Rumor mill coughs up $99 4GB iPhone
When scuttlebutt collides
With less than a week to go before Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, at which new iPhone - or iPhones - is/are widely expected to be announced, the rumor mill is heating up. And the latest buzz is about a $99 4GB model.
But first the traditional caveat: Buzz is merely buzz, rumors are merely rumors, and Apple isn't talking. Take today's scuttlebutt with the proverbial grain of proverbial salt.
That said, three different nuggets of evidence - or, to be more cautious, "evidence" - combine to raise this possibility a wee bit higher up the scale of plausibility.
Rumor #1: From Engadget comes word from the ever-popular "trusted source" that the PCS Type Review Certification Board (PCTRB) - the industry group that certifies GSM handsets - has approved iPhones of 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB capacities. Those last three capacities are no surprise, but 4GB? Which leads us to...
Rumor #2: Over at The Boy Genius, you can find a series of bootlegged presentation slides that purport to detail the 2009 product roadmap for Fido Solutions, a subsidiary of the Canadian telecom provider Rogers Communications. Among the slides is one that includes an image of a familiar-looking 3G iPhone that's labeled as "Apple iPhone (4GB)" with a listed price of $99 for a three-year contract.
Note that TBG himself cautions that he's "very far away from being able to confirm this information." Among the features listed on the slide, however, are "Video Calling (iChat)" and a "2.0MP Camera." Now, a 2.0MP camera is less capable than the 3.2MP camera that's been widely reported, but...
Rumor #3: Yesterday we reported on an article published by the China Economic News Service (CENS), which confidently stated that an iPhone would be released in China this July and which detailed a number of Taiwanese parts suppliers that stood to benefit from contracts with Apple.
Among the companies listed is Largan Precision, which CENS described as "a large-sized camera lens maker on the island." When we checked on Largan's offerings yesterday, we discovered that the cellphone lenses they make are limited to use with 1.3MP and 2.0MP sensors.
We thought nothing of it at the time, since Apple has been known to enter into agreements with suppliers for off-catalog parts - Intel, for example. But with today's TBG rumor of a 4GB $99 iPhone with a 2.0MP camera, alarm bells went off.
So there you have it - you now know as much as we know. And as much as anyone outside of a surprisingly tight circle of Apple insiders knows.
But as Master Po might have said to Caine in Kung Fu, "Patience, young grasshopper. All will be revealed in good time." ®
COMMENTS
@ Scott McKenzie
I, too, have an iPhone and, like yours, it does just what I want it to do, effortlessly and with panache.
Those you address can't get over it! They've been under the bridge for so long they just can't come to terms with Apple. Mostly they just poke fun at Apple users with endearing but sad comments but in reality they can't cope with the success of the iPhone/iPod and their Nokimoto trying to emulate it but two years too late.
Have pity on them.
Uh, why is the capacity so low?
I mean, it's not like flash memory is actually expensive these days. What difference does 4 or 8 or even 16 GB make?
I mean, you can get a 4GB SD card for a fiver, or 8GB for a tenner. Seems shameful to me to limit the capacity so much when it costs so little. But then I suppose they have to differentiate between the "premium" and budget products...
I'll buy one when it comes with a (micro) SDHC slot so it can be expanded. And a reasonably priced one year contract. And a pony.
Here's how this one goes:
Scene: Apple boardroom.
We're doing great. This iPhone thing's really taken off. We've got a product that every bugger wants and they're prepared to pay whatever vastly inflated price we ask for it. The margins on the thing are fantastic and the phone networks give us a kickback on every one we sell as well. So, any suggestions for how we milk this futher?
We could sell it for 99 dollars!
<pistol shot>
Anyone *else* got any suggestions?
iPhone
If you have no interest - WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU READING SUCH ARTICLES!?!?!?
Some people actually are interested, or have used them, own them... whatever.... I have an iPhone, i like it, it's extremely good at doing the things i want it to do, it doesn't do everything but the things it doesn't do, i don't find an issue, it won't suit everyone, but that doesn't make it a bad device, nor does the fact it's made by Apple.
How's about you just all get the fuck over it and move on?
@zomg
So, let have a wee look at your comment.
Don't you think there is something you are missing?
Like the fact that Apple actually make great, usable products?
You obviously got a touch of green fever, because /your/ chosen technology supplier doesn't make any decent products. All you have left is to slag off a company that does, and people that appreciate them.
