iPhone - The Early Years

After the announcement, from January onwards...

Prior to its official announcement launch on January 9th, the iPhone rumors were rampant for years. This timeline (which I started maintaining in 2003-2004) lists most of the relevant mentions, and the links below are an interesting way to gauge the amount of industry hype (as well as reporters' perennial lack of common sense).

Readers are strongly encouraged to make the exercise of gauging the accuracy of both official news sources and rumor sites based on the sheer amount of wasted energy behind all this, er... "press" over the years.

January 2007:

Apple and Cingular Tag-Team for iPhone - the closest anybody got, thanks to the WSJ piece.
The Hivelogic Podcast - with John Gruber's take on the iPhone, and it being (or not) at MacWorld, with a pretty good rationale on the Apple-carrier relationship and the amount of compromise Apple would have to live with. Plus the obvious likelihood of it having been leaked (for real) by now - and copied - if any other companies were involved. Good rationale for the "iPod Phone" angle and Mac exclusivity, too. Recommended, and interestingly right (and wrong) in some points.
Macworld San Francisco: What to expect from Lord Jobs
Ars at Macworld: last call for rumors - wherein the iPhone again obtains the coveted "One More Thing" accolade.
Is that a phone in his pocket? No, something bigger
MacWorld Keynote 2007: Not Much Hardware to be Found?
Hivelogic Podcast + Phone Prediction - Daniel has a neat vision, but he's woefully underestimating the effort involved in mobile phone hardware design.
Wherein I Predict the Future - Steven Frank's indecision on wanting an iPhone echoes many previous musings regarding how it would come about, including the Apple MVNO angle.
Jobs Meeting With Telefonica Head For Cellphone Girl Talk - I suppose that if he were to meet the Dalai Lama there would be a MacWorld rumor in it...
Behind Closed Doors: Jobs on a Mac Tablet, Apple Cell phone - conveniently omitting the fact that the original piece reminisces about events in 2002.
Why there won't be a Mac tablet any time soon - meme shrapnel from the Guardian article.
Former Apple Executive: iPhone Likely At Macworld
What Jobs told me on the iPhone - how to dredge up something that happened in 2002 as a harbinger of the future.
FrankenRumor: Apple Keynote Macworld '07
iPhone has "huge potential," says study - studies can tell you whatever you want.
Why It’s a Good Time for Apple Phone
Why do people want the Applephone so much? - why, indeed? Are mobile phones that bad in the US? Pretty good piece, though.
Macworld Rumor Round-Up - as the date approaches, entropy increases.

December 2006:

