December 11th, 2006
iPhone could be a diversion
There have been reports around the Web that Apple's much-rumored iPhone has been delayed and/or that it'll be a flop. Then it occurred to me - could iPhone be a diversion?
What if there's something else that Apple wants to feature at Macworld Expo, like a full-screen video iPod or even the already mentioned iTV? You barely hear about these two items that much any more in the build up to The Big Dance next month in San Francisco.
Since the iPhone reports first surfaced the Mac media has been swept up in the hype. It's almost a foregone conclusion that the iPhone will be announced at Macworld Expo. We've heard that it's in production, that it could be carrier-free, how it has a slide-out keyboard, etc., etc., etc. The rumors have been swirling for so long that we're now hearing that Apple is already working on iPhone version 2 and the bears have even begun to come out.
Rumors of the iPhone delay moved Apple's stock price to the down side last Thursday. AAPL shed US$1.79, or 2% on the news, to US$88.04, but it was off as much as 2.7% earlier in the day.
Apple maintains a legendary amount of secrecy around their Macworld Expo announcements and new products in general for fear that pre-announcing anything will steal the thunder of the big day on January 9, 2007.
Apple engages in a fair amount of misinformation in the lead up to Macworld Expo San Francisco too. They've been known to selectively leak plausible-sounding stories to various rumor sites around the Web to throw us off the scent. Sometimes there are so many different Macworld Expo rumors that it's virtually impossible to tell the credible from the decoys.
What if iPhone is just a decoy?
Jason D. O'Grady is the editor of PowerPage.org, which has been publishing daily mobile technology news since December 1995. For disclosures on Jason's industry affiliations, click here or to view Jason's full profile click here.
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| 12/11/06
