iPhone nano rumor update

[cellocello]

Is this the article that is helping fan the "nano" flames?
http://www.appleinsider.com/article...mors_resurface_alongside_case_renderings.html

While I agree with SOME of what Mike's saying - a "smaller" iPhone (with big screen and such all the same but "smaller") makes precisely no sense. Not for Devs, not for consumers, not for Apple, not for anyone.

A super simple "candy bar phone with an iPod nano inside" sort of makes sense (and is what I think Mike was getting at), but still - I'm a doubter.

On the other hand .... I'll be here once the iPhone hits $99 (and there's no iPhone nano in sight )

 

[tuckerja]

iPhone nano [mockup]

I know the iphone nano rumor has started up. This is what I want as an iphone nano. I know its not the best mock-up at all. By the way that would be steve's pic for a contact.

 

[Tallest Skil]

To the above, keep dreaming. There wouldn't be physical buttons on any future iPhone. Also, no nano.

Ladies' Man Steve is epic.

 

[dontwalkhand]

I wouldn't mind that at all. But, Apple steered away from the "Fatty nano" in the latest update.

 

[mkrishnan]

I wouldn't mind that at all. But, Apple steered away from the "Fatty nano" in the latest update.

I think the incremental likelihood of the clickwheel appearing in new Apple devices (that don't replace another old Apple device that already had a clickwheel) is only going to get lower and lower with time.... I think the clickwheel era is dying.

 

[tuckerja]

no fatty

I wouldn't mind that at all. But, Apple steered away from the "Fatty nano" in the latest update.

True, I just liked the fatty so much.

I don't think that the click wheel is dying out, and I don't think that apple would just veto physical buttons on a nano phone. For me, the buttons are much easier and faster when texting and e-mailing. I like touch, but it can get annoying at times when texting. I love the iPhone, but so much of the world is heavily involved with texting. The iPhone is by far the best cell/smartphone on the market, but it (along with any touch device) is not the best for texting. I think that most people like the feel of buttons under their fingers. It gives you a better sense of control over the device.

These are all just my humble opinions. If i offended then i'm sorry. I hate being involved with forums because people can become pricks with their comments instead of treating forums as a friendly community.

 

[milani]

It WILL happen, just a question of when.

MacWorld 09 or July in a iPhone refresh. Just like those September iPod refreshes we look forward too every year.

I'll be surprised if Apple lets the opportunity slip by for a whole year.

Bottom line: iPhone Customer != iPhone Nano Customer

M.

It's a good thing real companies don't follow such an illogical thought process. Hmmm...

Everyone who has an iPhone eats food. So iPhone customer = food customer.

Well I guess that settles it, Apple is going to open its own restaurant chain.

 

[MikeDTyke]

On the other hand .... I'll be here once the iPhone hits $99 (and there's no iPhone nano in sight )

And i'll be here laughing my ass off when i'm proved correct and here's the wonderful thing it might be Jan, it might be July it may even be year after next, but i'll still be right!

 

[eye.surgeon]

^ Yeah, I feel bad for American iPhone owners. I'm on Rogers, and right now have no Data plan (I have WiFi 90% of the time). But even if I wasn't, Rogers at least offers a tiered data plan (i.e. $30/month if you use <500 MBs, $35 if you use 500-1000, etc.)

They're overpriced, but it's the right approach.

They also just announced a new Data Value pack which is a pretty decent deal... much better than the AT&T system, at least.

That said, I wouldn't be a big fan of an "iPhone" and an "iPhone Pro". I think an iPhone Nano without multitouch or 3G and the regular iPhone would be a better approach... like the BB Pearl vs. BB Bold.

The AT&T unlimited data plan is $30/month. So how is that worse than what you have in Canada? Sounds a heck of a lot better to me.

Also if you have wifi 90% of the time, you need to leave your cubicle more. You have wifi in your car, in the movie theater, in church, at your kids soccer game, at the football game, in a restaurant, at the beach, or any of 1000 other places where there is no wifi?

 

[cellocello]

And i'll be here laughing my ass off when i'm proved correct and here's the wonderful thing it might be Jan, it might be July it may even be year after next, but i'll still be right!

OK.

 

[milani]

OK.

If he's right I'll buy him a meal from Mac Burger.

 

[aluren]

If he's right I'll buy him a meal from Mac Burger.

and i'll throw in some freedom fries for him.