iPhone, iTV, and household names - finally, some common sense regarding Apple trademarks.
Leo Laporte: “Absolutely No Doubt” - iPhone at Macworld - absolutely. Sure thing. Like, I'm saving my cash already.
Leo Laporte Predicts iPhone Debut at Macworld 2007 - erm, guys, Leo has been wrong in the past. Remember the "there won't be a video iPod" incident?
The Apple phone flop - another taunt, more squarely aimed at the iPod's "unrepeatability".
Inside Apple's iPhone - a bunch of trends shoehorned into an attempt at rationalizing the likely existence of an iPhone. In a nutshell: Apple can do it. What's missing from the article is why they should do it, other than to rock the analysts' world.
Another Apple Phone Rumor: Now Slightly More Plausible, But Not Really
Timeline of Apple "iPhone" Rumors (1999-Present) - a nice complement to this page (via Infinite Loop)
iPhoneyGate: Best Brian Lam/Gizmodo Hate Blog Ever. Digg It! - Gizmodo's Brian Lam gets publicly creamed for his "iPhone coming next Monday" stunt.
iPhone surprises technology world - the BBC rides the ensuing chaos.
The iPhone that wasn't - Linksys makes good on the Cisco-owned "iPhone" trademark.
iPhone is out. Hurr hurr, we get it.
Cisco -- not apple -- announces iPhone branded VoIP phones
Linksys Not-Apple-iPhone Details and Photos
Analyst Says Apple Already Sold Out of iPhones. - great joke that pretty much sums up how much you can rely on analysts.
Apple smart phone project rests on Mac OS X tie-ins - banging on the integration drum. See also Mac OS X May Go Embedded? for the unwashed masses' take on it.
Apple's iPhone Depends Heavily on OS X Integration.
Push IM feature in iPhone/iChat Mobile? - oh, for $DIVINITY's sake, is this far-fetched or what?
The iPhone is Dead: Long Live the Apple Cellphone Thingy-Ma-Bob - proof positive that Gizmodo isn't worth reading anymore.
iPhone Arrives: From Linksys
The iPhone Lives: But the Trademark Belongs to Cisco - took you this long to find out?
Jackass of the Week: Gizmodo's Brian Lam - Gruber lays it on, the way it should be.
Rumormongers Tire Of iPhone, Move On To Googlephone - good old reliable Techdirt.
iPhone: To Be or Not
How Apple could rock wireless - spinning a yarn based on rumors is news now?
Waiting for iPhone - CNET wants in on the Hype, I guess.
Google and Apple to team up on iPhone? - Gadgetell arrives late to the party, recycles the Apple/Google partnership rumors that were all the rage a few months back.
Forget iPhone, Think Google Phone - Om Malik on the chances that HTC might actually do a phone that doesn't suck.
iPhone on Monday?
Regarding our iPhone - Fake Steve's take. Hilarious.
Apple iPhone Will Come in All Colors of the Rainbow
iPhone: Just Another iPod? - sometimes the simplest notions are best.
Apple's Invisible MVNO To Go With Its Invisible Phone
Trumors: iPhone 3.0 delays force v1.0 shelving for Macworld - 3.0? What the...
The MacWorld Rumor Mill: No Phones, Maybe iTV - now that makes sense.
Let’s play iPhone Rumor Bingo
The iPhone Rumor Bullshit Bingo - my own contribution to the rumor mills.
Gizmodo Knows: iPhone Will Be Released On Monday - kids these days, and their teasing...
Video Slideshow of iPhone Concepts. More concepts here and news coverage here.
Analyst reveals alleged iPhone specs
Apple iPhone on CNBC (iPhone 2.0) - CNBC news segment stating that there will be a second iPhone before the first comes out.
Apple Gains As Analyst Sees Sales Growth - The analyst said she has "high conviction" that the iPhone will launch in the first half of 2007.
A Wish List for the iPhone
No iPhone At MacWorld, Says Rumor Mill
Perspective: The Apple phone flop - the "phone similar to a Blackberry" concept is back.
What if iPhone is just a decoy? - I wondered about that as well. iTV rumors have been practically zero in comparison.
iPhone runs into trademark problems - should we start calling it the "iRing" now? As in, "one iRing to rule them all"?
Analyst Says Apple Already Sold Out of iPhones - an excellent parody of analyst rants, via John Gruber
Apple's Smart Phone Depends on OS X Tie-Ins (also on OSnews) - the unwashed masses chime in
Apple smart phone project rests on Mac OS X tie-ins - more rumors of the "second", "smart" phone, tied in with the MVNO rumor.
Even more iPhone speculation - Kevin Rose-based, of course.
The Contrarian View of the iPhone
What if the iPhone sucks? - a reality check.
Kevin Rose talks iPhone - "I want to believe". Guess that sums it up.
After the iPhone, will Apple try to patent the Personal Coffee Dispenser? - gotta love Guy Kewney's take on the patents announced last week.
Kevin Rose confirms iPhone?
iPhone Confirmed With Details?
Diggnation 74 - wherein Kevin Rose adds more details to the rumored 2007 launch, somewhere around 0:38:00.

