Chinese Firm Already Taking iPhone 5 Pre-Orders

[Maura]

Reuters reports today that Chinese e-commerce website, Taobao, which is part of Alibaba Group, have started taking orders for the iPhone 5, even though Apple has not even confirmed the existence of the next iPhone yet, let alone announced it! According to the report, the sellers on Taobao are even posting mock-up photos of the next iPhone to encourage pre-orders, as well as technical specs based on rumour. Some sites are asking for deposits of 1,000 yuan ($160) for a pre-order, and one hopeful seller is even asking for the full price upfront, of 6,999 yuan ($1,100). Meanwhile, more photos of iPhone 5 casings have also emerged, as 9to5 Mac reports, on website KitGuru, which, if accurate, show that the next iPhone is indeed the same width, but longer than the iPhone 4S. And still Apple remains tight-lipped on the whole matter, and most likely won’t be putting us out of our misery until at least September!

Source: UPDATE 1-China pips Apple on iPhone 5 launch | Reuters
More next-gen iPhone casings float across our desktop [Photos] | 9to5Mac | Apple Intelligence