iPhone 5 announcement on 12 September is official

Stand by your beds! Apple has officially announced the date for what is widely believed to be the unveiling of the new iPhone 5: as rumoured, it's 12 September -- and the invitation does a bit of foreshadowing of the new phone's name.

As with previous big Apple announcements, the event will take place at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. It kicks off at 10am on the 12th, which works out to 6pm next Wednesday here in good old Blighty.

In one of the most blatant clues ever, the invitation shows the date casting a shadow that forms a 5. Could the new iPhone be called the iPhone 5 after all? It wasn't last time -- Apple plumped for 4S -- and some reckoned the new iPhone would be called just that, following the lead of the new iPad.

Whatever it's called, the new iPhone looks likely to be stretched to a 4-inch screen and 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio for watching films and TV without pesky black bars. That's if leaked photos of alleged components are to be believed, anyway. Leaked snaps also show a smaller dock connector, the headphone socket moved to the bottom, and possibly new earbuds.

The number 5 appears to rule out the possibility of an appearance from the also rumoured iPad mini, a sawn-off version of the popular tablet expected to hit shops before the end of the year.

Regardless, our US chums from CNET stateside will be there, so we'll be bringing you all the first news and first impressions of the new iPhone.

Presentation of the eagerly awaited iPhone 5

Shortly before the launch of the new iPhone tonight roll over the rumors. The smartphone is therefore the first time since the launch of the first generation over five years ago to a larger screen with a four-inch diagonal 16:9 ratio (from 3.5 inches in the ratio 3:2) to get. Visually, it becomes a bit thinner and longer than its predecessor.
 New version of the operating system

 A further change, a new version of the operating system iOS is expected. Among others are the familiar Google Maps to be replaced by a separate service from Apple.

 In conjunction with flow or computer to the next iPhone have a new interface which is smaller than the previous 30-pin Apple connector. For operation of the iPhone instead of the even smaller micro-nano-SIM card will be used. Furthermore, it may help accelerate the LTE data radio, which is used in this country but barely. Whether the Nahfunkfunktion NFC will be integrated, remains questionable.
 Austria-launch expected in October



 The official presentation will take place this evening in San Francisco. The launch is expected in Austria in October. All domestic mobile operators (A1, T-Mobile, Orange, "3") will be offering the device.