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Apple Planning Smaller iPhone Priced at $200 Without Contract

This rumor comes out every year when every blog wants to be the one that "said it first" before the announcements.

Apple has always stated that it wouldn't make a smaller iPhone or iPad simply because it didn't want to segment developer efforts to keep their apps consistent across iPhone, iPad sizes.
 
Interesting. A no contract phone would be a huge deal. When they say smaller, I wonder if they just mean a smaller screen or less ram, slower processor, etc?
 
Smaller?

It's already at the small end of the current smart phone sector as it is at only 3.5"

What I could see if them going back to the earlier screen resolution, and making it in some cheaper way for a lower price.
 
I think a 'credit card' sized phone is a cool idea. HP's Veer (as in 'veer off a cliff'?) claims to be this but isn't, unless your credit cards are half an inch thick.

My question would be if this iPhone would support all apps, and so, how do they scale. Seems it would bring back the need for Steve's finger file.
 
Cougarcat said:
Interesting. The only problem is, what makes the iPhone expensive is the data plan, and an iPhone without a data plan would defeat the purpose, no?
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your not looking at this correctly. say you signed a contract a few months back and got a blackberry and decided you wanted an iphone. you'd have to pay FULL retail price at $599 to get one. If they had this iphone nano thing available all you would pay is $200. This can easily be done.

Look at the ipod touch....it's an iphone minus the sim card.
 
Something missed here but mentioned on Engadget is that the source of this rumor saw the device last year. Odds are this thing has been killed off.
 
We have this already

The 3Gs is now $50 on contract. Why not make this the $200 version with no contract and be done with it. it supports ios 4.0 and most current gen apps. Why make a 3rd form factor. seems silly
 
aross99 said:
Not at all - there a huge number of people who buy phones who would like an iPhone for use on WiFi and will not pay for the data plan.

Look at all of the kids in high school who pay $200-$300 for an iPod touch. Why not get an iPhone w/o data for the same price, and combine the phone with your iPod?

This seems so obvious to me. Can't figure out why they won't do this, unless the carriers just won't sell one with out the data plans...
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Oh I agree, (I'd love it if you could enable/disable the data plan when you needed it––I'd enable it only when traveling) but that's up to the carriers. That's a plan change, not a change to the phone itself. What this rumor is suggesting is that Apple will sell a lower-end model for less money, and I don't see what that would be; Apple already sells the 3GS for $99.
 
Yamcha said:
I'm not so sure this would happen, although I would like it to happen, I've never understood why Apple doesn't make more affordable products.. If Apple would make more affordable Macs I think people would jump the bandwagon, the primary reason more people use a Windows machine is because it's much more affordable.

I don't think it'd too complicated making a more affordable computer while still making it look beautiful, cuz we all know Apple doesn't like to compromise design.. I just think if Apple did target that $300-600 market we would see so many more Mac users.. which would mean more people would also start developing for OSX
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Apple makes more revenue than microsoft right now. Going cheap would eat into their margins and they might actually make less money despite selling more units. The goal of a business is to make money, and apple rules the high end PC market. Why would they undercut themselves. market share is not necessarily always the thign you are going after.
 
Everyone seems to be assuming that a smaller iPhone would have a smaller screen. I'm not sure that's necessarily true.

The figures being cited here are "30% smaller." I just measured my iPhone 3G, and the screen takes up approximately 70% of the vertical screen real estate.

Combine that with Apple's recent patent filings showing the replacement of the home button with multitouch gestures, and it's possible that a "30% smaller" iPhone would only need to lose the bezel...
 
I call B.S. on this one. It's just not gonna happen. The iPhone size is Apple's portable device. The iPad's size is Apple's "lounging" device.

There is no "smaller" iPhone is coming out and there is no 7" iPad coming out either.
 
reckless2k2 said:
I'm right there with you. Why wouldn't they make cheaper computers then to compete with cheap Windows computers? Apple doesn't roll like this and I don't think they feel that threatened by Android to do this.
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In other news Maserati is releasing a vehicle with a smaller body, smaller engine, and cheaper parts in order to compete with the Ford Focus.
 
aross99 said:
Look at all of the kids in high school who pay $200-$300 for an iPod touch. Why not get an iPhone w/o data for the same price, and combine the phone with your iPod?
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I pictured this rumored device as exactly an iPod Touch, but with phone and data capability, and with the same size screen as the existing models.

Apple could cut the cost with a lesser resolution screen and slower processor, and still make heaps of cash on app sales.



stewart715 said:
Not in Apple's eyes. It's the same concept as buying 'Fruit Loops' or buying the 'General Value Fruity Loops.'

They figure they may was well try to make money off of those who can't afford Fruit Loops by selling General Value Fruity Loops. Same concept -- People that can't afford an iPhone with data would likely want to buy an iPhone for cheaper without data -- thus Apple makes money.
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I like your Fruit Loops analaogy, though I think that this low cost iPhone would have pay-as-you-go talktime and data. There's plenty of money for the carriers to make in selling those incremental cards, to those people who don't have the reliable cash flow to pay for the full iPhone monthly plan.
 
So basically a poor man's iPhone? Might as well get an Android-based phone...


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