November 2006:

Apple iPhone Patent Granted
Apple patent furthers evidence of cellphone work - Which is no assurance of anything, as usual, since patents are often registered just to stake out intellectual property grounds.
For Portalplayer, an iPhone future
Apple Computer shares rise to 52-week high - high on iPhone fumes, I guess.
Second iPhone In The Works: iTunes, Mobile IM?
iChat enabled iPhone rumored
Apple working on second, iChat-based cell phone - all of a sudden, there's another iPhone rumor.
Apple shares surge on iPhone speculation
Mac fans buzzing about expected Apple "iPhone"
Fake Friday: The better iPhone
Palm's Ed Colligan laughs off iPhone
An Apple phone? Palm CEO says, `What, me worry?'
iPhone on CNBC: "It will be Appley"
Apple iPhone may be on the way - wow, if it's on CNN it's got to be true, right? Erm... Forbes, you say?
Rumor: Apple iPhone could be sold unlocked?
Apple thinks different about marketing iPhones - wishful thinking.
Apple's iPhone to arrive in early 2007 with 2MP camera
Will iPhone Save Handset Business? - Om on the likely effects of unlocked iPhones. Somehow, I really don't think it will make any difference whatsoever, since phones are more and more tied to each operator's services, and you wouldn't be able to use those properly from a "neutral" phone. Plus 12 million is a drop in the ocean.
Would you buy an iPhone? - TUAW, adding zero information content.
I don't want an iPhone - in which Jason O'Grady contradicts himself.
Oddsmodo: Apple, MacWorld and the iPhone - speculation regarding whether or not it will be introduced at MacWorld.
Taiwan manufacturer gets order for Apple "iPhone" handset - wherein 12 million (which seems an odd number, considering that Nokia ships more than that in China alone) jumps to 20-29 million.
Apple Orders 12 Million iPhones - the Hype hits the fan.
Apple iPhone: Order for 12 Million Confirmed - "confirmed"? I thought the guys at Gizmodo had better sense.
Apple Orders Mobile Handsets, Notebooks
iPhone to be announced at 2007 Macworld Expo? You bet!
Hon Hai cops to iPhone contract
iPhone contract reportedly awarded to Hon Hai
Taiwan's Hon Hai wins Apple orders for mobile handsets, notebook PCs - report - OK, so it's Forbes, but it's a quote from Commercial Times, which in turn quotes "commercial sources". In short, it's a rumor.
Apple's iPhone is Calling - a nugget of decent journalism among the hogwash that runs through the rest of the "press".
Worst iPhone mockup ever utilizes Apple Remote
Fake Friday: iPhone Phorgery - lame, just lame.

It's been a while since I posted mockup, so here's one to kick off November:

October 2006:

Apple iPhone - more mockups. Lots and lots of them, in fact.
Le dossier iPhone s’épaissit - speculation tying it to the touch-screen patents.
Full-Screen iPod, iPhone Confirmed by ‘Extremely Well-Informed’ Apple Exec
The Apple Rumor Tracker
Apple + new patent = iPhone speculation - concerning speech recognition.
Apple Chomper - How Nokia can knock the iPod from its perch. - linking to yours truly.
What if Apple made a music phone and no one cared? - poetic justice in the making?
Another Music Phone? Yawn...
Apple Files iPhone Trademark, Heads Explode - aptly put.
Apple trademarks "iPhone," two models coming?
Rumor: Apple iPhone to come in two models, one with Wi-Fi
Apple phone line to include "smart phone"? - Think Secret is happy to have been quoted by a random analyst. End of story.
Apple to Bring Two (!) Cellphones to the Market Early Next Year?
iPhone *confirmed* - links to the article below.
Exclusive: Apple seeks rights to iPhone trademark - maybe. I'll believe it when the registration is posted online.
Leopard 'Top Secret' Features? - in which the iPhone is associated with the (growing) Leopard rumor mill.

