No, not yet. Even if it was, that wouldn't help in this case as virtually all iPhone apps as designed for a specific aspect ratio. It would completely break all 2D games, for example, which are hardcoded to 480x320.
--Eric
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iPhone Nano Concept Photo?
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No, not yet. Even if it was, that wouldn't help in this case as virtually all iPhone apps as designed for a specific aspect ratio. It would completely break all 2D games, for example, which are hardcoded to 480x320.
--Eric
I'm thinking of the SNL sketch with Will Farrell all in black sitting in a wheelchair.😀
Cinch
The more i think about this the more i think this wont be happening.
Firstly,
App-rewrites, developers would need to seriously go through their apps or make a nano version of them. Unless Apple has found a magic tick box that does all the hard work, a beta program is a must!
secondly,
The whole "cheaper" non-contract viewpoint, Apple already releases the iphone on pay and go in some countries, no point for making a "payg specific" phone when they have one!
Thirdly,
The "selling point" for developers when making apps is, text, email, camera, gps, 3g etc are all available in the API, do you think Apple will want to remove these features, thus ruin their SDK? Is there was an iphone nano, form factor will be the difference as well as memory.
The Ipod nano does what the classic does, only smaller. Same with a iphone nano.
Why would apple remove 3g?! Marketing diaster, other payg phones have it. Their whole iphone 3g marketing will go up in smoke...
"Introducing the iPhone nano.. 2g" eh no! BIG step back not happening.
While i dont rule out a iphone nano in the future, guys we must remember Apple wont scale back they will only alter form factor. However increasing the resolution and changing the dpi will ruin the apps size and will seriously screw the display. Apple go for detail, the icons will be bigger or the layout re-arranged, however this would have seriously impact on the sdk.
While an iPhone nano would be nice, Apple wont make one for the sake of it and i cant imagine them downgrading any features. The cell phone market is a lot more hostile than the mp3 market. The iphone 3g hardware (accept the graphics) already can do with improvements in this fast-paced market. IF anything the iphone nano will innovate rather than take away.
Fourthly,
Taking out the app store? no! Apple removing a source of income from the phone yeh right!
my 2 cents.😀
Firstly,
App-rewrites, developers would need to seriously go through their apps or make a nano version of them. Unless Apple has found a magic tick box that does all the hard work, a beta program is a must!
secondly,
The whole "cheaper" non-contract viewpoint, Apple already releases the iphone on pay and go in some countries, no point for making a "payg specific" phone when they have one!
Thirdly,
The "selling point" for developers when making apps is, text, email, camera, gps, 3g etc are all available in the API, do you think Apple will want to remove these features, thus ruin their SDK? Is there was an iphone nano, form factor will be the difference as well as memory.
The Ipod nano does what the classic does, only smaller. Same with a iphone nano.
Why would apple remove 3g?! Marketing diaster, other payg phones have it. Their whole iphone 3g marketing will go up in smoke...
"Introducing the iPhone nano.. 2g" eh no! BIG step back not happening.
While i dont rule out a iphone nano in the future, guys we must remember Apple wont scale back they will only alter form factor. However increasing the resolution and changing the dpi will ruin the apps size and will seriously screw the display. Apple go for detail, the icons will be bigger or the layout re-arranged, however this would have seriously impact on the sdk.
While an iPhone nano would be nice, Apple wont make one for the sake of it and i cant imagine them downgrading any features. The cell phone market is a lot more hostile than the mp3 market. The iphone 3g hardware (accept the graphics) already can do with improvements in this fast-paced market. IF anything the iphone nano will innovate rather than take away.
Fourthly,
Taking out the app store? no! Apple removing a source of income from the phone yeh right!
my 2 cents.😀
skellener
macrumors 68000
Fake image. Not gonna happen. It's hard enough to use the iPhone at the size it is for things like typing. How the f*ck are you gonna be able to use it if it's smaller?
I could see a smaller iPhone coming out, but it will differ from the current style. It will have to be. I mean, the iPod Shuffle does NOT mimic the regular iPod. They changed the controls to accommodate the size. That's what will happen with a smaller iPhone. It WON'T simply be smaller. They'll modify it.
I could see a smaller iPhone coming out, but it will differ from the current style. It will have to be. I mean, the iPod Shuffle does NOT mimic the regular iPod. They changed the controls to accommodate the size. That's what will happen with a smaller iPhone. It WON'T simply be smaller. They'll modify it.
What is it with everyone that can't understand why Apple would want (and need) to introduce a cheaper phone? The reason is simple - money and lots of it.
The current iPhone is targeted at a small segment of the mobile phone market - total sales are about 1 billion a year with just 20% of that being smart phones. If Apple want some of the other 80% of the market they need cheaper and simpler phones.
Sure, Apple don't normally do cheap or bottom of the market except we are talking about vast sums of money when it comes to mobile phones. A 20% market share would mean 200 million phone sales a year, even if they made only $20 a phone that is $4 billion profit we are talking about.
