September 12th is the likely date for Apple's announcement of the new iPhone

iMore is reporting that Apple plans to introduce its next iPhone, as well as an 8" iPad and updated iPod nano, at an event on September 12th. Bloomberg's sources confirm the date and that the next iPhone will be announced, but said nothing about other devices. iMore's sources say that the iPhone will go on sale in stores on Friday, September 21st; the website's sources haven't provided any specific information on release dates for other devices.

AllThingsD has also come close to confirming the September 12th announcement date for Apple's next iPhone. They haven't quite confirmed IMore's report, but they say that they've confirmed with their own sources that the announcement will be held the week of September 9th, with the 12th being the most likely date.

AllThingsD also points to a massive ramp-up in Apple's prepayments for components, as reported both by Wells Fargo Securities and Apple's own 10-Q filing. Apple's prepayments rose $1.15 billion in the June quarter to their highest level in four years--12.6% of Apple's total sales, according to Wells Fargo's Maynard Um. In a note to clients, Um said that these increases have been followed by ramp-ups in revenue in the following two to three quarters. AllThingsD also notes that the increase in component prepayments is so high that it suggests that multiple products are being readied for launch.