Apple Ready To Produce iPhone Cell/Music Hybrid?

A cell phone that stores and plays music is the great dream of techies everywhere and the device that may create the final tipping point towards mass market acceptance of music as a download rather than physical purchase.

Several cell phones particularly from Motorola have been touted as the next big thing ,but thus far none has lived up to the hype by combining ease of use as well as sufficient storage and fidelity in a small affordable package. That may be about to change if Apple enters the market with a much rumored iPod phone.  Pacific Rim tech blog Smarthouse and others are reporting that Apple has been actively shopping Taiwanese manufactures (some say even chosen one) to produce a device dubbed the iPhone. 

According to Smarthouse, Bill Shope of J.P Morgan believes Apple will introduce the phone by the fourth quarter.  Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster told clients last week that he estimates there to be a 75% chance that we’ll seen an iPhone in the next 12 months.