Fresh iPhone/iOS 5 rumors cite Twitter events

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Tired of speculation about when, exactly, the iPhone 5 and its iOS 5 operating system will appear? No? Well, we've got a couple more clues for you then, you incurable gadgiopath.

The Next Web is reporting that the dates of a couple of upcoming Twitter developer events suggest that Apple will release iOS 5 on or before October 10.

The events, TNW says, "seem to be focusing on the integration of Twitter into Apple's upcoming iOS 5 software." The first is in London on the 10th, and the second is in New York on the 12th. And neither event, TNW reports, is limited to Apple Developer program members. That means attendees won't be under a nondisclosure agreement--so, the theorizing goes, there probably won't be anything to disclose: by then it'll all be out of the iBag.

Of course, these dates jibe with a lot of earlier reports about an early to mid-October launch for iOS 5 and the iPhone 5, including a report from All Things D that pegs the iPhone 5 announcement for the fourth day of the month.

Another clue being offered up today is that Apple is reportedly telling staffers at its Apple Stores that they can't go on vacation during the second week of October (this from AppleInsider). Who's gonna wrangle with the iPhone-buying hordes if Apple-ites are all lolling about at home, wiping fingerprints from their iPads?

"The first block of [blacked out ] dates--the 9th through the 12th--could pertain to the release of iOS 5 for existing iOS device owners on Monday the 10th," says AppleInsider. And "the second block of retail blackout dates--October 14th and 15th--could signal availability of the fifth-generation iPhone hardware by that Friday."

Got all that down on your calendar? Good. My prediction is that we'll have the dates completely nailed down by late October--at which time we'll all start speculating about the launch of the iPhone 6 (after the news breaks that a prototype of the device has gone missing at a bar).

For all the iPhone rumors you can eat, grab your iPlate 5 and scuttle over to our lip-smackin' buffet.

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