Apple Keeps Secrets

Looking back there were many rumors of an Apple phone product before Steve's Macworld keynote. Most articles published a guaranteed maybe that a phone was in the works. When Steve stood on stage presenting the three revolutionary products many in attendance had a shocked look on their face (followed by screams and tears of joy) when they saw the "Revolutionary mobile phone" slide.

It is very likely that an Apple employee who was not working on the iPhone heard a rumor and shared it with someone outside of Apple. This individual could not have known too much about the iPhone (or they did not share all the details), because most of the artist renditions floating around the internet included a bunch of levers, switches, buttons, and dials -- obviously not keeping in mind Jonathan Ive's/Apple's minimalist approach to design.

I am going to bust a myth here, so those of you who hate spoilers turn away now... Rumors aren't born in hospitals as many have long suspected and rumors would lead you to believe. They come from one or more sources including (in the case of Apple and the iPhone):

1. Rumor sites trying to drive traffic to their site.
2. Blog sites that don't typically spread rumors, but can't stand the thought of being viewed as not knowing what is going on.
3. The Apple marketing department might start the buzz in an effort to get people talking about Apple and the possibility of a revolutionary new product.
4. People who are sick of restarting their Windows Mobile phones, and think that a rumor that picks up enough support will convince some company to create a better phone/OS.
5. Apple employees who are unhappy at work.
6. Apple employees who let a little too much information slip out.
7. Did I mention rumor sites?

What do you think? Did Apple intensionally leak the idea of the iPhone to prepare people for what was coming in the near future?