Apple iPhone, Facebook event on October 4

Apple has started sending out invites for its iPhone 5 event on October 4 at 10am PST at the company’s headquarters in Cupertino. Reports are also surfacing that Apple is likely to unveil a second, more affordable iPhone based off the current iPhone 4 but with fewer bells and whistles. Tim Cook will also make his first appearance as Apple’s new CEO, along with some other special guests. (We’re hoping Steve Jobs drops by for some photo opps with Cook.)

The new iPhone 5 specs are rumored to have an 8 MP camera, 1 GB of RAM, a larger screen, the possible eradication of the home button to make for one large touchscreen, an aluminum back, thinner profile and a number of other upgrades. Apple should also be unveiling its new Assistant feature for the iOS 5.

The last time Apple had an iPhone event was June 2010 to show off the brand new iPhone 4 for AT&T. We’re hoping the iPhone 5 will be available mid-October – just in time for the holiday shopping season.

Facebook will also launch long-anticipated iPad app and its revamped version of its iPhone app. Facebook has been working on a project to bring the social media platform to mobile devices named “Project Spartan.” The interface will allow developers to bring Facebook apps to mobile devices via an HTML 5 platform. Who knows if Mark Zuckerberg will make the announcement in person next month? We’ll continue to post updates as they come.