“With Apple rumors getting spread around more than ever (and regular coverage from national news media), it’s important to remember that many (most?) tend to be either completely untrue or so premature they never come true. So here’s a look back at 10 of the worst offenders,” Eddie Hargreaves writes for The Apple Blog.
Hargreaves’ 10 Biggest Apple Rumors (that never came true)
1. Disney to buy Apple/Apple to buy Disney
2. Apple Plasma TVs
3. iPods pre-loaded with music
4. Apple to buy record label Universal Music Group
5. Justin Long no longer doing Mac ads
6. Apple PDA
7. Tablet Mac
8. iHome Media Center/DVR
9. $100 Striped, Mini iPods
10. Piles
Full article with descriptions and history for each of the 10 rumors above here.
What about “Home on iPod?” Oh, right, that’s coming in Leopard. 
Or how about the mythical 3GHz G5 or the G5 PowerBook?
An iPod adapter specially designed for 1974 Chrysler Imperials.
1. Disney to buy Apple/Apple to buy Disney
Disney bought Pixar and put Jobs on the board – the influence of Apple will still be there.
2. Apple Plasma TVs
Not yet but you never can tell – probably LCD not plasma
3. iPods pre-loaded with music
As pointed out above it has happened is some way with the U2 pods
6. Apple PDA
It’s pretty obvious that the iPhone is going to evolve into something even better than a PDA. It already can do a lot of basic PDA functions
7. Tablet Mac
Probably will – iPhone rumors have been around for at least 2 years and Apple were developing it for 2.5 years.
8. iHome Media Center/DVR
Can anyone say AppleTV? Not quite a DVR yet but it will probably happen at some point. The USB port can act as a conduit for signal input.
9. $100 Striped, Mini iPods
Shuffle, nanos?
10. Piles
Leopard anyone? We still don’t know the full feature set. Piles may be there in some form or other.
My point is that the rumor mill may have got a sniff of something being cooked up at Apple and that development turned into something similar in many cases.
I would like Apple to make automobile navigation/entertainment systems. The current offerings need that Apple intuition!
I really wouldn’t bet against a few of them still happening. iPhone will obviously develop way more functionality (PDA), eh Apple TV will add more aswell. If Apple TV takes off well then Tvs would be a fairly logical step for Apple (not so sure about Plasma though, I doubt they would go for them).
Whoops, I hadn’t read the posts. DogGone, your list is more complete than mine, fair play.
Steve Jobs is man behind Steve Jobs Blog
can someone expalin what piles is? I must have missed that one
The #1 all-time bogus rumor is – Apple is dying and going out of business – as told by Michael Dell and others.
I’ll take a “striped” iPod any way.
Tablet?
There is a tablet Not made directly from . It’s a converted Macbook But it is a tablet and it runs OSX. Axiotron Modbook. Go to Other World Computing It’s there.
Only ten? Heck, you can read at least two rumors a day here at MDN.
What I find encouraging is that the rumor mill is speeding up again. Whilst most rumors are usually off base, the increasing intensity suggests that new gadgets are on the way.
They forgot a biggie, at least as far as the rumor-following community is concerned.
Who can forget the infamous “Motorola G5” rumors from 2001? That was the rumor that brought down a rumor site. MacOSRumors was never the same after it had to admit, after months of “insider reports”, that the whole thing was a load of hooie.
1. Disney to buy Apple/Apple to buy Disney – Uh no. This was mindless speculation from Cramer and those other arm-chair stock idiots.
2. Apple Plasma TVs – Isn’t the 30″ monitor connected to AppleTV and a satellite just that?
3. iPods pre-loaded with music – Uh no….Anything worth putting on there won’t sell to the “Free Paris” crowd.
4. Apple to buy record label Universal Music Group – Cramer and his band of idiotas agin…
5. Justin Long no longer doing Mac ads – I am so happy with this one. It shows how MDN and other rumor sites jump the gun all the time. They had Justin on a sky rocketing career with babes, booze, and drugs all within 48 hours of this rumor.
6. Apple PDA – This is a personal “I wish” of mine. Some moron is probably gonna say that the iPhone is this….The person that says that never owned a Newton. It was really cool. And a 10 year old Newton is more PDA than the 2007 iPhone will ever be.
7. Tablet Mac – See 6
8. iHome Media Center/DVR – Huh? Apple TV and mac-mini…it’s done
9. $100 Striped, Mini iPods – Shuffle + Sharpie?
10. Piles – N/C
Just my $0.02
the iPhone IS a pda, and one day there will be a tablet mac.
11. Mac OS on generic PC’s.
12. Apple’s imminent failure (this has been rumored since at least 1980).
13. Mac clones to return.
14. Apple to buy… (insert Disney, Dell, Gateway, Compaq, IBM, Apple Records, etc).
15. Apple to fab their own processors.
16. Apple Office.
17. HyperCard X.
Harrison, go over to Youtube.com and do a search for piles, and you should get a computer related video that deals with piles.
The last time they did a list like this they had the iPhone on the list…I feel that’s the new Mac Tablet.
They will come out with a Mac tablet.
The BIGGEST rumor to never come true.
***The iPod Killer***
“The BIGGEST rumor to never come true.
***The iPod Killer***”
Not true. Come June.
@ Harrison: Here’s piles: http://www.macrumors.com/2003/04/13/panther-feature-piles/
Have to agree with DogGone and several others above
The iPhone IS the Tablet/PDA
But it’s disguised as a wide-screen video iPod, a Phone, and a breakthrough Internet Communication Device
Thank You
BC Kelly
Tallahassee Fla
Here’s an obscure one:
Mac Raycer. (google it)
It was going to be some supercharged Powermac.
or Jack Hargreaves, who presented “Out of Town” on British television. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Hargreaves
I waited for months for the G5 PowerBook to come out. I finally gave up and bought the 1GHz TiBook… and then a month later, Apple came out with the AluBook. Oh well, I’m still very happy with my TiBook.
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