 

[firewood]

There wouldn't be physical buttons on any future iPhone.

You don't need buttons on a phone.

Ask your grandma.

Nobody had buttons on their phone.

Everybody used a clickwheel (or something pretty similar).

Google "rotary dial phone".

.

 

[jmpage2]

I think the moral of the story here is that every time a new Apple product is leaked an entire group of people want to immediately insist it's bogus.

Often times the reason for this is that someone blew their wad on the last Apple product that was supposed to be the coolest thing ever and now the thought that a new one could be coming out and they won't be "l33t" any more has them really upset.

Seriously guys, look at the iPod line. Is there a single iPod that Apple markets to everyone regardless of their needs? No. Apple makes an entire line of iPod products to cater to different users, even though the original click wheel iPod stood alone for a couple of years.

I hardly think that Apple will say that one size fits all with their iPhone when they know from market research that this is not the case.

Watch your words, because we're going to come back here and razz you even if it takes six months for a more "budget" oriented iPhone to hit the market that appeals to the millions of users who want iphone type functionality but without the $80-$100 a month service charge.

 

[ex8886]

Could be true . . . isn't this how the iPod nano rumors started? And then when the first picture came, everyone thought it was photoshopped. They could take out the 3G and GPS, and then maybe lower the memory to 4 and 8 gigs. Make the in lots of colors. Sell them unlocked at full price, or cheap and subsidized, and it would be a hit. The logical step for Apple would be to make an entry level phone, which the iPhone is obviously not. The screen isn't THAT small, it's actually quite in line with other touchscreen phones.

 

[dontwalkhand]

If he's right I'll buy him a meal from Mac Burger.

Don't you mean a Big Mac from Apple .

 

[Tallest Skil]

Don't you mean a Big Mac from Apple .

He'll interpret that to mean a Mac Pro, and I'll bet that milani doesn't have that kind of cash just laying around.

 

[HarryAndAGuitar]

True, I just liked the fatty so much.

I don't think that the click wheel is dying out, and I don't think that apple would just veto physical buttons on a nano phone. For me, the buttons are much easier and faster when texting and e-mailing. I like touch, but it can get annoying at times when texting. I love the iPhone, but so much of the world is heavily involved with texting. The iPhone is by far the best cell/smartphone on the market, but it (along with any touch device) is not the best for texting. I think that most people like the feel of buttons under their fingers. It gives you a better sense of control over the device.

These are all just my humble opinions. If i offended then i'm sorry. I hate being involved with forums because people can become pricks with their comments instead of treating forums as a friendly community.

It is great if you know how to use it properly (the texting)

 

[kdarling]

You don't need buttons on a phone.
Ask your grandma.
Nobody had buttons on their phone.
Everybody used a clickwheel (or something pretty similar).

And before rotary dialing...

Some of us are old enough to also remember the original "voice dialing", especially for long distance calls.

We just dialed "0" and told the voice on the other end, who and where we wanted to call.

 

[iMacmatician]

I don't know, this guy sounds pretty darn confident in what he's saying.

So have many others whose predictions have ended up wrong. (Not saying this prediction is wrong.)

The only way I can see an iPhone Nano ever being released if it was really basic, like all it would be is an iPod nano with 'Phone' and 'SMS' added to the menu screen. But I can't see it being touch screen, so Apple would have to shift to... dare I say it... PHYSICAL KEYS . Nah, don't think it's gonna happen anytime soon.

I also think this is the only "iPhone nano" we'll see. Either that or maybe a slightly smaller iPhone.

there's no way they're going to backtrack on the touchscreen technology for a nano. It's just not the forward advance moving Apple we know.

Wasn't the iPod mini the first iPod to have the click wheel (as we know it)?

 

[milani]

He'll interpret that to mean a Mac Pro, and I'll bet that milani doesn't have that kind of cash just laying around.

I might have that kind of cash lying around, and by lying around I mean locked away in investments that I might be tempted to liquidate. (And yes, I understand what he actually meant).

Watch your words, because we're going to come back here and razz you even if it takes six months for a more "budget" oriented iPhone to hit the market that appeals to the millions of users who want iphone type functionality but without the $80-$100 a month service charge.

