Apple announced on Tuesday that the iPhone 5c will be made available for pre-order on Sept. 13, a week ahead of its launch. Now some U.S. carriers have begun to reveal exactly when customers will be able to plunk down their hard-earned cash for one of Apple's colorful new handsets.

Both Sprint and Verizon have landing pages for the new iPhone models on their websites, complete with information regarding their pre-order plans. Sprint says that it'll begin taking orders at 2:00 a.m. Central (3:00 a.m. Eastern, 12:00 am Pacific) on Friday, Sept. 13. Verizon's page explains that its pre-orders will open at 3:01 a.m. Eastern (2:01 a.m. Central, 12:01 a.m. Pacific). Verizon doesn't explicitly say that pre-orders will only be offered for the iPhone 5c, but because Apple has made no mention of any iPhone 5s pre-sale, it seems likely that Verizon's pre-sale will be iPhone 5c-only. 

There's still no official word on when Apple, AT&T or T-Mobile will begin accepting pre-orders for the iPhone 5c. However, with Sprint and Verizon kicking things off at midnight Pacific on Friday, it wouldn't exactly be a shock to see the other three companies follow suit.

It's kind of a bummer that it doesn't look would-be iPhone 5s buyers will be able to pre-order Apple's new flagship, especially since the Cupertino firm has held iPhone pre-sales in the past. Some consumers may have a difficult time making it to an Apple Store or carrier shop on a Friday, but I suppose at least they've got a week to figure out a plan or perfect their "call in sick" voice. Meanwhile, it looks like folks that want to guarantee themselves a colorful new iPhone 5c at launch have a long night in their immediate future.

Via MacRumors, Sprint, Verizon