Save the Date for iPhone 5 - Oct. 4?

Get ready to digest another rumor on the Apple iPhone 5 release date. AllThingsD reported Wednesday that sources have confirmed that Apple will hold a media event Oct. 4 to unveil the much-anticipated device.

This will clearly be a crucial event for Apple with Tim Cook in control as CEO for the first time ever for a new product launch, Ticonderoga Securities analyst Brian White wrote in a note to clients.

Generally, Apple launches its products with little lag time after the unveiling. As a result, if Apple announces iPhone 5 on Oct. 4, it should be available to consumers in mid-October.

On March 2, Apple introduced the iPad 2 with a launch date of March 11, while the iPhone 4 was presented on June 7 last year and launched on June 24.

In our view, Apple should launch iPhone 5 with less lag time after the media event versus iPhone 4 given the later than typical unveiling, White said.

At the same time, we believe the international ramp will be faster versus the iPhone 4 and the carrier base is now larger at 228 relationships as of July, while we expect China will play a more important role this time around, the analyst added.

Many Wall Street analysts expect Apple to unveil the iPhone 5 in early October despite the company's silence.

We expect new product launches including a new iPhone in early October with store training to begin soon, an iPhone targeting emerging markets, and a LTE iPhone in 2012 with an improved UI, Wedbush Morgan analyst Scott Sutherland wrote in a note to clients.

Moreover, Sutherland expects Apple to ship 21 million iPhones in the fiscal fourth quarter, up from 20 million. More importantly, he expects shipments of 26 million units in the fiscal first quarter, up from 23 million, due to seasonality and the iPhone 5.

Apple's silence over the release of its next-generation iPhone has spawned raging rumors about its specifications. It has confirmed details about the software that will grace the iPhone 5 by launching its iOS 5 at WWDC, while the industry speculates over the hardware features.

Apple is expected to beef up the specifications of the iPhone 5 by fitting an 8-megapixel camera, a dual-core A5 processor with a clocking speed of at least 1.2GHz and a 4-inch display. Apple's iPhone 5 would also feature the new iCloud service in operating iTunes for wireless remote access of music from all computers and mobile devices.

Though Android smartphones are also coming with similiar specifications, the huge fan following for the iPhone should help it cope with the stiff competition.