See that's the thing. We're so confident, we're willing to stick our necks out to shut down these stupid rumors. It's easy to jump on the rumor train and come up with all these wild ideas, but most of them are solely based on what people think would be cool or what they want personally (i.e. MMS). There's no evidence to support the nano rumor, there is no official word on any iPhone update whatsoever. There hasn't even been any official (or "unofficial") conformation that there will be a storage increase in January. All of this is based on what people think might happen, and as time goes on the mill spits out more and more ridiculous and baseless rumors. The nano, to my mind, is probably the epitome of a baseless rumor. It would cost unimaginable amounts of money to develop, it would completely nullify the ubiquity of the Apps Store, it would run contrary to Apple's advertising campaign (i.e. that the iPhone is the be-all end-all phone), and quite frankly it's just un-Apple (they don't make cheap products - they've never bothered to appeal to that market, hence why they don't make a cheap notebook or desktop). It's just not going to happen. And if you want to razz us in six months go for it, I guess one of us has better things to do than to wait around for a nano iPhone... and one of us does not.

Oh and just a side note:

The only reason that the current phone costs as "little" as it does now is because the carrier (AT&T, Rogers, etc) heavily subsidizes it. Without that subsidy you would pay full price for an iPhone, so your concept of iPhone functionality without the plan is a paradox because it would actually cost more (a lot more).

 

[jmpage2]

Oh and just a side note:

The only reason that the current phone costs as "little" as it does now is because the carrier (AT&T, Rogers, etc) heavily subsidizes it. Without that subsidy you would pay full price for an iPhone, so your concept of iPhone functionality without the plan is a paradox because it would actually cost more (a lot more).

Plenty of phones without data plans are sold at a subsidy, so what you're saying makes absolutely no sense.

Most carriers subsidize many phones $200 whether they are a full featured smart phone device or not.

Again, as I said, did Apple stop marketing iPods after the success of the original 1st generation click wheel iPod?

No, they continued to carve out a bigger and bigger space in the mp3 player market, offering different models that catered to different user needs, and I don't see them doing anything differently with the iPhone.

 

[Mr. Giver '94]

I know the iphone nano rumor has started up. This is what I want as an iphone nano. I know its not the best mock-up at all. By the way that would be steve's pic for a contact.

No offense, but that thing is a POS!!!


I doubt that Apple can find a large enough market for the Nano iPhone considering that the full sized model is only $199 already and most people who aren't buying the iPhone now don't because of the service charges associated with it. Those would be the same for the Nano version if it were released. Plus, what compelling feature would drive the sales?

I can see it now: Same iPhone-Skimpy on the Screen....

 

[milani]

Plenty of phones without data plans are sold at a subsidy, so what you're saying makes absolutely no sense.

Most carriers subsidize many phones $200 whether they are a full featured smart phone device or not.

Again, as I said, did Apple stop marketing iPods after the success of the original 1st generation click wheel iPod?

No, they continued to carve out a bigger and bigger space in the mp3 player market, offering different models that catered to different user needs, and I don't see them doing anything differently with the iPhone.

What phones are sold at full subsidy without a contract? I call BS on that. They might be subsidized but not the same extent.

You can't compare iPods and the iPhone. Completely different business model. The latter has to take into consideration the needs of the carrier (the iPhone was actually developed with AT&T, which means they have a degree of control over the product not seen in any other facet of Apple's line). Anyway, the point is that phones cost more without a subsidy (as provided on the bases of you agreeing to sign up for a contract).

It's really quite simple. You don't get a subsidy unless it involves a contract - and unless you can provide any proof of what you said above that's how it is 100% of the time. If the iPhone is sold without a contract it won't be subsidized to the same degree it is now (and it might even be full price). In either case it would cost more than it does now (to get the phone). Moreover, making a smaller iPhone would cost more in it self, because new technologies would have to be developed or employed, which only further disproves the likelihood of a "cheaper" iPhone nano. In the world of technology smaller always equals more expensive (at least initially).

Anyway, there won't be a nano or any iPhone update for a while (as is confirmed by the revelations surrounding Macworld).

 

[shanshor]

Why do people keep repeating this claim? Ever heard of the iPod Shuffle? Or the Mac Mini? Both are low price, high volume sellers designed as a "gateway" to get users into more expensive, higher profit products...

Apple is NOT foreign to low profit items...

NOT if they are locked into 2-year contracts...