Posted on 22nd Aug 2011 @ 4:52 PM

Best Buy has informed its employees that the iPhone 5 is seeing its release date the first week of October, that the device will be offered on Sprint in addition to Verizon and AT&T, and that preorders may begin as early as this week. The abundance of news appeared in a memo which the retail chain distributed to team leaders which also included information on the Resistance 3 launch and Labor Day appliance sales. Of particular note is the notion that advance orders for the iPhone 5 could begin as soon as this week, with Apple having not yet announced a press event. Invitations for such an event are typically sent out a week in advance.

The answer the long-running question of how Apple will handle product introduction events in the post-Steve Jobs era may have just gotten its answer. The Best Buy news points to Apple unveiling the iPhone 5 this week without the benefit of a live audience. An event could be transmitted strictly on the internet, or there could be no event and Apple could simply throw the iPhone 5 onto its website and send out a press release. However, Best Buy could just as easily have its dates off by a week, with Apple sending out press invites this week for an event next week…

Either way, the BGR report signifies Sprint as joining the iPhone 5 fold. It’s a move widely expected, and which was bolstered this week by a report of a Sprint subcontractor installing network repeaters in Apple Stores so as to improve the Sprint iPhone sales experience. With Verizon having signed on with the iPhone as of this past March, Sprint was the largest remaining U.S. carrier to not offer the iPhone. T-Mobile is still up in the air regarding the iPhone 5, with its stalled merger talks with AT&T possibly to blame…

Apple allowing advance preorders for the iPhone 5 would represent a return to form after the company after it disallowed preorders for the iPad 2 amid inventory concerns. Scattered reports have the iPhone 5 going into production overseas this week, which lines up with the Best Buy early October release date scenario. Apple faces pressure to get the iPhone 5 to market in advance of the start of the 2011 holiday shopping season, after having failed to launch the device this past summer, when many including partner Verizon were expecting it to surface. Adding to any skepticism regarding Best Buy’s first hand knowledge of Apple’s iPhone 5 release date plans, the memo disclaims itself with “Launch dates subject to change.” Here’s more on the iPhone 5.