Apple is a business and they currently have the hottest, most talked about, most hyped phone in the world. If they weren't looking at ways of building on that to take more market share they'd be crazy. Might not happen in January but some day soon there will be a bigger range of iPhones, primarily to hit the bottom end of the market.
The current iPhone is targeted at a small segment of the mobile phone market - total sales are about 1 billion a year with just 20% of that being smart phones. If Apple want some of the other 80% of the market they need cheaper and simpler phones.
Sure, Apple don't normally do cheap or bottom of the market except we are talking about vast sums of money when it comes to mobile phones. A 20% market share would mean 200 million phone sales a year, even if they made only $20 a phone that is $4 billion profit we are talking about.
Apple is a business and they currently have the hottest, most talked about, most hyped phone in the world. If they weren't looking at ways of building on that to take more market share they'd be crazy. Might not happen in January but some day soon there will be a bigger range of iPhones, primarily to hit the bottom end of the market.
Worth noting: This rumor has the display time of "09:42". Apple's iPhone gallery has phones which display the time "9:42".
1) I don't think Apple would add a 0 onto the end of that. We all know how obsessive they are about aesthetics.
2) Either Apple really likes 9:42, or this is just a adequate (but not professional) photoshop job.
Of course, it's always possible this is an early prototype screen. Or maybe some Chinese manufacturer is making an iPhone ripoff that's a little bit smaller. You never know.
And everyone should have in mind - nobody here knows. We're guessing. Wait until January to find out.
1) I don't think Apple would add a 0 onto the end of that. We all know how obsessive they are about aesthetics.
2) Either Apple really likes 9:42, or this is just a adequate (but not professional) photoshop job.
Of course, it's always possible this is an early prototype screen. Or maybe some Chinese manufacturer is making an iPhone ripoff that's a little bit smaller. You never know.
And everyone should have in mind - nobody here knows. We're guessing. Wait until January to find out.
DPA
macrumors 65816
GoPhone iPhone anyone?? I think most parents that buy their kids a $90 RAZR would pay $89 or $99 for an iPhone. The internet would have to go though because few parents will pay $60/month for the data package. This iPhone nano may also bring back 4GB in the iPhone line.
Eric S.
macrumors 68040
As much as we like to think our opinions here are invaluable, I seriously doubt Apple does marketing research by floating designs on rumor sites. 😉
BenRoethig
macrumors 68030
Why would Apple remove a source of income? The app store is a highly succesful innovated idea from Apple. Removing a source of income thus taking away a chance of making money doesnt make sense. I think Apple would have developers make 2 versions of the app rather than taken away their highly prize feature altogether.
MattInOz
macrumors 68030
The only reason I give this a glimmer of hope is because the volume buttons on the side view comparison differ between the iPhone and the nano. On the regular iPhone, the specular highlight between volume up and down is in the direct middle of the two buttons, or maybe even a little more towards the bottom. On the nano, however, the specular highlight is in the upper 1/3:
Well Yes,....
but the nano is thinner which is not going to happen. They maybe able to shrink in the other two directions with some skill but if there is a real one planned it's not going to get noticeably thinner. Even if they build SOC to reduce chip count can see there being enough to save the double board. The Battery is going to need volume of the thicker case to have any life.
Well that in just looks like some scaled each of the images in their photo editor of choice
DPA
macrumors 65816
Flip iPhone patent forgotten???
Has everyone in the Apple blogosphere forgotten about the flip phone patent that Apple filed a while back (March 2008).
http://www.intomobile.com/2008/03/1...s-flip-phone-with-dual-sided-multi-touch.html
I think the next iPhone to come would be a totally different model like a Flip phone for those who prefer that. Although this would mean that App Store developers would have to redesign apps for the model if apps would be available on a new model.
Has everyone in the Apple blogosphere forgotten about the flip phone patent that Apple filed a while back (March 2008).
http://www.intomobile.com/2008/03/1...s-flip-phone-with-dual-sided-multi-touch.html
I think the next iPhone to come would be a totally different model like a Flip phone for those who prefer that. Although this would mean that App Store developers would have to redesign apps for the model if apps would be available on a new model.
Here's my question...
Okay I don't know if this is a fake or real device that's coming out. What I know right now is that the current iPhone 3G in its current form is tied to AT&T.
Does the AT&T exclusivity relate to all future iPhone type devices? Clearly this new phone is NOT the same as an iPhone 3G current form factor. AT&T, T-Mobile and whomever has exclusive rights to certain phones that are very similar but yet different by size...
Could this "iPhone Nano" be possibly an exclusive phone to T-Mobile and the other 3G stays with AT&T until 2010 or whatever..
Thanks
Chris
Okay I don't know if this is a fake or real device that's coming out. What I know right now is that the current iPhone 3G in its current form is tied to AT&T.
Does the AT&T exclusivity relate to all future iPhone type devices? Clearly this new phone is NOT the same as an iPhone 3G current form factor. AT&T, T-Mobile and whomever has exclusive rights to certain phones that are very similar but yet different by size...
