Sources: Apple phone on track for early '07

By Ryan Katz, Senior Editor
September 15, 2006 - Apple is working at a feverish pace to finish up its initial foray into the cellular phone market, but reliable sources report the new device will not be announced until Macworld Expo San Francisco in January 2007.
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Those same sources disclosed to Think Secret in March 2006 that Apple would not be releasing a phone this year, despite numerous published reports suggesting otherwise.

At the time, Apple was said to be encountering "significant technological hurdles" in its attempts to essentially re-invent the cell phone with an innovative ground-up design. Since then, Apple has scaled back its ambitions and has opted to go with several off-the-shelf parts for what will be the first of at least two or three different phones that sources say Apple hopes to deliver in 2007.

Nonetheless, Apple is counting its first phone will stir the U.S. market and enjoy the same buzz that Motorola's RAZR and LG's Chocolate phone have. To that end, Apple will pack several high-end features into its phone, including a 3-megapixel camera, 2.2-inch display, and complete iTunes/iPod features and integration, sources with direct connections to the company's plans report.

Unlike Motorola's iTunes phones, Apple's phone will not feature a 100 song limit. Instead, the number of music and photos that can be packed into the phone will only be limited by its storage capacity, although at present sources have been unable to confirm what that will be.

At present, sources are confident that the first Apple phone is scheduled for announcement at Macworld Expo in January. However, product release dates are often subject to change in response to changing business conditions or revised company plans.