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iPhone 5 reservations go live from Deutsche Telekom

A German network is doling out pre-orders for the iPhone 5, but keeping it hush-hush, like a 1920s speakeasy. Come this way.

Joe Svetlik Reporter
Joe has been writing about consumer tech for nearly seven years now, but his liking for all things shiny goes back to the Gameboy he received aged eight (and that he still plays on at family gatherings, much to the annoyance of his parents). His pride and joy is an Infocus projector, whose 80-inch picture elevates movie nights to a whole new level.
Joe Svetlik
2 min read

Well looky here. No sooner do we bring you news that a high-street phone retailer is prepping its staff on how to sell the iPhone 5 (as if they'll need any help shifting them), than a German retailer pops up and starts doling out pre-orders for the handset. Talk about stoking the fire.

Hang on, you may well be saying, surely Apple hasn't announced the iPhone 5 yet. And you'd be right. Apparently Deutsche Telekom spokesperson Alexander von Schmettow confirmed the company is giving out coupons for customers to reserve the device without actually referring to it as the next iPhone.

You just have to go into one of its shops and request the successor to the iPhone 4 to get a coupon. (We didn't think it'd be as obvious as calling it 'iPhone Funf'.)

Deutsche Telekom won't reveal any specs or a release date on the iPhone 5, possibly because it doesn't know, but you will have one reserved.

But it's up to the punters to know what to ask for, like giving a wink and a nod in a speakeasy. According to German language site Focus.de (found by AppleInsider) the reservation service isn't advertised in-store, and you won't find it on the company's website. You have to go down to a store and ask for a reservation for the successor to the iPhone 4. Then maybe wink a couple of times and do a funny Masons-style handshake.

The scheme is thought to be because high demand is expected for what's possibly the most eagerly awaited incarnation since the original iPhone.

Last week, a prototype iPhone 5 was reportedly found in a tequila bar, echoing last year's debacle with an early iPhone 4 going missing. With a release thought to be in October at the latest, it looks like things are hotting up and a new iPhone is just days away. We'll bring you more news as it breaks.