Earlier this week, DailyTech provided coverage of Apple's record setting fiscal first quarter, which was thanks, in part, to growing acceptance of its iPhone among business circles.  There was growing rumors that there would be even more good news for business-oriented iPhone users, as several sources close to IBM claimed that the electronics giant was about to release a version of its Lotus Notes business email suite on the iPhone and iPod Touch.

Now IBM is making it expressly clear that while such a product is in the works, it will not be releasing it at IBM's LotusSphere conference next week, as previously anticipated.  An IBM spokesperson spoke with ZDNet Australia, stating, "It's not something that (is) ready to go out and market or launch."

The spokesperson, when questioned about why the rumors started up, attributed them to an earlier demonstration of the upcoming software. 

This official statement from IBM contradicts the Associated Press report that started the buzz this week.  The Associated Press report claimed that the software would be released at LotusSphere and would be available free of charge via download to users with an active Lotus Web-access license or for a yearly fee for new customers.

The software was supposed to drive further business sales of the iPhone, but whether users even care about this revelation remains to be seen.  Some analysts remain skeptical that the hip iPhone and the somewhat droll world of Lotus Notes even overlap in terms of user base.  Says Kevin McIsaac, an analyst at research firm IBRS, "I can't really imagine someone who's really hip and cool--like an iPhone user--wanting to use Lotus Notes."