Apple hints at what's coming next week

"It's almost here."

That's what the official invitations to the Sept. 12 Apple event say. The invitations are showing up in the mailboxes of the digital media crowd now, inviting them to next week's big announcement at San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center.

While the invitation, in typical Apple fashion, does not say what the "it" is, several people who received the invitation say the large number 12 on the invitation (announcing the date) casts a shadow of the number 5, not the number 12.

That appears to be Apple's way of saying the iPhone 5 will be unveiled.

Details Will Have to Wait

Still, many questions remain unanswered, such as:

       -Will the new phone be the iPhone 5, or just the New iPhone, as the latest iPad was called?

       -Will the phone be larger?  Many reports say the phone will be taller, with a 30 percent larger screen.

      -Will the long awaited iPad Mini be unveiled as well?  Most Apple bloggers say no, that Apple is holding that for a later unveiling a few weeks later. That way it gets twice the publicity.

Assuming a large iPhone 5 is on the way (as leaked photos suggest) , it could be the biggest product rollout of all time. Already, there are reports of shortages of the new larger screen for the new phone.

We'll know more next Wednesday, at about 12 p.m.

As always, don't waste your money.

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