A Taiwanese newspaper revealed Tuesday Apple’s plans to have Foxconn mass produce at least 12 million iPhones. Apple Computer CEO Steve Jobs is expected to formally launch the iPhone at Macworld in San Francisco this January. Whether or not these plans are true is unclear, but the news could not have come at a worse time for Apple’s rival Microsoft, whose Zune MP3 player launched the same day.
As phones today are increasingly featuring MP3 compatibility, the Apple iPhones would challenge Apple’s influence in the mobile phone industry.
Computerworld blogger David Haskin said the Apple iPhone rumors may be just a massive PR campaign so “remarkably effective… that it doesn’t even have to be true.”
I’m talking about a massively successful PR campaign done primarily by volunteers. Besides being virtually free and remarkably effective, the best part is that it doesn’t even have to be true. Apple released no information (officially), so it can just sit back, say it doesn’t comment on future products and let the hype build. – Computerworld
That’s not to say the iPhone concept is a fabrication. After news of the iPhone spreads, Haskin said, Apple can analyze feedback from fans, pundits, and industry analysts to help “fine-tune its marketing efforts.”