Another sign the iPhone 5 is coming Sept. 21: Verizon blacks out vacation days

Here’s yet another reason to gear up for the launch of the iPhone 5 on September 21: It looks like Verizon is blacking out vacation time from that date until September 30, a Verizon source tells TechCrunch.

That coincides with a report from last week that AT&T was preparing for the new iPhone launch by blacking out vacation days in late September. If the carriers are indeed closing off those vacation dates, then it’s a sign that they’re preparing for something big, hence the logical leap to the iPhone launch.

So far we’ve seen several reports that point to Apple holding an event on September 12 to announce the iPhone 5 (or whatever the heck it’ll be called), and potentially a smaller iPad. Most recently, we’ve heard that Apple will open up pre-orders for the new iPhone on September 12 as well. The reports have also indicated that September 21 would be the day Apple releases the new iPhone.

Based on the rumors so far, we expect the iPhone 5 to feature a longer (but not wider) 4-inch screen, a unibody design with metal on the back, and LTE 4G connectivity.

iPhone 5 case mockup via iLabFactory