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What do you suppose the possibility is of Apple releasing a "stripped-down" iPhone?

emotion said:
Why?
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Apple played a significant role in the creation of 802.11 and owns several patents in the technology.

(That said, it's possible they've made licensing free, in which case I withdraw the comment, but I recall reading somewhere they normally collect royalties on 802.11, or maybe that was about Firewire, I'm not sure.)
 
CommodityFetish said:
I know I'm probably in the minority, and call me old-school but I would love to have something very basic like an ipod nano with a clickwheel and phone functionality. I could easily live without the internet features, touch-screen, wide-screen, movies, photos, etc.

I don't know price-wise how much this would make a difference but you could drop:

wifi & bluetooth connectivity
high-res widescreen
touch-screen interface
sensor to detect widescreen or vertical orientation
sensor to detect if it's close to your face to turn off touch-screen
ambient light sensor
horsepower to run OSX light, and battery/power management to run it.

While not having a keyboard would hurt text messaging ability - I don't use this much anyway.

I know this takes away all that makes the iphone so compelling and high-end, but it would be a basic apple solution to the problem of not wanting to carry both a phone and an ipod around.

Alternatively you could make it a serious full-sized ipod with an 80gb hard-drive, instead of a nano- flash drive size.

Likelihood of apple doing this? probably close to nil, but I bet there would be a market. On the one hand with apple's current cool-factor, and with Skype VOIP solutions, some people just need a basic cell to be contacted when away from home...

call me a minimalist - at least until the iPhone prices come down 😎
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I think that as Apple ramps up their production in the next couple of years, they might be willing to make less profit in order to gain more of cellular market share. I have seen reports that Apple will be making something like a 100% markup on the iPhone. With those kind of margins, they will be able to drop the price of the original iPhone and if they can make an iPhone Nano for under $200 and charge $299 for it, they will be able to grab a bigger chunk of the cell market and make more profits. In other words, they can make it up on volume.

Even if there isn't that significant of a difference in the price or features of a scaled down phone, it doesn't matter. I think the mass market won't want an iPhone because it will be seen as too much. But something that looks almost like the iPod Nano that they already own that can make calls will sell more. I don't think most people are into having the most cutting edge technology like people on these boards. It scares them. In the long run, Apple will make an iPhone that they make less profit on but will appeal to a broader audience because it will make them the most money.
 
Yvan256 said:
With the current situation with subscriptions to cellphone carriers in the USA and Canada, what I'd like to see is an iPod that's a stripped-down iPhone.

No cellphone functions (except VoIP if it supports it), but everything else intact: widescreen, touchscreen, videos, music, photos, Wi-Fi, email, Google maps, Safari, calendar, address book, etc. I'm not upgrading my good old 3rd gen. 10GB iPod until I can buy such an iPod. If we can compose/reply emails and add calendar events with it too, then it becomes the "ultra-portable Mac" a lot of us want while still being an iPod. 😎
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Yes, I want the iPhone without the phone, Just give me a touch screen iPod and I would be happy.
 
Trimmed down version of the iPhone?

What are the odds that Apple will come out with another Trim level of iPhone, perhaps a flip or slider phone? I think it could be a possibility, I mean not everyone wants to spend $500 for a phone and not everyone wants a "smart phone", so what about them? Perhaps they'll have another Rockr type phone that won't be a flop.
 
This will probably happen in the future as the iPhone builds its reputation. Apple will follow the same pattern that they did with the iPod. First release a very high end version to get a novelty status, then slowly release more stripped down version to bring total sales up.
 
not gonna happen, the phone OP described are everywhere, from every brand, I can think of no reason why Apple should jump in that market.
 
clevin said:
not gonna happen, the phone OP described are everywhere, from every brand, I can think of no reason why Apple should jump in that market.
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unless apple made a smart, but still not reaching PDA level, phone that was more than a razr, but not a regular iPhone...
 
clevin said:
not gonna happen, the phone OP described are everywhere, from every brand, I can think of no reason why Apple should jump in that market.
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That's what they said about flash based MP3 players...

Visual voicemail alone would make it worth it for lots of folks. Cingular may only be able to offer it on Apple branded phones.

B
 
I'm sure that eventually there will be cheaper versions, but not for a while. I am expecting it to follow similar to the iPod, with the first gen being expensive, and then increasing in features while decreasing the price, and then eventually they may come out with an iPhone Nano or Mini.
 
they will release the iPhone Mini, with space for only a few dozen contacts, but available in 5 colours, one of which no-one will ever buy because it looks like it came from the toilet. 2nd revision iPhone Mini will have increased capacities, more vibrant colours, and a battery life twice as long as its predecessor.

The iPhone Shuffle will be released, but withdraw quickly, after complaints from teeagers that it keeps on randomly calling their mothers rather than their lovers, because they can't see who they are calling.

Next will be the iPhone Nano, which will suffer from cracked screens initially, but will be quickly resolved. It'll be thinner than a page in the YellowPages, but store 3 times as many contacts.

After several hundred complaints and even a few lawsuits about the scratching, it will be replaced by the new, improved iPhone Nano, available in 4 retro colours. The screen will be brighter than a supernova, and a few molecules thinner than the previous iPhone Nano. You will be able to talk to contacts for a full week on a single charge. The high-end iPhone Nano will be the same price as the low-end iPhone, even though it has a fraction of the storage space, and doesn't even play the latest episode of 'Heroes'.
amazing what people do when they are bored, eh?
 
MacNut said:
Yes, I want the iPhone without the phone, Just give me a touch screen iPod and I would be happy.
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I not only agree 100% with this, but I also agree 100% about the NY Yankees in 07.

I'd like to subscribe to your newsletter!
 
Some would say it could be considered stripped down now. Some features found on other phones are missing. No software add ons yet. No battery or sim replacement etc.
 
balamw said:
That's what they said about flash based MP3 players...
B
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Flash MP3 player case was a discussion before the arrival of a FUTURE product. OP was taking about apple branded normal cellphone that is mainly no different than other cellphones in the current market.
unless apple made a smart, but still not reaching PDA level, phone that was more than a razr, but not a regular iPhone...
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Well, consider that balance of price/function/creativity, if apple can find a balance, it can try.
MacNut said:
Yes, I want the iPhone without the phone, Just give me a touch screen iPod and I would be happy.
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Im sure apple will do it, U just need to wait (I predicted 8 to 12 months 😀)
 
clevin said:
Flash MP3 player case was a discussion before the arrival of a FUTURE product. OP was taking about apple branded normal cellphone that is mainly no different than other cellphones in the current market.
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I think that Creative, Rio and countless others would beg to differ. The flash MP3 market was an existing, healthy, market that Apple did not have a product offering in. Apple offered hard disk based iPods and iPod minis, while the others offered much smaller flash based devices.

To paraphrase you: People at the time were talking about apple branded normal flash based MP3 players that were mainly no different than other MP3 players in the then current flash based MP3 market.

Yet, somehow, along came the nano and shuffle and dominated the market.

As I've said before: visual voicemail would seal the deal for many users even if the phone had NO other features of the iPhone.

B
 
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