iPad in the spring, so the iPhone 5 and iPad 3 would be stepping on each other’s toes. And by this time Apple would have had to have set iOS 5 free long before, so both products would be coming to market running last year’s iOS 5 operating system. In order to try to keep iPhone 4 sales afloat in the mean time, Apple would need to deliver the worst case scenario in the mean time: the dreaded iPhone 4S. It would be the same iPhone 4 as now, but with better internal specs all around. Actually, it would be a worthy upgrade over the iPhone 4, but decidedly not what customers are looking for (as Apple learned with the iPhone 3GS experiment which many or most iPhone 3G users felt confident in skipping). This is an unlikely scenario all around, and one which would represent the worst case scenario for Apple and its iPhone customers all around. Unless…

Summer 2012: Simply put: this isn’t happening. Unless, of course, iPhone 4S sales are so phenomenal (and they won’t be) that Apple feels comfortable holding back the iPhone 5 even longer. Unless Apple feels that the only way to give the iPad 3 its due in March would be to hold the iPhone 5 until June of 2012 (it’s not that hard to figure out a better way to make the release dates coexist on the calendar). In other words, forget about it – unless you believe that worst case scenarios should be visited simply to make you feel better about the less dire, more realistic ones. And for that, go back and re-read the first three entries above. The iPhone 5 will see its release date in 2011, and will most likely see it in September or early October. We’d (almost) bet our hats on it. Update yourself about iPhone 5 .

Source -[ beatweek.com ]