Apple yesterday invited members of the media to a September 12 event in San Francisco for what is expected to be the debut of a new-generation iPhone.Email invitations bore the cryptic message, "It's almost here," and a large number "12" casting a shadow that appeared to be the number five, suggesting that the event would spotlight the long-anticipated iPhone 5.Leaks and rumors portray the new iPhone as having a larger touch-screen than its predecessor and that it will be available by the end of the month.

Demand for what is being referred to as "iPhone 5" is likely to be hot, with analysts convinced that many people in the market for handsets have put off purchases to wait for the latest offering from Apple."While our checks indicated consumers are delaying iPhone 4S purchases in anticipation of the iPhone 5, we anticipate an LTE iPhone 5 with a new hardware form factor will result in record iPhone sales," Canaccord Genuity brokerage firm said in a note to investors.

Apple shares rose to US$674.18 then shed a few cents to US$674 in trading that followed word of the event invitations.Samsung mobile phones remained the most popular in the United States with 25.6 percent of the market but third-place Apple gained ground to claim 16.3 percent as of the end of July, according to industry tracker comScore.LG ranked second with 18.4 percent of the US mobile phone market.

Apple is expected to launch the miniature iPad later this year, with analysts saying it could allow the company to again best its global rivals despite the death last year of visionary founder Steve Jobs.

沪江英语快讯：据国外媒体报道，美国东部时间星期二早晨，苹果官方正式向媒体记者发出邀请函，确认将于9月12日在旧金山市芳草地艺术中心举行特别媒体发布会。该邀请函内容很简单，仅写到：“It’s almost here.”除此以外，函中没有更多的文字内容。但一个数字“5”的倒影，却是让人浮想联翩——这或许就暗示了此次发布会将是有关苹果新一代智能手机iPhone 5的发布。

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