A flash-based iPod from Apple? Not so fast...

Not sure whether Jason Pfaum, the analyst with Thomas Weisel who was the source of last Friday's rumor about Apple possibly introducing a flash-based iPod, was either misquoted or simply got his facts wrong (or that this is a completely different matter altogether), but SigmaTel, the company that was supposedly making the chips for said player, just signed a two-year deal with Rio, one of Apple's staunchest competitors. Doesn't mean that they didn't also cut a deal with Apple, just that we could see how there might be a little confusion over all this. We'd call Apple and ask, but you already know what they're gonna say...

[Thanks, Andrew]