September 2006:

iPhone, Shmy-Phone: The Rumor Roundup - CrunchGear weighs in.
iTunes 7.0.1 Has Buttloads of Mobile Phone Mentions - Jason Chen hypes the fact that iTunes is prepared to support syncing of photos and other content to new phones "just over the horizon". It could also be a tie in to iSync, or (gasp) a new iteration of the ROKR.
Lo scetticismo di Pogue - melablog.it tries to even things out.
Apple iPhone Revisited - Jack Schofield completely misses the point of this page, or the links to the ROKR one.
Pogue on iPhone Rumors: Don't Hold Your Breath - in which the "Apple has it in its vaults" credo re-surfaces, even if tempered with realism.
iPhone Rumors - David Pogue links in, and shares my skepticism.
Impending Apple phone to be Cingular-exclusive upon launch
iPhone, if it exists, to be Cingular-only through mid-2007
Cingular Exclusive on Apple iPhone?
Apple iPhone to be Cingular-exclusive at launch - ah, yes, the beauty of US-centric rumors... and it's still cast as an iPod replacement.
An Apple mobile phone? - I came, iPod, iPhone - the Economist weighs in, resurrecting the MVNO angle.
Microsoft Zune Demo Video, Zune Phone and What About the iPhone? - more common sense from our Brazilian cousins.
Apple's iPhone is Just a Phone - gets the prize for the best "mock-up" ever:
Alright, alright, my take on the ApplePhone... - finally, some common sense.
Sources: Apple phone on track for early '07 - just like one year ago.
Concrete iPhone Info?
Apple iPhone 'on track' for early '07 intro, mole claims
Apple iPhone slips out in Paris? - The Reg, sticking their foot in it.
Apple's Phone Revealed?
Phone drivers in iTunes 7 for iTunes Phones, not an iPhone - and people still don't get this?
Yawn, Another iPhone Mockup Relating to Showtime
iPhone revealed finally? - oh yeah?
blah blah iPhone blah blah blah - Carlo Longino neatly summarizes what a lot of people are thinking by now.
Apple Cellphone is Real and Coming Soon?
Analysts say Apple phone is ready for production - nobody mentions UMTS.
Analyst Says iPhone Coming In 2007
iPhone Eye-Opener - In which we begin to wonder if stock analysts should be quoted as sources for this kind of information.

August 2006:

Jobs talks up Apple cell phone - okay Steve, can I have one then?
Steve Jobs Talking Up The iPhone To His Inner Circle?
iPhone or GPhone - Om Malik weighs in on the unlikely chances of anything showing up this week.
More iPhone Fakes - ah well.
Touchscreen iPod Due This November Says Our Secret Source - the merger of two great rumors, the iPhone and the touchscreen iPod. May they have many children to carry on the hype.
Crave Talk: iPhone, iDon't think so - Andrew Lim puts some perspective on things.
Apple iPhone - To Be, or Not to Be? - Slashdot chimes in, and for a change points out that there is zero mention of the iPhone in "new" rumors.
iChat Mobile: is it the iPhone (part forty bajillion)? - all of the sudden, the Apple remote is the new inspiration for fake form factors.
Another fake iPhone ad - more interesting due to the work someone put in (and overall aesthetics of the video itself) than by any other reason.

July 2006:

New Round Of Phone Rumors - MacSlash takes Gizmodo's week-old wild speculation and runs with it.
More 'evidence' of a looming iPhone uncovered - more of the same. Nobody notices it's four-week-old news.
Apple iPhone Rumors: New Findings in Code Like Gasoline On the Fanboy Fire - do these people have no short-term memory? This is precisely the same thing that got posted four weeks before.
Wild speculation: iPhone to launch in August? - title says it all.
iPhone not going to be called iPhone? - TUAW persists in linking to Oppenheimer's quote and rides on Wired's hype.
Why the iPhone Likely Won't Be Called 'iPhone' - wherein we find that all the good names are already taken. But people still believe it will happen. Maybe I should make this page even more prominent.
iPhone Discussed at Apple Earnings Call - even Wired is prone to wishful thinking where it regards interpreting Apple's scarce feedback.
Apple on iPhone: "We're not sitting around doing nothing" - how a photo of a Nokia phone and wishful interpretation of Oppenheimer's statement results in a slew of idiotic comments. What he meant is that they are improving the iPod.
New iPhone hints found in iPod firmware
Someone finds mention of phone-like features in the iPod firmware images. The peanut gallery goes wild, since reusing code isn't something people actually do.
Jim Hughes wonders whether the iPhone is on the way.
I mention the iPhone in a .Mac analysis, but very few people worry about the mobile aspects and focus on .Mac itself.

