iPhone June 9 launch confirmed?

Tue, 05/20/2008 - 6:24am — Jonny Evans

Apple will introduce the iPhone at WWDC on June 9, the latest report claims.

Meanwhile, Apple’s set to work with Korea Telecom and NTT DoCoMo to launch the device in Japan, South Korea, India, Indonesia and China; and Apple’s existing iPhone partners in the UK, France and Germany seem set to keep their exclusive status, even while the company makes deals with multiple carriers in other territories.

June 9 launch

Straight to the big deal, though, with Gizmodo this morning citing the usual shadowy “sources” to definitively claim the next generation 3G iPhone will be announced during the WWDC keynote - and will be available worldwide directly after launch, staggered across June/July (we suspect).

“In Spain, for example, the 3G iPhone will be available for sale at the June 18 grand opening of Telefonica's megastore in Madrid,” the report explains.

Even better, “the 3G iPhone will no longer be available at a fixed price point—at least in some countries,” the Gizmodo gasps.

Apple and Asia

CNN Money reveals the Telecoms Korea news service claimed late last week that Apple plans a special joint release of the next-generation device with two carriers whose names are synonymous with 3G: Japan’s NTT DoCoMo and Korea Telecom Freetel. That covers Japan and Korea, with the latter firm also offering mobile phone services in China, though not necessarily the iPhone.

T-Mobile keeps Germany

Finally, T-Mobile Chief Executive Hamid Akhavan said today that the carrier will stay the only one in Germany to offer the next-generation 3G iPhone according to Reuters. "If and when there is a 3G iPhone we expect to have it exclusively in Germany as well," he said.

( Filed Under:

iPhone - iPod

)

Comments

nope

Tue, 05/20/2008 - 6:43am — 9to5Mac Noob (not verified)

i told you guys announced june 2, available later in the month, don't believe me that's fine.

You may be right, but we'd

Tue, 05/20/2008 - 6:52am — Jonny Evans

You may be right, but we'd probably need to know you just a little bit better, you know? Like who you are...

oh s***! Its coming to

Tue, 05/20/2008 - 6:59am — 9to5Mac Noob (not verified)

oh s***! Its coming to INDONESIA!! SWEET!!! but, im not sure NTT DoCoMo or Korea Telecom has services here, but maybe there is a subsidiary Indonesian telecom company that these guys own? Is there?

It is? I haven't heard that

Tue, 05/20/2008 - 9:48am — 9to5Mac Noob (not verified)

It is? I haven't heard that anywhere. I know it's coming to SingTel Mobile, but I haven't heard anything about it entering the Indonesian market.

honestly.

Tue, 05/20/2008 - 7:03am — matty blue (not verified)

can we PLEASE stop using the word "confirmed" on these stories? "confirmed" means someone from the actual source (in this case, apple) has actually, you know, CONFIRMED it. they haven't, and they won't. if you want to report this rumor crapola, fine, but please stop saying that it's "confirmed."

Note appropriate use of

Tue, 05/20/2008 - 7:18am — Jonny Evans

Note appropriate use of the question mark after the word "confirmed".

Cheers

that's exactly my point.

Tue, 05/20/2008 - 7:48am — matty blue (not verified)

either something is confirmed, or it isn't. a more correct headline would read "sources claim iphone intro at wwdc june 9," or something to that effect.

look, i know it's a small, silly pet peeve of mine, it doesn't detract from my enjoyment of your site, and you are DEFINITELY not the only one doing it. gizmodo's story uses the same word, but cites "sources very, very close to the launch." that, my friends, is NOT a confirmed source, at least it wasn't in the journalism class i took in school.

one needs only look at the recent hubbub over the new england patriots videotaping controversy. a local writer insisted that tapes existed, based on "confirmed" info from insiders. well, the tapes didn't exist, he has had to go on record with a mea culpa, and his reputation as a legitimate journalist is shot.

fair warning.

matty blue, I completely

Tue, 05/20/2008 - 9:47am — 9to5Mac Noob (not verified)

matty blue,

I completely agree. The question mark in the title relates (or at least should relate) to whether the information/rumor is actually true. In this case, that would mean that an insider at Apple actually did tell someone that the 3G iPhone would be announced on June 9th. This is not a confirmation.

A "confirmation" is inherently an official announcement/press release/statement from a representative of the company ACTING IN HIS CAPACITY as a representative. So, even if this rumor is true, it's still not "confirmed" because no official statement from Apple has been released. The fact that the alleged source of the rumor is an actual Apple employee doesn't change the situation because he's not acting in his official capacity by providing this information because he (or she) no doubt does not have authority to "confirm" anything about Apple's plans.

As much as I'm sure some people reading this think we're just splitting hairs, we're really not. Companies and governments put a lot of weight behind official statements. And from a true journalistic standpoint, the word "confirm" can only extend from an "official" statement. When I see the word "confirmed," I know that it means the information is official and indisputable - which is the exact opposite of what a rumor is.

The subject matter of this article is no different than any of the other dozens of 3G iPhone rumors. Using the word "confirmed" with it only dilutes the meaning of the word "confirmed." The only way "confirmed?" is appropriate for this article is if there is a suggestion that Apple has officially stated that the 3G iPhone will be announced on June 9th but 9 to 5 Mac simply hasn't been able to verify it by getting the press release or attending the event where the information reportedly comes from. I've seen this situation happen before.

