iPhone Nano - For Real?

[boss1]

I've been nay saying the possibility of a 2nd iPhone on the boards with every rumor report.

This is still by far a confirmation but JP Morgan might want to rethink their decision to fire that Analyst soon

There are just too many unassociated sources pointing to the same rumor at this point .... IMO iPhone 2 is coming soon....


Sources: Apple set to grow iPhone family pre-holidays

[AbsenceOfTruth]

iPhone 2.... are you sure? More like iPhone Nano... that's most likely.

[keithos27]

seems like a rather quick canibalization play, but stranger things have happened...

[plumbingandtech]

Originally Posted by keithos27

seems like a rather quick canibalization play, but stranger things have happened...

Different markets.

[megfilmworks]

Originally Posted by keithos27

seems like a rather quick canibalization play, but stranger things have happened...

Sounds like smart marketing with concurrent R+D (lowers cost)

[boss1]

Originally Posted by AbsenceOfTruth

iPhone 2.... are you sure? More like iPhone Nano... that's most likely.

That's what i meant . Nano. Fixed the headline.

[AbsenceOfTruth]

Then it shouldn't be called iPhone 2... I don't want to think that they are replacing my iPhone too soon.

*edit - saw the headline, gotcha.

[boss1]

Lol this is my favorite part of the article:

The move is believed to be part of a broader, all-out blitz on the consumer electronics sector this holiday shopping season, in which a staggering array of gadgets from the Cupertino-based firm is expected to leave would-be rivals confused and unable to react.

On a side note i'm under the impression, judging by the comments by the writers in CNETS iPhone reporting over the past few months, that they are utterly sick of all the iPhone rumors and iDay was a sigh of relief for them.

However if this iPhone nano story starts building momentum and rumors start to turn to fact..... It's going to be a loooooong year for CNET .

[plumbingandtech]

Originally Posted by boss1

Lol this is my favorite part of the article:


On a side note i'm under the impression, judging by the comments by the writers in CNETS iPhone reporting over the past few months, that they are utterly sick of all the iPhone rumors and iDay was a sigh of relief for them.

However if this iPhone nano story starts building momentum and rumors start to turn to fact..... It's going to be a loooooong year for CNET .

That WAS the best part. Here's hoping.

[retrospects]

iphone nano = less stuff. prob 1g. half the price. wammy!

[vansouza]

and half the performance... or even less.

[netdog]

Originally Posted by retrospects

iphone nano = less stuff. prob 1g. half the price. wammy!

1G. Oh yeah. That would sell...for about $19.

Nano-sized phone that works perfectly with OS X and iTunes. Sounds awesome to me.

[vinhmen]

"the second iteration of the handset is presumed to marry iPod functionality with rudimentary cellular capabilities. More resource-heavy Internet browsing and e-mail capabilities are not expected of the device."

No internet nor email? Not interested.

[marksman]

Originally Posted by vinhmen

"the second iteration of the handset is presumed to marry iPod functionality with rudimentary cellular capabilities. More resource-heavy Internet browsing and e-mail capabilities are not expected of the device."

No internet nor email? Not interested.

Yeah that is my issue too. What is the draw of the phone. Combo simple cell phone and iPod? I guess I can see the potential market there. As long as it has text messaging, and ipod functionality, teenagers would probably like it a lot. The problem then comes to pricing. It would have to probably be $199 or less and eventually free with contracts and such.

For me the iPhone's appeal is in its Internet connectivity especially with safari and its wide screen. The other functionality as well. Take the big screen and the web browsing away, and the phone has a lot less value, to me.

[MacRumors]

Following a contested JP Morgan analyst report that a cheaper iPhone "Nano" was in the works, AppleInsider says that such a possibility may indeed be in the cards, with a release perhaps by the 2007 holiday season.

Citing their own "extremely reputable" sources, AppleInsider claims that development of the second iPhone model was practically concurrent with the first iPhone, with it emerging from engineering labs just as the first iPhone was heading to production.

The second model may indeed fit a "Nano" moniker, as it is said to hold a smaller form factor and simply marry iPod functionality with basic cellular functionality.

