Ah, the rumor mill regarding the alleged Apple iPhone allegedly slated for release early in 2007… well, that rumor mill is in full swing again. This time, various reports have it that Apple will not be launching the iPhone at MacWorld Expo in January.
At least one report traces the rumor back to a Sydney Morning Herald article published today, in which reporter Asher Moses quoted CIBC World Markets analyst Ittai Kidron as having written last week that iPhone will be commercially launched late in the first quarter of 2007, or early in the second.
The Sydney Morning Herald report also noted that Wall Street analysts acknowledge even speculation about a delayed launch is affecting Apple’s share price.
Of course, all of this is predicated on the idea that Apple is, indeed, planning to introduce a cell phone/iPod combo next year. In fact, as Jupiter Research analyst Michael Gartenberg pointed out in the Herald report, Apple has never verified that there actually is an iPhone in the works.
"Is it possible to call a product that hasn't been acknowledged, much less shipped, delayed?” Gartenberg asks.
Good question.
Expectations have reached a fever pitch as MacWorld, Apple’s yearly venue for major product announcements, draws near. With Apple and its CEO Steve Jobs as tight-lipped as ever, all anyone can do is gossip about what might be the next big thing.
Phone rumors were fanned into flames anew recently when apparently “definitive” information surfaced that manufacturer Foxconn Electronics had received an order from Apple for 12 million iPhones.
And, that was on top of the fact that on August 7, Apple filed a U.S. patent for a phone/music player combo. Why, it’s enough to lead anyone to an inescapable conclusion: the iPhone must be just around the corner.
But, now, it seems more likely (at least, if you believe the Herald) that in January Steve Jobs will instead unveil a home theater content steaming device (iTV, anyone?) that was demoed at a press conference in September but has not yet been commercially launched.
Okay, everyone, hold your horses. January will be here soon enough.
