Apple asks FCC for iPhone confidentiality until June 15th

Who's going to crack first? Sure, the FCC is going to be sitting on the External Photos, Internal Setup, Test Setup Photos and a User Manual, all of which Apple has specifically asked it to keep confidential (not to mention all that proprietary stuff Apple doesn't want the FCC to reveal ever), making a teensy slip-up here or there all the more tantalizing, but Apple's going to be sitting on millions of dollars worth of sales, not to mention quite a few Chinese rip-off experts and LG's own Prada look-alike, so that June 15th date could prove plenty tempting for the both of them to shatter. Supposedly Cingular sent out an email today confirming June as the month, but we don't have a copy on hand, and sometimes we wonder how much more info Cingular has than we do. Still, a pre-June launch sounds pretty unlikely, and with that June 15th date floating around, a 15th or 16th launch seems like a reasonable conjecture.

[Thanks, Steve C and Phil]

[Derek @ Feb 8th 2007 4:25PM]

I think Apple is just teasing everyone, the iphone will be out before we even know it!

[Ben @ Feb 6th 2007 11:32PM]

They misspelled 'ensuring'

[Phil @ Feb 6th 2007 11:37PM]

Email Copy
http://fliphosted.com/cingular

[Chris @ Feb 6th 2007 11:43PM]

is there much of a precedent for the FCC keeping this stuff under wraps? is it common for them to honor these kinds of requests and is there a "keep under wraps" fee involved, like the expedited processing you can get for passports and such?

[John @ Feb 6th 2007 11:43PM]

Yes, the e-mail does confirm June as the release month. No, it does not provide an exact date. It also touts the "Visual voicemail" feature, as well as Quad-band GSM... still no 3G, but we've all heard the rumors. Other than that, it is simply the same pictures we've all seen, nothing more.

[Brian @ Feb 6th 2007 11:46PM]

It says Apple Computer at the bottom. I wonder how long ago it was sent.

[Alex Padilla @ Feb 6th 2007 11:50PM]

you know, that's a good point. It's now Apple Inc, not Apple Computer. Very interesting stuff, good find, Brian.

[dan @ Feb 7th 2007 12:36AM]

it says october 12......

[Phil @ Feb 6th 2007 11:55PM]

It was sent today at 9:26PM (EST) On 02/06/2007 Besides me blocking my email it has not been altered.

[John Doe @ Feb 7th 2007 12:03AM]

Cingular only makes the iPhone dead to me. I wouldn't use their service even if you gave...scratch that even if you paid me $25 buck a month to use it. World's shittiest cellular service in customer service, accuracy (lies?) of its coverage maps, service bumps that just happen, etc, etc, etc.

Now iPhone on T-Mobile....lets talk.

[Dragod @ Feb 7th 2007 12:16AM]

Soon, Apple will take over the middle East... They will take over Iraq and Iran and they will become iRaq and iRan and everyone will live in iHouses with iCars and iFamilies. the iHouse will run off of an iMac and everyone will have iPods and iPhones.. it will all be one iHell...

iRan will be a glossy white, while iRaq will be glossy black. The iRanians won't like the iRaqi's because they think they are better than them.

But when all hope will seemed to be lost, Good ol' Zunezibar will try to save them all, offering more options and better layout. But, the good people of iRaq and iRan won't be able to get away from the dictatorship that is Apple...

[DM @ Feb 7th 2007 2:02AM]

iRaq and iRan. Wow, you are so clever(sarcasm), wonder how long it took you to come up with that.

[Jean-Michel Decombe @ Feb 7th 2007 12:42AM]

Here's the contents of the Cingular email...

---
Thank you for registering at Cingular.com

You will be among the first to receive updates, exclusive offers, and availability of the new iPhone for purchase online.

Available in June, the iPhone features:
Visual voicemail, an industry first, lets you access
messages individually
3.5-inch multi-touch display allows you to control iPod
and phone functions using only your fingers
Quad-band GSM and supports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.0

Stay tuned–more exciting details to follow in the coming months!
---

Woah, Cingular, you can control the phone "using only your fingers"? That is a first, no doubt! Enough of all these phones who requires you to use your stinky toes!

[guidedbyvoip @ Feb 7th 2007 12:46AM]

8 Infinite Loop would be so much appropriate. In my own sad, little world.

[Jeff Bridges @ Feb 7th 2007 2:58AM]

That letter looks very similar to the one on the FCC site at https://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/oet/forms/blobs/retrieve.cgi?attachment_id=745415&native_or_pdf=pdf that was submitted for what could be some of the new 802.11n gear. It looks to me like the month has just been changed from January to June.

The EXIF data for the image (AppleFCC_original.jpg) lists Photoshop CS3 as the creation software...

[farukates @ Feb 7th 2007 3:47AM]

June 15 is the last day of the WWDC Conference in San Francisco. Pretty obvious connection, I'd say…

[nabicht @ Feb 7th 2007 8:07AM]

I was thinking this as well. If this is an actual apple letter I'm wondering if the release is scheduled to coincide with an Apple announcement at the WWDC that involves development for the iPhone.

I know they have denied this possibility to a certain extent but Apple often releases features in stages. It is a great way for them to recapture buzz.

[PEZ @ Feb 7th 2007 6:34AM]

YEah big deal, all companies do this. This morning I got an email from Cingular because I signed up for ingo on the iPhone. They told me wait until June 15th.

WOW, breaking story :-P

[SubGenius @ Feb 7th 2007 9:59AM]

Yes, we will see the final version of the iPhone at the WWDC keynote.
It will then go on sale June 15th, the last day of the WWDC.

At the WWDC, Apple will elaborate on their plans to open up development for the iPhone.
Only Apple approved applications will be compiled to run on the iPhone.
All iPhone software will be sold through the iTunes store.

Leopard will be be out well before the WWDC.

[Michael @ Feb 7th 2007 10:43AM]

Good catch, Jeff. Looks like someone just rasterized the same PDF you found and made a few changes. The January to June date change is sloppy. Even the paper's blemishes on the original scan are the same in the fake. In addition to identifying the file as a CS3 product, the image's metadata reveal that it was created on the afternoon of February 6, -5 hours GMT... somewhere on the east coast.

[totoro @ Feb 7th 2007 1:16PM]

The FCC provides confidentiality to any company that requests it and pays an additional fee ($155, at last check). Without this fee, all documentation appears on the FCC website when certification is granted.

[Harish @ Feb 7th 2007 4:37PM]

The FCC's on Oakland Mills Road? That doesn't sound right. That's more of a residential area. I should pay them a visit, that's a few miles away from me.

Mm, and June 15th's my birthday :)

[Greenline @ Feb 7th 2007 5:08PM]

I call fake