The company's CEO says the handset 'should be out' on that day

Sep 14, 2011 08:12 GMT  ·  By

In a move that might not surprise anymore, France Telecom has confirmed that the next generation iPhone device from Apple might arrive on its shelves starting with October 15th.

This did not come as an official announcement from the company, but was unveiled by the company's CEO, Stéphane Richard.

He reportedly stated that the wireless carrier was informed on the handset's availability starting with October 15th, but did not offer further details on this.

“If I [were to] believe what we’ve been told, the iPhone 5 will be out on October 15,” Stéphane Richard, CEO of France Telecom, reportedly stated.

It still remains to be seen whether the said release date refers to the arrival of the iPhone 5 at France Telecom alone, or it involves the launch of this new device via other wireless carriers as well.

Some suggest that this might be the launch date for the new iPhone 5 in the US, and that three wireless carriers in the country will be getting it in mid-October, including AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile.

Some of the latest reports on the availability of Apple's fifth-generation iPhone also suggested that it might arrive on O2 UK's airwaves sometime in the second half of October.

To be more precise, we learned that the wireless carrier might be set to bring the new device to its shelves on October 21st, though no official confirmation on this has been spotted until now.

The next flavor of Apple's iconic device is expected to arrive on shelves with global connectivity capabilities, which will make it fit for the networks of more carriers around the world.

At the same time, the handset should pack better hardware when compared to the previous models, and might bring a series of design changes as well, some suggested.

However, the specific changes that Apple has packed with the new model will be unveiled only when the company makes the formal announcement on it, so stay tuned for more on this.