June 2006:

Is the third time the charm for Motorola's iTunes phone? - musings on the iTunes-enabled RAZR.
Here Come the AppleBerry Rumors
More Stupid Apple Speculation, This Time It’s RIM - Carlo is a bit more to the point.
A MacBerry? - Om Malik weighs in on the madness.
AppleBerry Coming Soon (??) - Gizmodo is more sensible.
Apple and RIM in a fruity collaboration? - TUAW jumps in, undaunted.
AppleBerry Predicted? - Slashdot goes ape (and CSS in the same day). Oddly, most of the punters have rational comments on the matter.
Apple and RIM partnering for AppleBerry device? - see? I told you it was going to get plastered all over the place.
RIM + Apple = AppleBerry? - ah, yes, this is sure to get plastered all over the place now...
AppleBerry might be the next big thing (via Pedro Leite, to kick off the silly season).
A big welcome to ATPM readers. Since we're about to enter the Summer "silly season", I expect to have a few more iPhone news to add here pretty soon...

May 2006:

Softbank Press Release denying the rumor - translation. I particularly like the "American apple" (米アップル) bit.
Apple, Softbank plan iPod mobile phones - culled from Reuters, quoting a Japanese source. No hard evidence, as usual, but Gizmodo goes and takes this as "confirmation", just like Engadget.
This gets linked from TUAW and Daring Fireball. There is a ratio of six referrals from John's site for every one from Weblogs, Inc.
Walt Mossberg writes ...Now, Apple is working on other projects built on the same end-to-end model as the iPod: a media-playing cellphone and a home-media hub.. The pundits go wild, even though this could just be another ROKR-like co-branding effort and a Mac mini.
Apple iPhone Spec Ad - yet another fan-originated concept design.

March 2006:

A new batch of rumors has been making the rounds due to the Apple 30-year anniversary on April 1st:

Apple iPhone soon? Not likely.
Apple iPhone Coming Soon?
iPod Phone All But Confirmed?
BenQ confirms iPhone? (BenQ? Gosh, I hope they don't follow the Siemens school of industrial design...)
iPhone may affect Motorola - sheer speculation.

October 2005:

Jobs Speaks: What’s Next for Apple - in which he says there will be more phones coming...
Steve Jobs Fires Latest Salvo In Apple-Moto War Of Words - further speculation on the likelihood of Apple going its own way.

September 2005:

Motorola CEO: Apple 'to build a smart phone' - and why Gloria Stefan videos are bad for your phone.
Rumors renewed: Did Zander just confirm the Apple iPhone?
It's here. From now on, Motorola info will be tracked on the ROKR node (which will hold user reviews)

August 2005:

