From Yahoo News
In the wake of Thursday's somewhat underwhelming Verizon iPhone launch comes word that Apple may have a new, smaller iPhone up its sleeves—one that could sell for $200, without a contract.
The rumored new iPhone is about one-third smaller than the existing iPhone, Bloomberg News reports, and would be built with components "similar" to those on the iPhone 4, rather than any next-generation processors or displays—thus keeping a lid on pricing.
If this all sounds vaguely familiar, perhaps you're thinking of the old iPhone "Nano" rumors that have been bouncing around since … well, since the original iPhone first launched.
Of course, no "Nano" version of the iPhone ever materialized—and indeed, the prototype supposedly spied last year by Bloomberg's unnamed source may yet be scuttled. Then again, it could arrive as soon as the middle of this year, the story claims.
As far as pricing goes, one possibility is to sell the smaller iPhone for $200 without a contract, Bloomberg reports, with Apple reportedly hoping to win back some smartphone market share from Google's Android platform with more variety and aggressive pricing.
You can already buy a new, 8GB iPhone 3GS—a full-size one, mind you—for $49, but you must sign a two-year contract with AT&T in the bargain. Meanwhile, a no-contract iPhone 4 (in the case of those who aren't eligible for early carrier upgrades) will set you back $600 for the 16GB model.
Apple is also at work on a dual-mode iPhone that would work on both GSM and CDMA networks, according to Bloomberg—not a huge surprise, given that a tear-down of the new, SIM-less Verizon iPhone revealed a dual-mode CDMA/GSM Qualcomm chip.
Another old rumor revived by the Bloomberg piece: that the iPhone might be getting a universal SIM card that users would configure via iTunes to work with any carrier they want.
While the idea of the iPhone getting dual-mode wireless technology or a universal SIM isn't that far-fetched, many believe a smaller—and likely smaller-screened—iPhone is out of the question because it (probably) wouldn't be compatible with existing apps in the App Store.
Then again, a cheaper, Nano-sized iPhone might be appealing to the same users who like the iPod Nano—although an iPhone that's just a third smaller (according to Bloomberg, anyway) and still $200 (even on a no-contract basis) doesn't seem small or cheap enough.
That's not to say Apple isn't tinkering with a smaller iPhone somewhere in its top-secret Cupertino lair—but I'd be surprised if it ever saw the light of day.
Anyway, that's just me—what do you think? Would you be interested in a smaller, cheaper iPhone—and if so, how much cheaper would it have to be? $150, without a contract? $99 without a contract? Or how about free, but with a contract?
In the wake of Thursday's somewhat underwhelming Verizon iPhone launch comes word that Apple may have a new, smaller iPhone up its sleeves—one that could sell for $200, without a contract.
The rumored new iPhone is about one-third smaller than the existing iPhone, Bloomberg News reports, and would be built with components "similar" to those on the iPhone 4, rather than any next-generation processors or displays—thus keeping a lid on pricing.
If this all sounds vaguely familiar, perhaps you're thinking of the old iPhone "Nano" rumors that have been bouncing around since … well, since the original iPhone first launched.
Of course, no "Nano" version of the iPhone ever materialized—and indeed, the prototype supposedly spied last year by Bloomberg's unnamed source may yet be scuttled. Then again, it could arrive as soon as the middle of this year, the story claims.
As far as pricing goes, one possibility is to sell the smaller iPhone for $200 without a contract, Bloomberg reports, with Apple reportedly hoping to win back some smartphone market share from Google's Android platform with more variety and aggressive pricing.
You can already buy a new, 8GB iPhone 3GS—a full-size one, mind you—for $49, but you must sign a two-year contract with AT&T in the bargain. Meanwhile, a no-contract iPhone 4 (in the case of those who aren't eligible for early carrier upgrades) will set you back $600 for the 16GB model.
Apple is also at work on a dual-mode iPhone that would work on both GSM and CDMA networks, according to Bloomberg—not a huge surprise, given that a tear-down of the new, SIM-less Verizon iPhone revealed a dual-mode CDMA/GSM Qualcomm chip.
Another old rumor revived by the Bloomberg piece: that the iPhone might be getting a universal SIM card that users would configure via iTunes to work with any carrier they want.
While the idea of the iPhone getting dual-mode wireless technology or a universal SIM isn't that far-fetched, many believe a smaller—and likely smaller-screened—iPhone is out of the question because it (probably) wouldn't be compatible with existing apps in the App Store.
Then again, a cheaper, Nano-sized iPhone might be appealing to the same users who like the iPod Nano—although an iPhone that's just a third smaller (according to Bloomberg, anyway) and still $200 (even on a no-contract basis) doesn't seem small or cheap enough.
That's not to say Apple isn't tinkering with a smaller iPhone somewhere in its top-secret Cupertino lair—but I'd be surprised if it ever saw the light of day.
Anyway, that's just me—what do you think? Would you be interested in a smaller, cheaper iPhone—and if so, how much cheaper would it have to be? $150, without a contract? $99 without a contract? Or how about free, but with a contract?
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