The cat's out of the bag with Sharp Corp. president Takashi Okuda bestowing some iPhone 5 nuggets our way, albeit unintentionally. Apparently, the company is prepping to ship screens for the hypothesized next-gen Apple smartphone, giving credence to the existing September debut rumors.

According to a Reuters report, Japanese electronics manufacturer Sharp Corp. "will start shipping screens destined for a new Apple iPhone that is widely expected to be released in October ahead of the pre-Christmas shopping season".

During the company's quarterly earnings report press conference in Tokyo, Takashi Okuda let slip that "Shipments will start in August". Okuda, however, did not provide any other details including a specific date. The circulating September release rumors gain ground in the wake of this statement and seem to be validated.

According to Reuters' sources, the panels will be "4 inches corner to corner -- 30 percent bigger than current iPhones". Sharp, LG Display Co Ltd, and JapanDisplay Inc. are the three suppliers that are expected to build the in-cell screens for the fabled offering from the Apple stable.

The iPhone 5's 4-inch screen has hogged the limelight, with conjectures about the size abounding by the dozen. Rumors and leaks have led tech pundits to speculate that the current 3.5-inch iPhone screen will be bumped up to a 4-inch one for the next iPhone iteration. With rival Samsung wowing the world with its 4.8-inch (HD display) Galaxy S3, that boasts of 10 million units sales, Apple has its job cut out.

The iPhone 5 is also expected to sport a host of updated features, including iOS 6 - which was unleashed to the world during the company's WWDC in June. Apple's expected to throw the gauntlet to Android-powered devices by imbibing a faster quad-core processor, LTE, and NFC capabilities. The screen is likely to be slimmer than the previous incarnations thanks to the adoption of the much-touted in-cell technology.

Skeptics opine that Okuda's statement may have been an attempt to diverge attention from its dismal quarterly earnings. Sharp Corp. reported losses of $1.8 billion in Q3 2012. The company also announced that it will cut 5,000 jobs.

A distraction tactic or not, company heads are not known to make flippant statements; so, the news seems to conveniently substantiate the September debut rumors. Apple may continue to stay mum but iFans have another reason to smile.