Well, count CNBC among the legions of media who have begun hyping the iPhone2 before the first iPhone is even officially ANNOUNCED. In the above breathless report from the financial news channel, the company announces that the first Apple iPhone will be a simple iPod/cell phone mash-up, with the second one being the revolutionary smart phone everyone wants.
Here's the thing about this: Of course Apple is working on a second iPhone, provided a first iPhone exists. I also understand that they're working on new iPods, new software, new Macs and MacBooks. They might even, though this is probably a stretch, currently be adding songs, TV shows and movies to the iTunes store.
What is not true is that this rumor actually reveals anything about what Apple will announce in January about the iPhone – if they announce it at all! Every good company understands that you need to begin development of successors before you even bring a product to market. This is not news.
Here's what you can be sure of – Apple will neither announce nor release a follow-on, more fully featured iPhone that gets it right until at least a year after the supposed disappointing version. More likely, there won't be a disappointing first version, at least not as it's described, or they might as well just announce a new Motorola ROKR. This is actually most similar to all of our continued hopes about the true video iPod. Apple coudl bring out an iPod+phone first, much like they started with an iPod+video. The grounds-up iPhone would come later.
But Apple also doesn't have any obligation to bring out the iPhone in January. They're much more likely to wait until they have the right product with the right innovations. We're not talking about Osbourne computers here. Apple's not dumb enough to cannibalize such a critical product launch. They're just not.
Oh, and check out the part where the report says he's heard Apple might be working on the third, fourth, and fifth generation iPhones. Of course they are! It's called research and development! You need to work years in advance to bring out competitive products in a timely fashion. If you like whatever Apple rolls out in January as an iPhone, buy it. The world's best phone won't miraculously fall out of Cupertino a month later.
