iPhone Rumor Drops Apple Stock

On Wednesday, blogging giant EngadgetMobile posted a story regarding a delay in the iPhone release that proved to be false. The rumor caused a drop in Apple stock estimated at $4 billion in six minutes.

Engadget and their sister site Engdadget Mobile are often first to report on new technology devices "out in the wild" and often the source when it comes to delivering news on technology. The news was in regards to an internal memo sent to Apple employees that provided information regarding a delay in the launch of the Apple iPhone. The memo stated that the iPhone release would slip to October and Leopard to January of 2008. Investors immediately began selling and caused a major drop in Apple stock. The internal memo was quickly retracted by Apple and they also notified Engadget that Apple was still on target for a late-June release for the iPhone. The initial email had been labeled a spoof, one that has had significant impact.

Over the past few days, many are calling for more journalistic integrity among bloggers. In no way is Everything iPhone questioning the integrity of the writers at Engadget. They simply reported pertinent information regarding the iPhone released based on a trusted source. Prior to Steve Jobs announcement in January, iPhone sites like ours have lived on rumors about a potential iPhone. Simply put, without rumors, there would not have been much to report. Going forward, all stories that are unconfirmed will now reside in a Rumors category on the site. We'll still report breaking news, but this section will provide a virtual asterisk regarding the factual nature of the content.