iPhone 5 pre-orders are starting at 12:01AM Pacific Standard Time (3:01 Eastern) on September 14 – midnight tonight. The pre-order date was previously announced for Friday, September 14, but the beginning time was uncertain until now. Since then, MacRumors notes that both Verizon and Sprint have come forward to announce the midnight ordering, and presumably AT&T will follow suit.

Apple has now confirmed the midnight pre-order time, and earlier they were previously suggesting the 12:01AM PST time when asked through online representatives and phone sales reps:

You may want to set an alarm clock or reminder for your appropriate time-zone if you’re interested in pre-ordering an iPhone 5 for arrival on release day on September 21. Typically the initial batches of pre-orders sell out fairly quickly, and shipping times slip a few days once this occurs.

Alternately, waiting in line at any Apple Store or reseller remains a perfectly viable option on release day as well, and is almost always a guaranteed way to get your hands on any hot Apple device right away. Sprint, Verizon, and AT&T each will offer iPhone 5 immediately on release day.

Apple has posted the keynote video to the iPhone 5 launch event. If you’re a fan of Apple’s event videos it’s well worth watching, you’ll see the usual cast of Apple all-stars unveiling the iPhone 5, new iPod touch, iPod nano, review iOS 6 and some great new apps and features, a discussion of iTunes 11, and even get a bit of a State-of-the-Apple-Union type overview from CEO Tim Cook.

• Watch the September 12 Event Video at Apple.com

If you’re having trouble viewing the video in your browser, try loading it with Safari rather than Chrome or Firefox, or you can download the keynote video as a video podcast from iTunes.

Don’t want to spend an hour watching the keynote video? Here’s a quick overview of everything launched today.

Apple event days and announcements can be a blur, so here’s a quick summary of everything that was released today at or after the September 12 event.

• iPhone 5 launched with 4″ display and LTE, prices start at $199
• iPhone 5 pre-orders announced for Friday September 14, release date a week later on September 21
• New iPod Touch released, available in October
• New iPod Nano released, also available in October
• iTunes 11 with complete redesign announced, due out in October
• iTunes 10.7 released, required to install iOS 6
• iOS 6 release set for September 19 as a free download
• iOS 6 GM for developers released
• Lightning is the new Dock connectors name
• EarPods, new earphones for iOS devices released

Don’t miss the official iPhone 5 video from Apple either, it hasn’t been posted to YouTube yet so you’ll have to watch it over on Apple.com.

The Golden Master build of iOS 6 is now available for registered developers to download through the Apple Dev Center. Device compatibility is the same as the final version, with firmware files being available for the iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 3GS, iPod touch 4th gen, iPad 2, and iPad 3rd gen.

Xcode 4.5 GM is also available alongside iOS 6 GM, and the new version of Xcode includes an updated iOS simulator to accommodate for the larger iPhone 5 display. iOS 6 requires the recently released iTunes 10.7 update to install by firmware and to sync devices properly.

For those who are not developers, iOS 6 will be available to download on September 19.

Apple released a minor update to iTunes today for both Mac OS X and Windows. Versioned as iTunes 10.7, the update is intended as a compatibility release for the upcoming iOS 6, and devices that will run iOS 6 such as the new iPhone 5 and iPod touches.

• Download iTunes 10.7 directly from Apple

Unchecking the boxes and clicking the giant blue Download button is sufficient to get the update, you do not need to enter an email address.

iTunes 10.7 will also appear as an update to existing iTunes users through the app itself as well as from Software Update, those should appear shortly if you do not see them yet.

A complete redesign of iTunes is expected in October as iTunes 11, note that iTunes 10.7 is not the release with a redesign and is a minor update.

Apple will release iOS 6 as a free download on September 19. The new version of the mobile operating system features a variety of new features, including Siri support on more devices, an all new Maps application with directions, FaceTime over cellular, iCloud synced Safari tabs, and a lot of subtle refinements to the core iOS experience.

iOS 6 will be compatible with the following devices: iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad 3rd gen, iPad 2, and the 4th gen iPod touch, in addition to the iPhone 5 and new iPod touches, though the latter two devices will ship with iOS 6 pre-installed.

The September 19 availability is a few days before the iPhone 5 release on the 21st, and several weeks prior to the release of the new iPods in October.

Expect to find iOS 6 as an OTA update, as well as the traditional routes of downloading through iTunes and IPSW directly from Apple.

