Or maybe he just didn't realize the impact of his statement on sales, or how much Steve Jobs hates it when someone steals his thunder by announcing an Apple product ahead of him.

Cringely is a wannabe hi-tech paparazzi who doesn't own a camera or a motorcycle so the only way he can sensationalize is to just dream stuff up.

Steve Jobs said there would be a 3G iPhone when he spoke at the London Apple retail store opening a couple months back.

No one who follows Apple would be expecting them not to intro a 3G iphone in 2008. It's not a message from AT&T. It's not news. It's just Cringely stirring the pot.

"...says tech columnist Robert Cringely..." -- usually, you can safely stop reading right around that part, as anything coming from Cringely is pure pie in the sky.

Oh, right Stephenson would *deliberate* cause his own business to lose a billion dollars in revenue, just to send a message to Apple? Right!

I have a pretty simple saying in situations like these "Never assume malice (or planning, or a conspiracy) when incompetence is a much better explanation".

Stephenson's, simply, a moron. There, sorted.

Apple and Google together is a dream we could all hope for, but it is unlikely. Jobs has never been able to work with anyone, at least not for long. Is it likely that AT&T would sacrifice a billion just to spite Jobs? What a ridiculous idea. Of course not. At the worst, it was a goof; more likely no one has figured out what is going on. It well could be that iPhone sales aren't being sacrificed because they aren't nearly what were expected. AT&T may instead be drumming up future demand by deterring people from moving to the Touch or other less authoritarian (and faster) alternatives.

davesmall. This wasn't even remotely surprising. I would actually have been surprised shitless if Apple/AT&T DIDN'T release a 3G iPhone in 2008.

And if you're the type that will refrain from buying an iPhone for up to a full year (till the end of calendar 2008) to get 3G, then you're probably the type that won't buy an iPhone anyway.

Watch Apple break the AT&T contract because of a "premature announcement" clause in the contract.

Jobs gets pissed when anyone steals his thunder.

Although everyone KNOWS a 3G iPhone is coming, no one really knows WHEN. Apple will likely deny the AT&T announcement or do nothing.

It would be a supreme act of stupidity for a CEO in today's legal climate for business to use his pulpet for a purpose as Cringely sugests. They would be committing a breach of their fiduciary duty to intentionally hurt their own company to hurt another. Although, when one looks at past decisions from ATT management one would have to wonder.

Depending upon the offers that have been made to AT&T by other current (and future) mobile phone vendors, and whatever exit clauses may be in the Apple+AT&T agreement, there exists the possiblity that this was done to poison the pot. You're not losing a billion if you've got something else waiting in the wings to replace the iPhone... and someone paying dearly to get it there and offering you a much better profit margin.

And whether or not Apple plans for a 3G phone in 2008 is irrelevant in terms of the "value" of Stephenson's statements... you'd never tell people that the next big thing is coming soon when you still have the current version sitting on your shelves - particularly at this time of year - unless you were up to something, or completely mad.

That being said, it seems far more likely that zinkdifferent is correct in stating that we should never overlook the likelihood of temporary incompetence/insanity :)

And with all of the other doubts stated.. let me add one more. Patience.

Did all of those people stand in line cause they had to have a cell phone the day the iPhone went on sale? h*** no. They wanted to be the first. So if those people weren't even willing to wait a day for the iPhone, why would most people wait for Sometime/2008?

They wont. If they want a iPhone, they will buy one. If it's on the Xmas list, they will get one. The majority of people will not postpone a purchase on a rumor. Unless there is strong evidence to the rumor. ie: not some statement by a company who doesn't even make the iPhone.

What moron (besides Cringely himself) hasn't known from the beginning that the iPhone would certainly be replaced with a "new, improved" iPhone next year? Is it even conceivable that this wouldn't happen? What an idiot!