The rumor mill surrounding Apple’s iPhone 5 seems to be working overtime lately, and here we are with word that China is now offering pre-orders for the iPhone 5, at least on China’s largest e-commerce platform known as Taobao. The pre-order page also comes complete with mock-up pictures, not to mention the purported technical specifications. There are whispers that the iPhone 5 will roll out on August 7th later next month, although Apple has naturally kept the release date a secret. Other sources claim that the next generation iPhone will come with a larger display compared to its predecessors, not to mention a souped up version of Siri.
Sellers on Taobao, which is part of the Alibaba Group, do ask for a deposit of 1,000 yuan ($160) for the new handset, with one seller known as Dahai9988 prefers to play it safe – asking for a full payment right from the get go. I do wonder who is desperate enough to pony up 6,999 yuan ($1,100) first though, as this is not a small amount that we are talking about here. These sellers want to pick up the iPhone 5 in Hong Kong or in the US before sending them over to mainland China.