Rumor mills churning again for iPhone 5 release, now indicating a late October launch

Even though we reported that Apple and AT&T were each blocking employee vacations and making preparations for increased foot traffic in September, back then an obvious indicator that was when the iPhone 5 was launching,  a new rumor suggests the iPhone won’t actually launch until October.

A couple of bloggers are citing multiple anonymous sources claiming Apple’s next-generation iPhone will launch in October, possibly even late in the month.

“I don’t know why AT&T’s calling for all hands on deck those weeks, but it’s not for an iPhone launch,” one of the blog’s sources said, responding to questions about why AT&T might have blacked out employee vacations in late September. Other sources the blogs spoke with said the handset would launch late in the month.

Early reports suggested Apple’s fifth-generation iPhone would be a modest update featuring the same case design as the iPhone 4, but more recent reports say the device could feature a redesigned exterior that is slimmer, wider and longer than the current-generation iPhone.