If you want Apple iPhone rumors, here's where to go

Most rumor sites seem to make up stuff, but a few have a good track record if you're looking for a hint of what is to come

I'm no fan of rumor sites -- they pollute the Web with misinformation, confusing buyers in the process and often serving as free, stealth ads for less-than-scrupulous vendors. The made-up stories can be hard to discern, unless you've followed a company closely and can spot their many occasions for alleged plans that fly in the face of the vendor's long-standing practices. As an example, compare a story I did last fall debunking the iPad 2 rumors with the actual iPad 2 product's details. The "planted" rumors are more obvious: Notice how certain blogs always have the supposed scoop on the same vendor's products.

But I recognize that we all -- myself included -- like to get as much of a heads-up as possible on technologies and products that excite us. That includes iPhones, iPads, and other companies' tablets and smartphones (these days, Android, Windows Phone, BlackBerry, and WebOS, in that order).

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If you're looking for tabloid thrills that may actually have some truth behind them, let me recommend the best, most plausible rumor sites:

1. The Register. This British news site isn't a rumor site per se, but it publishes a lot of stories on tech developments based on secret sources. The Register has a good track record, so it's clear that its journalists have actual sources. You can't completely rely on its accuracy on unannounced and prerelease products, but it's one of the truer sources for rumors.

2. Boy Genius Report. This unabashed fanboy site has a startlingly good track record on getting early indications of what will be in iPhones, iPads, BlackBerrys, Androids, and other mobile devices weeks and sometimes months ahead of the pack. This is the one rumor site worth following. (Note that most of the fanboy sites such as Engadget, TUAW, and TiPb rely heavily on BGR -- so why not go straight to the original source?)