Tech Rumor of the Day: Apple
As the excitement builds for
Palm's
(PALM)
Pre debut on June 6, analysts are warning that
Apple
(AAPL) - Get Report
may forgo introducing the new iPhone next week and hold a separate ceremony next month instead.
Analysts Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster and Oppenheimer's Yair Reiner both issued notes Thursday warning investors that Apple may disappoint the fans who are expecting the new iPhone to be the centerpiece of the company's Worldwide Developers Conference, which starts Monday in San Francisco.
Munster, for one, is holding out hope for a mid-July launch of "a family of iPhones." Presumably that would include a feature-packed "pro" model and a lower-priced iPhone -- though not necessarily the
many have recently come to expect.
Even
The Wall Street Journal
's well-respected gadget guy Walt Mossberg, in his mostly
of the Palm Pre on Thursday, offered a somewhat mixed prediction for the iPhone's arrival.
Mossberg is considered to be more in-the-know that the average tech hack since he is often granted early access to devices, and sometimes he's privy to announcement dates.
At the begnning of his review of the Palm Pre, Mossberg compares the Pre to "the new iPhone to be unveiled next week." Later, he writes about the new iPhone hardware, "likely available within a month."
Close readers may see a distinction in the two mentions of the iPhone. The thinking is that Apple's development conference is a software showcase where executives -- apparently not including
-- will gush about the innovations in the iPhone 3.0 and Snow Leopard operating systems.
And while an iPhone may be used in a demonstration, Apple may hold off on a separate iPhone hardware introduction that Mossberg and Munster hint at.
If the new iPhone is a no-show next week, Apple's stock will without question be in for a shock.
But Oppenheimer's Reiner -- in classic "buy on the dips" fashion -- says any weakness in the stock would be a good buying opportunity for Apple investors.
As popular as the Apple shows have become, there's also been a bit of a buzz-kill element at the end of recent performances. Fans who'd grown accustomed to Jobs' "one more thing" surprises now leave disappointed when the show concludes with out a big new development.
Apple
after the January MacWorld show after the company stuck with a predictable script. And hopes were dashed for those expecting even a brief Steve Jobs sighting.
So it's probably prudent to brace for the possibility that the Apple show may lack both a Jobs appearance and a new iPhone.