Could this "iPhone Nano" be possibly an exclusive phone to T-Mobile and the other 3G stays with AT&T until 2010 or whatever..
Thanks
Chris
Yes and No. Yes if all your app does is use interface builder and system stuff; No if you've coded a game... Changing the screen resolution can be a big deal with dedicated things like games if you didn't think about it when you first started coding the thing.. If you knew from the beginning that the resolution could change you would code some flexibility into it, but if you fixed all your code (not to mention graphics!) into a 480x320 resolution thinking (quite reasonably) that it wouldn't change, you could potentially have a whole world of hurt ahead of you trying to change it....
Certainly do-able though; and obviously all new games/apps would be coded to allow the new screen size, assuming apple don't just keep the same resolution but squash it into a smaller space.
If the iPhone Nano is real though i just don't get it.... perhaps i missed a meeting but i've heard a thousand (well, it seems like a thousand) people say things like:
"it should have a better camera",
"it should have a camera flash",
"it should be able to record video",
"it should have SMS forwarding",
"it should have MMS",
"it should have cut and paste",
"it should have cut and paste"..... etc etc...
yet, I have NEVER heard anyone say "it should be a little smaller".....!!
🙁
I think there would be demand for a cheaper, less functional, smaller form-factor iPhone.
I agree that it wouldn't just be a simple case of shrinking the existing design - both from a technical point of view, but also in terms of usability. If you ditch wifi, accept that the screen is too small for internet access, then the goals of the design change and something totally different may be required. Just like the iPod nano isn't just a shrunken replica of the iPod Classic.
skellener
macrumors 68000
You could say the same thing about the iPod, but they still came out with the iPod mini, then the nano.
If the images provided are real then there would be no app store, nor mobile iTunes on the phone. And my question...How would anyone be able to type on the thing? (I'm calling this a fake by the way)
skellener
macrumors 68000
To be honest, I'd love to see an iPod that you could simply answer a call on without the rest of the stuff. I'd buy one the second it came out - as long as I could use it with T-Mobile.
Here is the problem I see:
If they use a smaller screen with the same 480x320 resolution so as not to "split" the platform, then all the text and user interface controls like buttons, icons, etc will shrink proportionally to the screen size... and you are talking about a device with very small UI elements already. Especially for those older than GenY.
If they want to maintain user interface element size, then they would have to either lower the screen resolution in proportion to the display size (hopefully not), or (more likely) use the same resolution but modify the existing iPhone interface to accommodate a smaller screen with less/rearranged/resized display elements. This would work for the general OS interface, but 3rd party applications would still be forced to create and maintain an alternate interface with larger text, control buttons, etc.
I don't see a good solution, other than a full resolution independent user interface that uses vector elements that can be rescaled to any size.
If they use a smaller screen with the same 480x320 resolution so as not to "split" the platform, then all the text and user interface controls like buttons, icons, etc will shrink proportionally to the screen size... and you are talking about a device with very small UI elements already. Especially for those older than GenY.
If they want to maintain user interface element size, then they would have to either lower the screen resolution in proportion to the display size (hopefully not), or (more likely) use the same resolution but modify the existing iPhone interface to accommodate a smaller screen with less/rearranged/resized display elements. This would work for the general OS interface, but 3rd party applications would still be forced to create and maintain an alternate interface with larger text, control buttons, etc.
I don't see a good solution, other than a full resolution independent user interface that uses vector elements that can be rescaled to any size.
Nano iPhone made specially for China Mobile?
There are many reasons why a Nano iPhone does not make sense yet there is one reason why it might fly in the Far East. Consider that this could be a customized model designed in concert with China Mobile. This model would be EDGE 2.5G and TD-SCDMA ready and would support Monternet (China Mobiles VAS platform). China Mobile is subsidizing all TD ready handsets authorized in China. Of China Mobiles 400+ million users, approximately 290 million are pre-paid users (no contract). Many pre-pay users aspire to iPhone but cannot afford without a price incentive (China Mobile subsidy to go on contract). The Nano iPhone may also be available unlocked at a slightly higher price-point. Bottom line a Nano iPhone might be in reach for hundreds of millions of pre-pay users.
There are many reasons why a Nano iPhone does not make sense yet there is one reason why it might fly in the Far East. Consider that this could be a customized model designed in concert with China Mobile. This model would be EDGE 2.5G and TD-SCDMA ready and would support Monternet (China Mobiles VAS platform). China Mobile is subsidizing all TD ready handsets authorized in China. Of China Mobiles 400+ million users, approximately 290 million are pre-paid users (no contract). Many pre-pay users aspire to iPhone but cannot afford without a price incentive (China Mobile subsidy to go on contract). The Nano iPhone may also be available unlocked at a slightly higher price-point. Bottom line a Nano iPhone might be in reach for hundreds of millions of pre-pay users.