These seemingly little things do make a difference for the readers.

I agree, what happened to

Tue, 05/20/2008 - 7:52am — 9to5Mac Noob (not verified)

I agree, what happened to the days when 9to5 knew everything?

you have to be kidding me?

Tue, 05/20/2008 - 7:55am — H (not verified)

you have to be kidding me? 9to5 apparently have very good sources when it comes to the iPod division (remember the nano? remember how everyone ate hats for dinner?). The iPhone however, is guarded like a small child in a park of paedophiles. No website has had any confirmation of any sort since the iPhones inception a year ago, look at every topic posted on the sites, they all end in '?'. I doubt we'll ever get advance information on new iPhones besides from Apple or case manufacturers.

Yes, using the word confirmed is moronic in rumor threads, but saying that macrumors has the inside scoop, when their frontpage has the same story, is even moreso.I just hope I missed the sarcasm tag on your remark.

you have to be kidding me

Tue, 05/20/2008 - 8:55am — 9to5Mac Noob (not verified)

Sorry H, All they do is quote Gizmodo and Engadget, they lost their "deep throat", Nano was the last one....how long ago was that? I think living in the EU and having a real job has caused the lack of parking garage meetings for the main dude. Sorry, move along, nothing to see here! RIP

EDIT: Dear Fanboy,

HAHAHA! We've called every major Apple product announcement since we've started a year ago. "MacBook Air"? (Slim MacBooks?), Aluminum iMacs?, iPhone spy shots, price drops? Of course Fat Nanos and iPod Touch. So much so that the industry complains about Apple losing its ability to keep secrets.

All of this despite Apple threatening to sue us and ruin our careers and break us personally. Then going in and interrogating every Apple employee who has any ties to us personally or professionally.

The reality is that:

1. We never claimed to be a "rumors" site? Yes, we have some inside sources, but that isn't who we are.

2. The "real" rumors sites are 98% Aggregating stuff from other places (like us)

3. Apple doesn't release that many products a year. If we dedicated everything to our source's information, we'd post about once a month. Not very interesting is it?

So go upstairs, I think your mom is calling your 38 year old Apple one-piece wearing, backside to dinner

I can't think of any website

Tue, 05/20/2008 - 9:21am — H (not verified)

I can't think of any website that's had a scoop on anything since the nano leak that they've been able to say with confidence. All the rumor sites do is quote each other, and the original site normally gets their information from analysts from what I can see. The only site I can think of that has had really big, earth shattering, concrete breaking news in the past year, has ben 9to5 with the nano. Not predict processor upgrades and the like.

The last site I can remember (note: that I can remember) that had breaking news like the nano, was thinksecret with the leak of the 3rd Gen iPod design. Back then, people said the same thing they said about the new nano, that Apple would never do something so stupid...look how that turned out, it was only the iPod that made iPods mainstream.

These sites rarely have actual news worthy stories is my point, that's not to say I don't check them religiously around big events though!

You may be right. Ever since

Tue, 05/20/2008 - 10:29am — 9to5Mac Noob (not verified)

You may be right. Ever since Jobs went after the Think Secret and "killed" his site with money I think all this is over as well. Sad, it was so much fun while it lasted.
Just like at Apple, Inc., Steve has everyone looking at each other as if they are a spy and no one knows where they stand...could get "Steved" at any moment for anything. You can';t talk to co-workers, you can't write anything down, you are searched in and out and he runs all the phone calls through a computer searching for key words ( the server is in a vault in Steve's suite!. Sounds like the fucking NSA , CIA, Joint Chiefs of Staff and what ever NORAD has become since closing the mountain. ( I hear they moved it to Cheney's C130 equipped with 40 ft trailer!!!!!) if you ask me.

So now Steve controls the Blogosphere with all his disinformation. Perhaps we will be surprised this year by someone.....I hope so. I want my tiny black laptop that used hand gestures just like WOZ!

Holy dressing down!!! Don't

Wed, 05/21/2008 - 2:09am — 9to5Mac Noob (not verified)

Holy dressing down!!! Don't worry about the haterz (obviously these are your competitors trolling your site). The people who have been with you guys know that 9to5mac brings the goods before anyone else and no amount of trolling will change that.

Where the .... is Scandinavia???

Tue, 05/20/2008 - 7:41am — 9to5Mac Noob (not verified)

I am getting tired of this! Sweden! Norway! Denmark! Iceland! Finland! Get it here! :(

Scandinavia != Nordic countries

Tue, 05/20/2008 - 7:58am — Jesper (not verified)

I feel with you, we really need an announcement for the Nordic countries soon!, but just to be pedantic; Scandinavia only includes Denmark, Norway and Sweden!

9to5 is the last source for

Tue, 05/20/2008 - 8:19am — 9to5Mac Noob (not verified)

9to5 is the last source for apple rumors

Netherlands

Tue, 05/20/2008 - 10:41am — mniessen (not verified)

I'm joining the Scandinavians in their desperation: not a whisper of the official iPhone in Holland! Anybody heard or know anything?

Couldn't agree more with

Tue, 05/20/2008 - 1:16pm — 9to5Mac Noob (not verified)

Couldn't agree more with previous posters- this blog has not published anything of substance since leaking pictures of the iPod nano. Instead, it seems like the site relies on gimmicks and irrelevant stories. Call me when you start publishing original rumors again.