Apple Iphone hints hot up

FOLLOWING OUR REPORTS on the iTunes/iPod phone from Apple several weeks ago, further hints of the device's availability come from a job posting at Apple's Cupertino headquarters which was spotted by Mac gossip site Mac Rumors.

The job spec details a role for an 'iTunes Mobile Marketing Manager' who would be responsible for worldwide mobile marketing programs for iTunes content and feature campaigns. The spec goes on to detail various aspects of the marketing role, the most interesting being:

• Collaborate with iTunes Engineering to build program components as the foundation of the mobile marketing strategy.
• Strong knowledge of the mobile marketing ecosystem and infrastructure, from carriers to aggregators to agencies to customers.
• Excellent contacts at US and International carriers, especially in the marketing disciplines.
• Reach out to content providers to forge strong relationships and expose opportunities for mobile exclusives.

All of these points feature mobile telephony related statements, and although Apple has previously dipped into the mobile phone market with select Motorola/Cingular products, the statement of intent is clear - international carriers are to be targeted in a world-wide launch. This is almost definitely related to a major Apple product launch, as opposed to the continuing marketing of existing product.

The job clearly hasn't been filled yet, so it's interesting to speculate when the phone will eventually roll out into the market. Considering someone would need time to settle, develop a team, and then go about the devising and actual marketing of the product, it seems the device may not make it out for some time to come, and in fact a lot later than anyone has previously suggested.

Christmas 2007 anybody? µ

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