Apple iPhone 5 pre-orders began at 3 AM ET today, and Apple may have already exhausted its supply of phones guaranteed to ship by the original September 21 date. Initial pre-orders for the iPhone 5 stated that the phone would ship on September 21, but new orders are listed as "Available to ship in 2 weeks." That means the devices could take until September 28 to arrive. Anxious iPhone 5 customers in the US, UK, and other countries can still pre-order a device at Apple.com, but they can also visit an Apple or carrier retail store on September 21 to attempt to buy one in person.

Apple has announced its next iPhone, and just as countless reports have suggested, it is indeed the iPhone 5. The Apple iPhone 5 has LTE, a larger screen, and is "the biggest thing to happen to the iPhone since the iPhone," according to CEO Tim Cook.

Apple has announced that it will release its iOS 6 update for existing phone, tablet, and music player models on September 19th. The update will be available for the iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, the new iPad, iPad 2, and iPod Touch (4th generation). Not all features will be made available to all devices because of hardware requirements or incompatibilities. MobileBurn has already posted a few highlight features set to arrive in iOS 6 that you can read here.

Apple has announced that its iPhone 4 will be available for free on a two-year agreement. Due to the pending launch of the iPhone 5, Apple has dropped the price of the 8GB iPhone 4 and the 16GB iPhone 4S, which now costs only $99. Today's announcement makes the barrier to entry for Apple iPhone products much smaller for users who are willing to sign a two-year agreement. It also makes older models of the iPhone more competitive with the low and midrange Android handsets carriers sell to customers who don't want newer high-end smartphones.

At its iPhone 5 launch event today, Apple noted that it has sold more than 400 million iOS devices through June 2012. The combined muscle of the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad have made Apple the most successful tech company in the world, and the sales total will climb even higher once Apple begins selling the iPhone 5. Apple only revealed its sales through June, so figures from July and August may add several million more to the tally. In what was surely part of an effort to one-up Apple's event, Google announced earlier today that it has activated more than 500 million Android devices since 2008.

Apple has all but confirmed that it will unveil the next iPhone at a press event in San Francisco next week. Apple has begun sending out invites for a September 12 event that shows the number 12 with a shadow forming the number 5, a possible reference to the fifth iteration (in branding) of the iPhone set to launch soon. Apple has been rumored to announce the a new iPhone and a smaller iPad, but recent speculation points to an all-iPhone focus at next week's event. All will be revealed September 12 at 10 AM PST / 1 PM ET.

Do you own an iPhone or iPad? If the answer is yes, there's a small chance that your personal information may have been made public by hacking group AntiSec.

An image of a supposed Apple iPhone 5 component has caused some to believe that the next iPhone will support near-field communication (NFC); however, new comments from respected blogger Anand Shimpi suggest that may not be the case.

Sprint has shaved $50 off the price of the Apple iPhone 4S. Sprint now sells the 16GB iPhone 4S for $149 on a two-year agreement, and the carrier is temporarily waving its $36 activation fee when purchased online. The $50 drop also applies to the 32GB and 64GB versions of the phone. The price cut is said to be a temporary back-to-school sale, but it could be a sign of more to come. Apple is expected to announce the next iteration of the iPhone September 12, which will encourage carriers to cut prices on existing inventory. AT&T and Verizon have not yet lowered prices on the iPhone 4S.

A report from iMore claims that Apple plans to announce its next-generation iPhone and a new, smaller version of the iPad as soon as September 12 of this year, with an expected retail launch of the devices slated for September 21.