yeah, but according to the article it wasn't even clear at that point that it's a phone project. It was too early to even make such predicitions.

At that time, it could as well have been Apple's attempt to a build an Apple TV (which never materialized), a Set-Top-Box (which was reworked for years to then end up as a iPhone-in-a-box AppleTV), a Premium Wi-Fi network, a game console,...