While Apple geeks continue to speculate at the launch date of the holy grail of mobile devices, the Jesus Phone iPhone, an AT&T employee is claiming the iPod-turned-phone will be available for pre-order starting June 11 and should “hit stores by the 26th of June.” While this ‘inside’ info should be taken with a grain of salt, as with any other rumor regarding products from the fruit company, its worth noting that Apple CEO Steve Jobs is scheduled to deliver a keynote at the Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco on—you guessed it—June 11. The last time Jobs took the stage at Moscone Center West, back in January, he dropped the iPhone bomb on the wireless industry and tech-thirsty consumers. Will he use it again on the 11th to officially herald its arrival? It appears we‘ll have to wait and see. But regardless of which day the iPhone finally launches, heed Steve’s early advice and “don’t go to an Apple store.”
UPDATE: Apple announced Sunday the iPhone will officially launch June 29… Better get your number ready to port.
I’ve been calling AT&T/Cingular stores in my area (Los Angeles), and two of the people I spoke to had interesting information to give me.
The first said, “anywhere between the June 15th and June 31st.”
And the second said with complete certainty, “June 26th” when I asked him when the iPhone is going to be on sale.
The pre-order information is hard for me to believe, especially since Steve Jobs just today mentioned that there will be lines around the block and people in sleeping bags. If it wasn’t first come, first serve, I doubt he would’ve given the general public this advice.
However, the June 26th date is intriguing.