Here are your Apple rumors and news items for Monday:
T-Mobile iPhone: There’s been little doubt that, Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) famous smartphone would be available on T-Mobile’s network when it is absorbed by AT&T (NYSE:T) in early 2012. Based recent images appearing on the BGR site, it may even be sooner. Images of a prototype white iPhone shows Apple’s mobile software running on T-Mobile’s 3G network. The phone’s lock screen has a security message that reads “Confidential and Proprietary” and includes a phone number to call if the device is found by a third party. With rumors that Apple plans on greatly expanding the iPhone line this fall by introducing a lower-priced “iPhone Nano” model as well as a possible 4G iPhone, it wouldn’t be surprising if Apple also tried to use another carrier to extend the 3G iPhone’s lifespan.
White iPhone: Not quite a year later than expected, Apple will finally release a white model of its iPhone. AppleInsider reported on Sunday that both AT&T and Verizon (NYSE:VZ) subscribers will be able to buy the white iPhone “within the next week.” While manufacturing problems reportedly held up the release, it appears that further delays into 2011 are part of Apple’s larger strategy to reorganize its product release schedule. Apple has released just a single iPhone model in past calendar years, typically in the third quarter. With the February release of the Verizon iPhone, an April release of the white iPhone, and a rumored September release for the iPhone 5, it appears that Apple is testing new ways to keep new release hype at a fever pitch through the full year rather than during a single quarter.
Rinse Your iTunes: If you can’t beat them, join them. RealNetworks (NASDAQ:RNWK), one of the original digital music and media businesses, has settled on a novel way to stay relevant. While the company’s Rhapsody music subscription-service is already an alternative to iTunes, the company has released new software called Rinse that acts as an organizational tool for iTunes rather than a competing music player and archive tool. The $39 program will search a user’s iTunes library while eliminating duplicate files, renaming mislabeled files, and acquiring missing artwork. As Peter Kafka noted Monday, Rinse may not have any special utility yet, but as Apple rolls out its Cloud-based iTunes service, a tool that monitors precisely what is saved on your personal hard drive will increase in value.
As of this writing, Anthony John Agnello did not own a position in any of the stocks named here. Follow him on Twitter at @ajohnagnello and become a fan of InvestorPlace on Facebook.