Analyst: Metal iPhone to sport 3.5” LCD, up to $649 price tag

The latest iPhone speculation comes from Morgan Stanley’s Rebecca Runkle. The analyst said yesterday she has “high conviction” that the rumored iPhone will launch in the first half of 2007. “We expect Steve Jobs to announce the iPhone at Macworld Expo or early next year,” she wrote. Citing unnamed sources, Runkle said the iPhone will cost $599 for a 4GB model and $649 for an 8GB model. The analyst said the phone will be wider than the iPod nano but thinner than the fifth-generation iPod, and will sport a 3.5 inch LCD screen. Runkle also said the phone will have a metal casing and will be available in multiple colors including at least black, white and silver.