Just when we were beginning to feel like we’d been playing a giant game of Telephone with all the iPhone buzz, Kevin Rose’s rumors send tech bloggers scurrying. Rose, former co-host of The Screen Savers on Tech TV, Digg.com founder, and Business Week coverboy, has been noted for his accurate last-minute rumors in the past about Apple products like the Macbook Pros and the iPod nano. Speaking on his Diggnation podcast, Rose says he got his dirt from a reliable source that has “been solid in the past” about the forthcoming iPhone. “It’s going to be small as shit, is what I’ve heard,” Rose said when he first started dropping crumbs. Prompted by a question about whether the device would have mini OS X, he said “I don’t know anything about the operating system — I have not seen the phone running or turned on.” Despite his discomfort with speculating on things that might get his source in trouble, Rose hinted it would be as ingenious as we’ve come to expect from Apple: “Two batteries, one charger. One for the mp3 portion of it and one for the phone. So, you can listen to your music as much as you want, run down the battery, and it’s not gonna drain your cell phone battery.”
Other speculation:
– January debut, to all cell phone providers.
– Two capacities — 4 and 8 GB.
– “I think we’re talkin’ $249 and $449 — like, a pretty big price difference between the 4 and 8 GB.”
– Flash memory, slide out keyboard.
– “I believe touch-screen on the outside — I’m not sure, though.”
Rose’s rumors has Apple fans socking away their paychecks, but some skeptical bloggers don’t seem to be planning on putting their money where his mouth is. Here’s what they’re saying:
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“Seriously, this sucks. I was hoping for a WiFi phone. It would have been much more Apple like to do something different. Now they are just going for small size, which is totally useless to me. It will only mean that it is going to be even easier to lose/forget it in my coat pocket…WiFi phones are the future, just imagine: As long as you have access to a WiFi network, you get free service!” — Mantat, macrumors.com
“I know this rumor must be 100% true, because my wife’s Cingular contract expires at the end of this month, she desperately needs a new phone, and I just bought her a brand new, engraved Nano.” — Darrin Bell, macrumors.com
“A good portion of the market DOES just want a simple phone. On the other hand, people like us would love to load ours up with all the crap we possibly can.” — jonnyd, digg.com
“Wow…$249 and $449? The Razr was like $500 when it came out and it doesn’t really do anything other than ‘look cool.’ I hope Apple knocks it out of the park with this one.” — jdog2050, gizmodo.com
“‘Coming in January to all providers’ — I call bull$%. Nothing this cool ever comes to Sprint.” — ThriftyTechie, gizmodo.com
Talk: iPhone: iCan’tWaitToHaveIt or iMSoOverIt?
On the Web:
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