iPhone 5 likely to get launched on Oct. 5

Amid speculations about when Apple Inc.'s iPhone 5 will be launched, Oct. 4 (Oct. 5, Manila time) looms as the latest projected unveiling date, a tech site said. Citing “sources close to the situation," technology website All Things Digital (AllThingD.com) said Oct. 4 in the USA is when Apple will hold its next big media event. “While Apple could certainly change its plans anytime, sources said that the Oct. 4 date has been selected by the company to showcase the iPhone 5," reported John Paczkowski of AllThingsD. Tech site Mashable also reported Thursday that Apple board member, Nobel laureate and former US Vice President Al Gore mentioned in his speech before the Discovery Invest Leadership Summit in South Africa: "Not to mention the new iPhones coming out next month. That was a plug." Mashable noted that Gore used the plural “iPhones" in his statement. The tech site surmised that “he was referring to multiple copies of the iPhone 5," alluding to rumors of a “lower-cost, lower-memory version dubbed the iCloud iPhone." "Sources added that the plan is now to make the new device available for purchase within a few weeks after the announcement," Paczkowski also said. But Paczkowski added that the event may be doubly important for Apple because it would mark the first time new CEO Tim Cook took over a major product introduction. Cook took over from legendary Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who stepped down earlier this year for health reasons. “So, like his predecessor and as Jobs’s right-hand man and chosen successor, Cook is expected to be the main presenter at all big Apple media events going forward," Paczkowski added. But Paczkowski also quoted his sources who said Cook should get help from lieutenants such as marketing head Schiller, iOS chief Scott Forstall and Eddy Cue, recently named SVP of Internet Software and Services. He noted that after a “very smooth leadership transition at Apple," the pressure will be on the new Apple CEO to turn in a good performance at the launch of the new iPhone 5. — MRT/VS, GMA News