A few thoughts..
iProd refers to the new iPhone Pro, the will retain and keep selling the iPhone 3g and offer it at a cheaper selling price. Consumers will then have a choice between standard iPhone and the pro version much like their computers.
Just my thoughts they could easily soak up the market by having a cheaper and more expensive devicenwith only slight capability differences.
This guy is a genius! This guess basically ties everything together..
I wondered myself why they were putting so much emphasis on 3.0 being fully compatible with the 3G when they were obviously releasing a new phone within a few months.. but I mean think about it, Apple is a very financially savvy company and in a financially tight period I'm sure they'll exercise this strength even more. If you were given the task of making the iPhone line as profitable as humanly possible while still delivering all the bells, whistles, and improvements that people expect from such an innovative company, you would juice every last drop of profitability out of the 3G (which is still an amazing device that with the app store and 3.0, is really everything that many people want from their phone) by throwing the 3.0 bone at it to satiate any remaining qualms (MMS, copy & paste, push, turn-by-turn GPS, etc..) you breath at very least another year of market domination and demand into it. I see 16GB standard and a max subsidized price of $199, possibly $99 if they really want to not just take the wind out of Palm's sails, but rip them down and set fire to them.
This would take care of any price gap that a "iPhone Nano" would fill without wasting money developing a half-ass device that app/accessory developers would have to consider and develop around, allowing Apple to retain a unified environment for it's developers and therefore it's users. After all, it's the same simple and unique experience of one-device-for-all that brought and continues to bring so many people into the Apple tent.
With the affordable phone niche filled, this allows them to focus all efforts and capitol on their new hotness, which they'll need to do if they plan on crafting a device that not just creates some buzz on the internet, but actually drives people into stores with credit cards in hand. People are still spending money in this economic climate, they just need a dang good reason to do so, and if any company can provide that, it's Apple. I don't have any better predictions on what will precisely be added than anyone else, I just know it'll be mighty impressive with a few that surprise all of us. They simply can't afford to put out anything less. Expect video, better graphics, sharper screen, more storage, better battery, new case, and better build materials.
And to the guy that can't seem to grasp why Wireless-N would be a great addition, just keep in mind that it has very little to do with any increase in speed. Wireless-N is far more efficient and offers FAR more range when used in a Wireless-N network. It's the natural progression of the iPhone's WiFi capabilities and only a matter of time before they implement it.
