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  Photo courtesy of Apple
  A picture of the new iPhone 5

The iPhone 5 release date could be set for Dec. 14 in China, according to new reports.

Taiwan Central News Agency's English language media outlet Focus Taiwan is reporting that major mobile carriers in the nation confirmed that the iPhone 5 will hit the market on that date.

Most major carriers in the region have stated that they will begin accepting pre-orders for the smartphone one week before the Dec. 14 launch.

China Telecom began taking pre-orders for the iPhone 5 yesterday. This is a good indication that Dec. 14 will be the official release date for the handset in the country. The Global Times confirmed this information and also stated that other carriers in the nation such as China Unicom, have yet to confirm any release information on the device.

Chinese and Indian customers are expected to receive a low cost version of the iPhone sometime in the future, according to a report from Apple analyst Gene Munster. He stated that this device should launch in 2014 and cost around $200.

The iPhone 5S is rumored for a mid-2013 launch, according to a new a report.

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DigiTimes reported that Apple will introduce its next generation iPad and iPhone series around the middle of next year.

The report also states that the release of the next iPhone will boost demand for ICs communications related chips during the latter half of the first quarter. Component orders from Apple are expected to rise again between March and April, according to industry insiders.

However, this claim seems a bit off, since Apple normally introduces new iPhones in either the fall or the summer and the iPad 4th generation was unveiled and launched already. Apple seems to be full of surprises these days so anything is possible, but this report should be taken with a grain of salt.