Interestingly, it would appear that Apple will stick with its venerable click-wheel interface (perhaps due to the model's size), a proposition that CEO Steve Jobs had mocked when initially introducing the iPhone at Macworld in January. To dial, AppleInsider suggests Apple will use a rotary-dial click wheel patent that Apple recently applied for (via MacNN).

While pricing details are not yet known, the site expects the phone to be much cheaper than the current iteration, but still more expensive than the iPod Nano to resist cannibalization of sales.

Article Link

[drj434343]

Sound like a good lineup to me.

[trudd]

I think it could be a hit so long as texting was still rather easy. Not sure how that would be possible without a touch screen?

[kskill]

This thing is gonig to be ridiculously successful.
But where will the keypad go?

[ready2switch]

Rotary dialing? As cool as this may be for the first hour, I don't think it's a good step. Doesn't anyone remember what a pain rotary dialing was?

[lamar777]

Would it be accurate to assume that a new form factor phone would have to go through similar FCC approval as the original iPhone? and if so is there any way to check what has been submitted? I imagine that the process would have to begin very very soon for a new phone to be available by the holidays. If this is the case it may be likely that the new model would be announced at MacWorld in a similar fashion as the original...

[wrldwzrd89]

Originally Posted by trudd

I think it could be a hit so long as texting was still rather easy. Not sure how that would be possible without a touch screen?

The click wheel works as a keyboard input device, if you make an on-screen letter wheel and manipulate it by spinning the click wheel with your finger then pushing the center button to input a letter. It's different but it works just fine once you get used to it.

That's what I'd do if I was Apple...

[MoparShaha]

Originally Posted by wrldwzrd89

The click wheel works as a keyboard input device, if you make an on-screen letter wheel and manipulate it by spinning the click wheel with your finger then pushing the center button to input a letter. It's different but it works just fine once you get used to it.

That's what I'd do if I was Apple...

I think this would make texting incredibly difficult and inefficient.

[manwithaband]

Originally Posted by wrldwzrd89

The click wheel works as a keyboard input device, if you make an on-screen letter wheel and manipulate it by spinning the click wheel with your finger then pushing the center button to input a letter. It's different but it works just fine once you get used to it.

That's what I'd do if I was Apple...

Can you imagine how slow SMS messaging would be on a phone with a click-wheel letter input device? The market for a phone like this includes most people who use text messaging frequently, and in the world of impatience that we live in, people aren't going to want to slowly input one letter at a time using a dial.

I don't see the click-wheel input design being very successful on a phone device because if you have ever used a rotary phone, then used a touch-tone phone, you'll realize how much faster input is on the latter.

I personally think this would be a very bad decision for Apple, and I don't see the phone selling very many units once people realized that text messaging will be so painstakingly slow....

[longofest]

Originally Posted by trudd

I think it could be a hit so long as texting was still rather easy. Not sure how that would be possible without a touch screen?

note: "basic" cellular capabilities. Do we count texting as part of basic cellular capabilities? When I read "basic", I was thinking the ability to make and receive calls, voicemail, etc. From what this sounds like, they may not even include EDGE.

I think it would definitely serve a purpose. But in order to get fancy, you'd have to step up to full iPhone.

Keep in mind that the current iPod Nano is a pretty limited device as well, in that it can't play movies or play games that the 5G can do.

[thuff13]

Originally Posted by longofest

note: "basic" cellular capabilities. Do we count texting as part of basic cellular capabilities? When I read "basic", I was thinking the ability to make and receive calls, voicemail, etc. From what this sounds like, they may not even include EDGE.

I think it would definitely serve a purpose. But in order to get fancy, you'd have to step up to full iPhone.

Keep in mind that the current iPod Nano is a pretty limited device as well, in that it can't play movies or play games that the 5G can do.

I think it would have to include texting to be successful. The target group for an iPhone Nano would probably be high school and college students that can't afford and iPhone. That is also probably the group that texts the most.

I think the click wheel would work fine. Not for rotary dialing, but with different segments of the wheel representing numbers that could just be tapped to dial. This would also work well with a recent patent that talked about visual feedback from touchpads which also included how it could work for a cilck wheel. The click wheel could display numbers when dialing or it could display letters when texting. I realize that the letters would have to be small to fit, but you could press and drag if you don't get the right letter and then release when on the right letter. I think the would be faster than texting on a regular number pad where you have to push a button up to three times (actually four for S or Z).