My instinct is to laugh off these rumors as fake but many other reputable web sites have already written about them, so for the sake of documenting rumors (and the possibility that it might actually be true) I’ve decided to write about them.

The forum user, who uses the handle “patapon200,” says he has a friend who works for Foxconn, a known Apple hardware manufacturing partner. patapon200 describes the physical design of the new iPhone as a repeat of the current hardware, while the majority of hardware changes being under the hood.

patapon200 says that the new model will feature a faster CPU clock speed, 600MHz compared to the current 400MHz ARM processor, it will have twice the RAM as the current model, bringing it up to 256MB, it will come in 16GB and 32GB versions, and will also have a 3.2MP camera with autofocus.

Mentioning FM radio features and the fact that the screen capture displays AT&T3.5 instead of the usual AT&T3.1 that most iPhone users see makes me wonder about the validity of patapon200’s story.

But, obviously we won’t know for sure until (at least) WWDC, but I’m hoping to see a new iPhone in my pocket in the not too distant future.

Update 5/15/09: Hardmac has sources that also say the next generation iPhone will be the same size and shape as the current iPhone 3G.

Update 6/2/09: The Green Room has posted a single image with a rundown of every 2009 iPhone rumor. A great reference for what to expect on Monday.

Update 6/10/09: I guess my instinct was wrong. I’m glad I ended up writing about it. patapon200 appears to have been on the up and up, most of his claims were found to be true at the WWDC keynote, FM transmission excluded.