T-Mobile employee blackout hints at Sept. 20 iPhone launch

T-Mobile employee blackout hints at Sept. 20 iPhone launch
T-Mobile employees are reportedly being kept from logging any vacation time between September 20 through the 22nd, the same weekend Apple's next iPhones are expected to go on sale.That's according to TmoNews, which citing unnamed sources, says it's likely iPhone related. A T-Mobile spokesman declined to comment on the report, calling it rumor and speculation.Employee blackouts can often times be a good indicator of when a major product is expected to launch. That was the case last August, when both Verizon and AT&T slated staff vacation blackoutsbeginning on September 21, which ended up being the same day the iPhone went on sale in nine countries.In T-Mobile's case, the carrier only recently began offering Apple's iPhone to its customers, a move that boosted subscriber growth in the company's second quarter. Apple is widely expected to debut its new phones at an event on September 10, with a release to follow shortly thereafter. The 20th would be the Friday on the week following Apple's rumored event date, and would match up with an earlier reportfrom Japan's Nikkei.According to a report earlier this month by The Wall Street Journal, Apple's manufacturing partner Foxconn has already begun production on two different iPhone models, ramping up devices in time for a launch in early September. For more on what to expect, read CNET's iPhone rumor roundup.


Yowza! Apple sells 9M iPhone 5S, 5C units in first weekend

Yowza! Apple sells 9M iPhone 5S, 5C units in first weekend
Apple's iPhone sales topped 9 million over the weekend in what the company called "our best iPhone launch yet."Over the last three days, Apple sold a combined 9 million iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C units, the company announced Monday. Apple didn't break out specific sales numbers for the high-end 5S versus the colorful 5C, but did say that the combined unit sales set a launch-weekend record. Apple is also sold out of its initial iPhone 5S supply."The demand for the new iPhones has been incredible, and while we've sold out of our initial supply of iPhone 5S, stores continue to receive new iPhone shipments regularly," Apple CEO Tim Cook said Monday in a statement. "We appreciate everyone's patience and are working hard to build enough new iPhones for everyone."In addition to announcing iPhone sales, Apple said Monday that more than 200 million devices are now running iOS 7 -- the company's latest mobile operating system. Apple says that makes iOS 7 the fastest software upgrade in history, confirming a trend spotted last week by advertising and Web analytics firm Chitika.Although Apple wouldn't say Monday how its iPhone sales split between the two new models, others have already chimed in. Earlier in the day, mobile analytics firm Localytics said that its data analysis indicates that iPhone 5S activations were three times greater than those of the iPhone 5C over the weekend. AT&T proved the most popular carrier among U.S.-based consumers, according to the firm.Apple's shares are up 4.4 percent since the company announced the news this morning.This story has been updated throughout the morning.