[Edward Kirk]

As some of you may know, Digg founder Kevin Rose has a history of spreading iPhone rumors, like when he said a couple of months ago that the next iPhone would have a front camera for video chatting, or when he "confirmed" back in March that Apple would release a 3G iPhone some time in June. Now he's back with more rumors, this time dealing with a slightly more specific launch time and a possible price variation.

Kevin posted this video on Seesmic, where he says that he has heard word that the new iPhones will be launching some time next week. He also claims to have information that a low-end iPhone will be added to the lineup that sells for US$200.

Keep in mind, we have no idea how accurate any of this might be. His claims that the next iPhone would have 3G and would launch in June are probably not far off, but the video chat camera he spoke of remains to be proven (although the rumor hasn't been dispelled, either). We have no clue where he's getting this information from, so it could all just be a rumor, not to mention he warns that he does hold shares of AAPL stock, so he's not completely unbiased.

[Bernie]

You can't buy an iPod touch for that kind of money. What would it be a Shuffle Phone? Just do not see it happening. But I guess saying things like that brings lots of traffic to his site.

[Spoon]

Kevin Rose is a feeeeg! But ohso entertaining

Originally Posted by Bernie

You can't buy an iPod touch for that kind of money. What would it be a Shuffle Phone? Just do not see it happening. But I guess saying things like that brings lots of traffic to his site.

Why not? Every smartphone is subsidized. My BlackBerry is $349 without contract, and can be purchased for $149 with a new contract. The AT&T Tile is $549 without, but can be purchased for a lot less. The remainder of the cost is subsidized by the contract you sign. That is why they make you pay a large amount to cancel contract ... to get back the lost money because they didnt get it all when you go the phone at an extremely cheap price.

Originally Posted by numetheus

Why not? Every smartphone is subsidized. My BlackBerry is $349 without contract, and can be purchased for $149 with a new contract. The AT&T Tile is $549 without, but can be purchased for a lot less. The remainder of the cost is subsidized by the contract you sign. That is why they make you pay a large amount to cancel contract ... to get back the lost money because they didnt get it all when you go the phone at an extremely cheap price.

go to radioshack and you could of got that blackberry for 50 bucks out the door or even cheaper

"not to mention he warns that he does hold shares of AAPL stock, so he's not completely unbiased. "

fyi. . .Rose's utterance of that phrase is a misguided attempt at compliance with regulation that is directed at securities brokers, *not journalists.* it's called regulation FD (wikipedia it), since it was passed approx 8 years ago you occasionally will see journalists (at least the ones that fancy themselves stock pickers) do a cutesy imitation of reg FD disclosure. in practice though, journalists (unless they are financial journalists) saying things like sound as genuine and intelligent as a phil hartman doing troy mcclure intros from the simpsons.

IMHO it's a little bit contrived to think that adding that into his vlog is important information.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulation_Fair_Disclosure