Apple will release two mobile phone models in the first quarter of 2007, according to Prudential Equity Group analyst Jesse Tortora.
Both will have iTunes support for music playback, while one will also have video capabilities, Tortora said in a note to investors.
‘We have learned that one model will be a smart phone, including integrated keyboard, video and music capability, while the other model will be a slimmer phone with music capability,’ he wrote. ‘At least one of the models will include WiFi.’

He added that his sources indicate that initially Apple will produce limited quantities of the phones to test the market.

‘Although these phones represent significant upside earnings potential for the company, there are some concerns regarding market acceptance and battery life, given the number of functions included in the phones,’ Tortora said.

AppleInsider has discovered that last month Apple filed for a trademark on the term iPhone.

Although the company has tried to maintain its traditional veil of secrecy regarding new products, it has occasionally let slip that a phone is very much in its thoughts. In May chief financial officer Peter Oppenheimer said that he was ‘very confident’ that Apple could compete in the highly competitive phone market, while it is said that CEO Steve Jobs has been to known to let his excitement get the better of his usual discretion.

Tortora is the second analyst to claim to have definite information that an iPhone is imminent. Last month American Technology Research’s Analyst Shaw Wu said that Apple had produced a prototype ahead of the release of a commercial version possibly in the first half 2007. Wu later said that speculation about Apple’s phone plans may have resulted in the over-valuation of its stock.

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Filed under: Apple - @ October 18, 2006 12:52 am