Rumors of the iPhone 5 should be over in just a few weeks. An internal memo from U.S. carrier Sprint says that employees can't take time-off during Sept. 30 to Oct. 15 due to a major phone release. The memo backs rumors that Apple Inc.'s long delayed but highly anticipated iPhone 5 will be released in early October.

While Sprint only serves the U.S, it is more likely that Apple is already prepping a worldwide launch of the iPhone given that anticipation for the device is high and the lucrative Christmas season is approaching.

"Due to the possibility of a major phone launch in October we are blacking out September 30th through October 15th," the memo obtained by SprintFeed specifically states.

While the memo doesn't state that the "major phone" would be the iPhone, Samsung's Galaxy S 2 and the Motorola's Droid Bionic touch-screen phones have already been launched in the U.S.

Still leaked memos are not 100% accurate. Boy Genius Report and other sources reported last week that according to a leaked memo, Best Buy was already gearing up for preorders for the iPhone5, as the smartphone is expected early next month.

But the Best Buy memo, according to TG Daily, was intentionally faked. Best Buy sent the memo to its employees in order to test employee loyalty. Best Buy wanted to see if the memo would be leaked to the press, and track down who did it.

An October release date is still remains likely given the influx of numerous independent reports confirming the date. Aside from BGR (which cited a secret AT&T exec.), All Things Digital, citing its own secret source, said the next generation iPhone would come out in October. Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam said at the carrier's latest conference call that he expected the phone out in the fall.

All rumors aside, the iPhone 5 is expected to debut together with the iOS5, the latest upgrade to Apple's operating system for its iPad and iPhone. The new OS is expected to feature iCloud (the service for sharing files across Apple devices) and more than 200 new features, including phone-to-phone messaging, system wide twitter integration, photo editing tool, newspaper or magazine subscriptions and advanced reminder system. The iPhone 5 is expected to sport an advanced 8-megapixel cameral, a dual core A5 processor (the processor for the iPad 2), 1-gigabyte RAM, and improved battery life.

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