Rumors about the Apple iPhone 5 emerge every day, but almost none of them end up trending internationally on the popular social networking website.
But at one point early Thursday the phrase "iPhone 5 $800" was the second-most-popular non-promoted trending topic worldwide, and the third-most-popular non-promoted topic in the United States on Twitter. And the hashtag #800Dollars For An iPhone at one point early Thursday became the number-one non-promoted trending topic worldwide, while "For $800" came in sixth on the worldwide non-promoted Twitter trend chart.
For all you non-Twitter users out there, a translation: the rumor became all the rage. In fact, according to the social trend tracking website Topsy.com, a total of 4,007 people mentioned the phrase "iPhone 5 $800" on Twitter between 3:00 a.m. and 4 a.m.
The surge of focus on the iPhone 5 came as scores of people responded to the rumored price tag, which was almost universally considered far too high for a mere cellphone (even if it turns out be a groundbreaking super-smartphone, as many Apple fanatics hope it will.)
And many Twitter users offered humorous remarks about the amenities that the Apple iPhone 5 should come with if the company wants people to shell out $800 for a cellphone:
"iPhone 5 $800 ??? Better be able to touch their face when we FaceTime,"tweeted user @ODonLannie_ Thursday morning.
But despite all the attention that was being lavished by social media users on the rumored $800 iPhone 5 price tag, it was unclear as of early Thursday where exactly the new rumor had sprung from, and what exactly made it so popular, while so many other Apple iPhone 5 rumors make hardly a dent on Twitter.
Only three web hits containing what appear to be deliberate references to both the Apple iPhone 5 and $800 seem to have emerged in recent days, according to a simple Thursday morning search on Google News.
The first is an article on the website gamenguide.com, which includes a purported screenshot of a listing on the Chinese auction site taobao.com that depicts a photograph of what is said to be the iPhone 5, next to a price tag of $5,088 to $6,688, which the article says is the Chinese equivalent of 800 to 1,050 United States dollars.
Though not much more explanation is offered, it is clear that the suggested implication readers are to draw is that the Apple iPhone 5 will cost between $800 to $1,050 upon its American release date. Then the article goes on to mention a taobao.com seller hoping to get people to pay $1,100 for an iPhone. But the story does go on to clarify, adding that the post is probably an elaborate scam aimed at ripping off unwitting American Apple lovers:
"Obviously, the iPhone will cost a pretty penny, but pigs will fly before it costs that much. Some sellers are even asking for a deposit, despite that they can't give a delivery time for the product," the article states. "Hopefully, not many will fall victim to potential scammers, and that seems to be the case for the time being."
If this gamenguide.com article is the impetus for the $800 iPhone price tag rumors, then it appears that whoever spread it via the social-networking site didn't read far enough into the piece to understand the likely reason why that number was attached to the phone.
source from:ibtimes.com
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