Apple May Launch Branded Cell Phones With ITunes - Also: Analyst Shoots Self On Foot.
Analyst leaks iPod phone launch details
European mobile phone operators want iTunes support
Apple to launch Apple-branded cell phones?
iTunes phone coming to O2 in the UK and T-Mobile in Germany?
Motorola ROKR update, Euro deals
Bursting the bubble: Will the iTunes phone disappoint?
With 25-Song Cap, ITunes Phone May Underwhelm - yep, 128MB seems about right for the current batch of Motorola phones.
iTunes Phone: Lame or super cool?
Apple iTunes phone due to launch
iPod cell phone coming your way soon?
Apple Music Event Sept. 7 (Updated)
Cingular to offer iTunes phone, WSJ
Cingular and Apple Reach Agreement for Possible ROKR Release, WSJ Reports
Apple seals deal with Cingular
iTunes phone will only hold 100 songs - no kidding?
ROKR or new iPod on September 7 (part II)?
iTunes mobile phone to debut at Sept 7 music event
Apple plans special event next week
NYT: Motorola-Apple Cellphone 'Imminent'
What will Steve Jobs unveil during Apple's 'special event' on September 7th?
Backstage: Big media rumors and iTunes Phone #2
iTunes phone to be based on the E680i? - all of a sudden, it's the Newton's second coming, and "will Apple launch a mobile OS" speculation...
ROKR or new iPod on September 7 (part II)?
Apple music event set for Sept 7
Apple plans Sept. 7 music event: "Here we go again"
Put down your iPod, iTunes is calling
Motorola mulling NYC venue for early Sept. iTunes phone launch
Motorola iTunes ROKR launch event on September 7th? - ye gods, will it never end?
That iTunes Phone is Coming, Again... - after more than a year, of course we had doubts.
iTunes capable Motorola E790 gets FCC Approval
Link to FCC filing (iTunes is mentioned on page 22 of this manual)
Motorola E790 - iTunes phone gets FCC approval! - includes sections of the manual draft with phone mock-ups that look a lot like a standard Motorola 4-way idle screen menu and their standard list menus.
Motorola’s E790 iTunes phone scores FCC approval
iTunes phone won't be at V Fest
No iTunes Phone Announcement this Weekend
USA Today: Motorola E790 iTunes phone this month - yawn.

July 2005:

iTunes phone expected at Virgin-sponsored event in UK - maybe.
No ringing endorsement for iTunes phone
Oh, Motorola, How You Tease
Moto Drops The Ball Again
Motorola ROKR and Reddish RAZR
Say hello to ROKR
No iTunes Phone... Yet - 66 days to go, it seems.
Live from Motonow: The iTunes phone?
Still No Motorola ROKR or iTunes Phone
iTunes phone not at MOTONOW
New iTunes Phone Revealed? - a great spoof.
iTunes Phone Surfaces -- For Real, Supposedly
iTunes Phone expected Monday
iTunes phone expected Monday, report
Motorola plans media event, Jobs likely to attend
Apple and Motorola unveiling the ROKR E1, aka the first iTunes phone, on July 25th?
The iPhone Saga Continues
The Apple iPhone and MVNO: Some Thoughts
Motorola 'to debut' iTunes phone at UK's V Festival
iSync 2.1 Update (for iTunes phones?)
Leaked Moto e790 iTunes phone firmware flashes to e398?
Motorola to intro iTunes phone in August? - yet another attempt at drumming up interest.
The Rumor That Won't Die: Apple In the Phone Business
Apple to Become Wireless Provider?
Everybody In The Pool - Oh, the stupidity (rumors of Apple as an MVNO).
So, no press event, no iPhone
Motorola Phones Already Support iTunes (?)
Say hello to the Motorola E790 Apple iTunes phone - wow, 128MB storage. Neither a good phone nor a decent MP3 player.
Motorola iTunes Phone First Look Again Perhaps (Maybe) - a suitable title.
More Motorola ROKR Pics?

June 2005:

May 2005:

Motorola iTunes Phone Debuts - but only a select few have even seen it at this point
Motorola iPhone Demoed at the D
Moto CEO shows off the iTunes phone
Motorola dispels negative iTunes phone rumors - but it still isn't out.
Motorola CEO says the carriers have no beef with the iTunes phone
Motorola Confirms iTunes Mobile Software Launch for July - complete with mock-up screenshots.

April 2005:

March 2005:

February 2005:

January 2005:

Updated: Motorola previews iTunes phone - apparently the pic below isn't what it's supposed to look like.
Apple: More on the iTunes Cell Phone
This is not the iPhone - Russell echoes my feelings, barely avoiding the term "fugly".
Pic of Motorola's iTunes phone - it still looks too much like a Motorola UI. Actually, it looks like someone tacked an iPod-like interface on top, which makes me wonder if the "iPod" bit isn't just a custom music player app (which would mean the usual fugly Motorola stuff is still there).