This screen protector, supposedly built for Apple’s much-anticipated iPhone 5, indicates the new device will indeed boast that fancy redesign we’ve all been longing for — with a larger screen and an all-new home button.

While Apple is still yet to announce its highly-anticipated iPhone 5, that hasn’t stopped a number of carriers from advertising the device and taking pre-orders. China Telecom is the latest to begin preparations for Apple’s fifth-generation device, reportedly taking orders from the end of this month.

Are you a Sprint customer salivating over the thought of getting your hands on the iPhone 5 this October? Don’t hold your breath. A new report says that while Sprint will get an iPhone in October, it’ll be an iPhone 4, not an iPhone 5.

All of the chatter surrounding the iPhone 5 has created ‘unprecedented’ demand, one analyst announced Tuesday. More than 30 percent of consumers surveyed indicate they are either “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to purchase Apple’s latest smartphone, expected in October.

This component, currently for sale through a Chinese parts store, is purportedly the flex cable for the iPhone 5’s home button. But we’re hoping that’s complete rubbish.

Why? Because if this really is the iPhone 5’s home button, it seems to rule out that capacitive touch home button that we’ve all been dreaming about.

Although all of Apple’s devices lately have been heaving with robust English numbers — the iPhone 4, the iPad 2 — Apple’s has never been afraid to pluck another language’s numerals if it sounded good. Who can forget Cupertino’s dabbling in Latin with the Apple II?

So who’s to say the iPhone 5 will be the iPhone Five? Such must have been the thinking behind Scoopertino’s latest gag, a press release announcing the iPhone Cinco, Apple’s latest and greatest device with a revolutionary snooze button and an incredible new Find My Sombrero app.

Continuing this morning’s rumors that the so-called iPhone 5 is nothing but a phantom, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has rushed over to Apple Insider and spilled more details about what his supply checks are showing: an iPhone 4S that is largely identical to current models, and even features the same amount of RAM… a mere 512MB.

While we all patiently await the release of iOS 5, Apple’s assemblers could be getting a gold master release from September 23, according to one analyst — just in time for a mid-October launch of the long-awaited iPhone 5.

New signs the iPhone 4 more than a year later is still hot in the minds of consumers. Last week, we wrote that the iPhone 4 is the top-selling U.S. smartphone despite cheaper Android alternatives. Another analyst tells investors the Apple handset shows ‘unexpected strength’ although the iPhone 5 is on the verge of hitting shelves.

U.K. carrier Vodafone has published a product listing that directly references the iPhone 5 coming in 16GB and 32GB capacities. The upcoming device will allegedly be offered in black and white, with no reference made to the rumored 64GB version.

Carriers have been known to let the cat out of the bag before, so there’s a good chance that Vodafone just squashed the hopes for a 64GB iPhone 5.