The long wait is finally over. Apple Inc. has issued invites for an Oct. 4 event that will showcase a new iPhone.

"Let's talk iPhone," according to the invitation, which had icons saying Tuesday the 4th, 10 a.m. Pacific time, to be held at Apple's campus in Cupertino, Calif.

But as some observers have pointed out, there is no indication of a "5" in the invitation. Although it has been expected that the iPhone 5 will headline the event, there has also been talks about Apple releasing the iPhone 4S, a cheaper version of the iPhone 4.

The iPhone 5 is expected to feature a new 8 megapixel camera with 1080p HD video recording, a near field communication (NFC) chip, an A5 dual-core processor that's used for the iPad 2, 1 GB RAM, a larger screen, a thinner form factor and improved battery life.

The rumored iPhone 5 will debut together with the iOS5, the latest upgrade to Apple's operating system for its iPad and iPhone. In addition to iCloud, the service for sharing files across Apple devices, iOS 5 will have more than 200 new features, including phone-to-phone messaging, system wide twitter integration, photo editing tool, newspaper or magazine subscriptions and advanced reminder system.

Next week's event will be the first major product for Apple's post-Steve Jobs era. Last month, Jobs resigned as chief executive and turned over the reins to Tim Cook on Aug. 24. Jobs is now Apple's chairman.

Cook will be hosting the event although there's a rumored special appearance by Jobs.

With the upcoming holiday season, Apple is reportedly hoping to sell 26 million iPhones in the next three months. As the iPhone 5 is ready to arrive, retailers are now offering older versions of the iPhone at a lower price.

Various sources have reported that in addition to the iPhone 5, Apple is releasing iPhone 4S, which will be available in prepaid, in order to compete with low priced phones in emerging markets.

Unconfirmed reports have indicated that production of the iPhone 4S have been on-track, but not for the iPhone 5. Digitimes reported Friday last week that Wintek, which makes touch panels for the iPhone 5, is having problems with laminating the panels, resulting in bubbles. 9 to 5 Mac earlier reported that the iPhone 5 is seeing continued design and production delays, at least on one assembly line. Thus, according to 9 to 5 Mac, the iPhone 5 will be delayed slightly at the very least and may see shortages all the way into 2012.

The release of the iPhone 5 comes at a time when rivals like Samsung and Motorola have flooded the market with Android phones that have similar aesthetics to, and more powerful than, the iPhone 4 (or possibly the iPhone 5) . Both the Samsung Galaxy S2 and the Motorola Droid Bionic already sport dual-core processors, large 4.3-inch screens and 8-megapixel cameras.

But the iPhone is the world's best selling smartphone and every new iPhone model has been more successful than the previous. Analysts are thus betting that the iPhone 5 will deliver another record year for Apple.