No iPhone 5 launch in June or July, says AT&T rep

Although we know that nothing in Apple world is true until spoken by the saintly mouth of Steve Jobs, it's time for another company with a vested interest in the iPhone 5 to speak up.

An AT&T minion (sorry, we mean customer care representative) has reportedly told one of MacRumors' readers that there'll be no new iPhone released in June or July.

We can't help but think this loose-lipped rep is attempting to keep the spotlight on AT&T rather than offering any useful details on the next-generation iPhone. They must miss those heady days of US exclusivity, just as O2 does here.

June is when the Worldwide Developers' Conference (WWDC) takes place and major iPhone news has been announced at this Apple-fest in the past. But our current best guess is that September is the golden month for the new iPhone.

That rumour was published by Reuters and purportedly came from a source close to the hardware supply chain. That's slightly more credible than someone working in a mobile operator's call centre, but it all fits together nicely.

Whichever month the iPhone 5 arrives, what we Brits really want to know is how long we'll have to wait after the US launch before it arrives here. Will Apple do the decent thing and launch on both sides of the pond at once, or look after its home customers first? Will hardware shortages and extreme pent-up demand in America relegate us to a Christmas-if-you're-lucky iPhone 5 launch? Only Steve has the answers.

• For more check out our iPhone 5 complete guide.