iPhone 5 Release Date: One More Indication it's Fast Approaching

Deutsche Telekom AG (DTE) is now taking customer reservations for the next-generation of Apple Inc.'s iPhone 5 starting Sept. 5, as new evidence supports rumors that the iPhone 5, expected to be revealed in October, will launch on Sprint's nationwide CDMA network this fall.

DTE will hand out coupons to people who specifically request the successor model to the iPhone 4, without providing the name or release details of the service, Bloomberg reported. The CDMA-compatible iPhone 4 model, which was released for Verizon earlier this year, made use of a dual-mode GSM/CDMA baseband chip.

Standardizing the dual-mode baseband for the next batch of iPhones led to speculation that Apple intended to open up the device to more U.S. carriers, including Sprint.

Best Buy, it appears, is also jumping on the bandwagon by preparing to take pre-orders for a Sprint-compatible iPhone 5, although no officials dates or pricing details are known. According to BGR.com, Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile are anticipating the phone's launch the first week of October.

The deal is a big coup for Sprint, which has suffered without being able to sell the trendy device, The Wall Street Journal reported. Sprint had more than 52 million subscribers at the end of the second quarter, compared with 106 million for Verizon and nearly 99 million for AT&T.

Richard Doherty, director of the research firm Envisioneering Group, said that the addition of the iPhone would help Sprint retain many of its customers who are desperate for the upgrade.

Sprint needs it, Doherty told The WSJ. There are a lot of families that will embrace the iPhone.