After weeks of speculation and rumour, we have it. A new iPhone. Sadly, the rumours ended up being more interesting than the actual announcement, and those who have avidly followed along and commented on every single rumour deemed worthy of the “publish” button have taken up the cry of “report only the facts! Credibility counts!”. These will be the same folks again eating up every rumour that the mill grinds out when June gets close and the PR machine at 1 Infinite Loop starts up again.

In the past month, I have seen countless iPhone rumours, heated speculation over an event invite, a BBM broadcast message about service resumption, and enough “Facebook is going to start charging!” posts to make me seriously thin my friends list. It goes to show that the more integral something is to your daily life, or the more you want to believe something, the more likely you are to believe something is true, even with that nagging voice telling you it isn’t. The people I saw posting that inane Facebook crap are the same people I see posting Farmville updates at 3am. Just the same are the people who will run out and pre-order what is arguably a refreshed iPhone 4, after weeks of proclaiming their love for the rumoured and revolutionary iPhone 5.

If I were to tell you that Google just bought Taco Bell, and will be offering a mail-in rebate on Android devices with 5 Gordita purchases, someone, somewhere, will believe it. Before you laugh at me for even suggesting that anyone could be so gullible, keep in mind I have seen rational people get excited over a picture of a sushi plate, and you have seen the same. All it really comes down to is excellent PR by the companies involved. Apple is such a master at it that even after all the hype, an arguable letdown is still a win. The iPhone 4S will sell, and sell well. Those who scoff at it will simply turn their eyes to June, and wait for the next one, hoarding all their pennies so they can donate them to Apple.

Other platforms are no different, so don’t think I’m necessarily bashing Apple folks here. I will freely admit that I avidly follow every BlackBerry rumour that comes down, and will happily spend hours talking shop about my favourite platform. I haven’t gotten hot and bothered over a leaked case, but RIM PR just doesn’t presently hold a candle to Apple.

The bottom line from our end is this: this site will continue to report on rumours and speculation, IF it is deemed that they have merit - but then again, so will every other tech site, newspaper, and TV news station. Readers will continue to believe or not believe, as they see fit. The difference is that here you will always be told up front if rumor is indeed that, or if one holds merit. Further, just for shits, if we’re proven wrong on a topic which we have given our acceptance on, we’ll be the first to admit it - that’s just how we roll.