Apple revamped the iPod touch and iPod nano today, alongside the hotly anticipated iPhone 5. Both are pretty impressive additions to the iPod lineup, here’s a quick overview of both:

New iPod Touch

• 4″ Retina display, same as iPhone 5
• 88 gram weight
• A5 CPU
• 40 hours of music playback, 8 hours of video
• 5 megapixel back camera with panorama mode
• FaceTime 720p front camera
• iOS 6 with Siri
• Available in five colors: black, white, pink, yellow, blue
• Wrist-strap
• Priced at $299 for 32GB model, $399 for 64GB model

New iPod Nano

• Completely redesigned
• 2.5″ multitouch display
• Home button
• FM Tuner
• Widescreen video playback
• Photo viewer
• Pedometer
• Bluetooth
• Compatible with new Lightning dock connector
• Available in 7 different colors: aluminum, black, purple, green, blue, yellow, red
• Priced at $149

Both the new iPod nano and iPod touch will be available for purchase in October.

iPhone 5 with it’s 4″ display, LTE networking, and improved camera has been launched and will be released on September 21 with pre-orders starting earlier on September 14, but what will it cost you? The same as existing iPhone prices of course! The full pricing breakdown for iPhone 5 in all available sizes and the new prices for iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 are as follows:

iPhone 5 Prices

The all new iPhone 5 comes in three price ranges, each price is dependent on a new two-year contract commitment from AT&T, Spring, or Verizon in the USA:

• 16GB – $199
• 32GB – $299
• 64GB – $399

Out of contract prices will likely be much higher, in the range of $500-$600.

New iPhone 4S Prices
iPhone 4S has been reduced in price to accomodate the iPhone 5:

• 16GB – $99

iPhone 4 Now Free With Contract
The iPhone 3GS has been dropped from the lineup, with the iPhone 4 replacing it as the free-with-contract model. The iPhone 4 is still a great phone, so this is a pretty amazing free phone offering.

Unless you live under a rock you know the iPhone 5 launched earlier and naturally, we all want one with it’s gorgeous 4″ display, super fast 4G LTE networking, dramatically improved camera, and all the other great features. The good news is we only have a few weeks to wait, with the official iPhone 5 release date being September 21!

Want one on release date? If you intend to visit an Apple Store or authorized retailer, get there early the morning of September 21 because these things will probably sell out like hot cakes. If you don’t feel like wading through crowds, your next best bet to get one immediately is to pre-order on September 14, just be sure to nab one on that day otherwise you may end up waiting a bit longer as the initial batch sells out.

iPhone 5 has been announced by Apple! Yes, it’s called iPhone 5, and yes it looks just like the leaked images that surfaced a while back. Made entirely out of glass and aluminum, it’s a technical marvel and beautiful piece of machinery that has some very impressive features. Here’s what we know:

• 4″ Retina display at 326ppi, 1136×640 resolution with 16×9 ratio
• LTE support, dubbed “Ultrafast Wireless” – Sprint, AT&T, Verizon in USA
• 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi networking support
• A6 CPU – 2x faster CPU, 2x faster GPU
• 8 megapixel camera takes 3264×2448 resolution images, f/2.4 aperture
• 28 megapixel panoramic images through Panorama Mode
• Battery life better than iPhone 4S, 8 hours of using 3G or LTE, 10 hours with WiFi
• 1080p HD video recording with video stabilization
• 720p FaceTime HD camera for video chat
• Improved speakers and 3 microphones
• Lightning Dock connector, faster, smaller, reversible
• iOS 6
• 7.6mm thin, 18% thinner than iPhone 4S – worlds thinnest smartphone
• 112 grams, 20% lighter than iPhone 4S

Wondering how the 4″ display works? For starters, iPhone 5 displays a 5th row of icons on the home screen, in addition to the standard Dock. Because of the larger display, old apps will run in letterbox mode centered on screen until they are adjusted to be native, but many apps are already updated to run on the 4″ display.

Pre-orders start September 14 for a September 21 release date.

Pricing starts at $199 for the 16GB model, with two-year contract.

The iPhone 5 may be available for pre-order as soon as this Friday, September 14. This potentially exciting news comes from MacRumors, who notes that Apple is bumping up sales staffing to begin early Friday morning:

MacRumors is now hearing that pre-orders may not begin tomorrow following the media event and that they may instead start on Friday morning in a scenario similar to last year’s debut. We’re hearing that certain portions of Apple’s sales support team are significantly increasing their staffing levels beginning at 6:00 AM Eastern on Friday, with a major surge for the initial shift beginning at that time and a sustained level of high staffing for at least the remainder of the day.

As noted, such a timeline would be very similar to the launch and pre-order schedule of last years iPhone 4S model.

The iPhone 5 is largely expected to be released for retail purchases on September 21, as indicators from carriers Verizon and AT&T have suggested. Newly released iPhones typically sell out very fast and remain sold out for weeks if not months, making pre-orders a particularly attractive alternative to waiting in long lines or, perhaps worse, not getting your hands on the latest and great iPhone for quite some time as Apple’s supply chain catches up to heavy demand.

Speculation on releases and pre-orders will end soon enough however, as the unveiling of the next iPhone is set to happen in less than 24 hours. Stay tuned for more.

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