I had imagineered the iPhone as a web browsing iPod (“based on Nokia’s mobile contributions to Safari”) with SMS messaging features, contacts, calendar, and a camera… six months earlier. And CDMA? I recommended Apple “leave Verizon alone and partner with Cingular, TMobile, and MetroPCS using GSM technology.” The difference between my ideas and those from (Kevin) Rose, apart from mine being six months earlier, is that I presented mine as only reasonable ideas with some rationale behind them; Rose insisted he had special knowledge from reliable sources.

Rose says the Nano will get a redesign that makes it look like last year’s Flash RAM Zune; iLounge already predicted this a month ago, although Rose embellished his version with the idea that “the actual plastic on the outside will be curved,” presumably like a TV from the 80s. How nostalgic! I miss having a wildly distorted tube picture, almost as much as a scratchable plastic iPod screen. Oh the good ol’ days.

I read a ton of RSS feeds about Apple, yet the only articles that I consistently pore through are those written by Mr. Daniel Eran Dilger. He's honest. He's straightforward. He's not afraid to throw predictions out there, but they are always made with the utmost care. There was some rumor-mongering going on last week about new iPods and iTunes software that may or may not be coming in mid September. In all likelihood, there will be something new, but Dilger's take struck me as different from the rest.

First of all, he's not afraid to trash Kevin Rose for the hype-seeker that he can be on occasion. Rose's predictions? Panic inducing and rampantly speculative. Dilger actually takes the time to look at the implications of said predictions, and for the most part, shoots them down. Meticulously. He talks about logical stuff. If Apple is going all flash with their iPod line-up, why not improve sound quality and reduce memory footprint with a new codec? That's the kind of thinking I like to agree with, and it seems more in line with the Apple I know and love.

Also, I love it when someone can trash his journalistic rival in such a classy way. It's the internet equivalent of wearing a perfectly tailored suit to work every day. Even if there's no dress code. Half-inch of cuff at all times, folks.