There’s even more reason to conclude that Sprint is going to be getting the iPhone (News - Alert) 5 after the company allegedly told its employees to tell inquisitive customers “no comment” if they ask about the device.

The directive might be curt and direct, but it keeps the lid on the swirling rumors. Nor can the employees bring up the new iPhone with their customers, according to a company internal memo cited by the Sprint Feed blog.

The reported response came out after a recent report appeared in The Wall Street Journal that the iPhone 5 would be offered by Sprint (News - Alert) in mid-October, according to The Los Angeles Times. If true, Sprint would be the third U.S. provider to offer the iPhone, along with AT&T and Verizon, according to The Register (News - Alert).

The Register also reported that the memo –“Action Required: Do Not Speculate about Sprint Getting the iPhone” – says, “If you are asked a direct question by a customer about Sprint getting the iPhone, you can simply say, ‘Yes, I saw a few of those reports. I don’t have any information to share’.”

In a related story, TMCnet has relayed that there is a dispute over rumors whether the expected iPhone 5 panel will be smaller than 4 inches. DigiTimes reported that there were earlier news reports that the device would feature a 4.2-inch panel, TMCnet said.

But “sources from upstream panel suppliers have recently revealed that the iPhone 5’s panel size will still be less than 4-inch(es),” DigiTimes said.

It is also being reported that the back of the iPhone 5 will be made out of metal rather than reinforced glass, TMCnet added.

Older reports said that iPhone 5 would feature a 4- to 4.2-inch HD touch panel, 8-megapixel camera, full HD video recording, A5 dual-core processor and ultra-thin industrial design, says DigiTimes. Its sources say those specs may be market expectations for iPhone 5, DigiTimes said. MobileBeat has questioned the validity of the DigiTimes’ sources.

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