Apple iPhone 5: 'Expect October,' Plus Some Alternatives

Apple's iPhone 5 has been widely expected to be released in September, but now rumors are spreading that the elusive iPhone 5 will not hit stores until October.

"So those rumors claiming the iPhone 5 will debut in late September, they're wrong," wrote AllThingsD.com.

Gizmodo.com also stated that an AT&T employee said no vacations at the end of September would be permitted because of an event "blackout." According to the anonymous, source these event blackouts have only occurred when an iPhone was released.

Apple has neither confirmed nor denied the rumors circulating the late September, early October release date.

Adding onto the release date rumors have been speculation as to what Apple's iPhone 5 will include. Thin is apparently in, as rumors say the iPhone 5 will be smaller than the iPhone 4. And big is also in, as the screen is rumored to be larger than the iPhone 4's screen. The rumor-mill has thrown around a 4-inch screen; other rumors say it will stay at 3.5. It's not clear if even Apple knows the exact dimensions yet, though it seems likely as they are only two or three months away from rolling it out.

What this means is that those who are holding out for the latest iPhone will have to wait a bit longer, which should, at this point, come as no surprise. So what are other options for those who cannot wait a few months for the new iPhone?

The iPhone 4: Still a phone worthy of praise. The iPhone 4 is available in both black and white, and little is known on whether the iPhone 5 will be far superior to the iPhone 4.

The HTC Thunderbolt: Verizon's first 4G LTE. Cnet.com reviewed the phone and stated "[The thunderbolt has] incredibly fast 4G data speeds, [but the] Battery life takes a big hit when using 4G. There is no way to toggle between 3G and 4G."

The Motorola Atrix 4G (AT&T) Cnet.com says of the dual-core processor phone, that it has a "sleek design," but it has no 1080p HD video.

The Samsung Epic 4G Cnet.com states, "[It has] a knockout Super AMOLED display, a 1GHz processor, a front-facing camera, an impressive QWERTY keyboard, a 5.0-megapixel camera with an LED flash, and supports Sprint's 4G WiMax network." Its cons: The phone is bulky and costly.

The Blackberry Bold: the latest Bold with touch screen. The 9900/9930 is rumored to have a release date of August or September.