This is the kind of research I like to see from market analysts. Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi put two and two together and concluded:
“Apple has not yet received FCC approval for a phone, and our analysis suggests that phones have typically become available two months after FCC approval.
…
It is possible that Apple could introduce the product, and set a future availability date, but we think this represents a low probability.”
And as Red Herring nicely put it – “it’s not Mr. Jobs’ style [to announce products before they’re ready]”.
(Having said that, Steve did announce the iTV product whilst it was still conceptual…)