Those of you who followed the iPhone closely in the months and weeks leading up to its release remember the ever powerful rumor mill that constantly churned out iPhone gossip. As we're all learning, and to little surprise, even the release of the iPhone can't stop iPhone release speculation. Here we are, only about 3 weeks into the iPhone era, and we're already muddling through rumors about the next iPhone. We've written about this a bit in the past, but mostly opted not to. This time there are some real details behind the latest speculation, information worth making note of.

Engadet, today, featured some tidbits about a DigiTimes article which cited a recent report in the Chinese-language Commercial Times newspaper which indicates that Taiwan-based Wintek has gained touch screen panel orders from Apple for its second-generation iPhone. According to DigiTimes,

The report claims that the new iPhone from Apple will begin shipping in September with prices ranging from US$249-299. The paper added that Apple recently visited Wintek to deliver instructions on manufacturing and the company has begun test production in small volumes.

DigiTimes also reported last week that WinTek had won a contract to produce Apple's first touch screen iPod, it's new iPod video. These are rumored to begin shipping in the second half of 2007.

As always, there's a good deal of ambiguity. Other Chinese-language media sources previously reported Quanta Computer to be the manufacturer for the next incarnation of the iPhone. JP Morgan, who reported on the upcoming release of the second iPhone in the form of an iPhone nano, has repealed its predictions and now states specifically that they do not expect a second generation iPhone until a 3G iPhone arrives.

Circulated by Iphone News

Labels: iPhone