Apple prototyping "iPhone lite" and MacBook Mini / media pad for Verizon?

Hot on the heels of yesterday's reports of Apple and Verizon dealings comes some tantalizing, but still unconfirmed, new details from BusinessWeek. According to the publication, the gang in Cupertino has prototyped two devices for the carrier. The first one is a smaller, less expensive device that's been dubbed as "iPhone lite" by someone who's apparently seen it in person. The other is called a "media pad" (Joggler, anyone?) for music, photos, HD video, and placing calls over WiFi. Details are scant beyond that, and while that pad sounds a lot like an iPod touch to us, we can't help but wonder if it has something to do with those 10-inch displays that Quanta's rumored to be manufacturing. Don't put too much stock into this, as the reports could end up being all for naught, but one thing's for sure: you can bet the suits at AT&T are keeping a very, very close eye on this. In other, even sketchier and likely unrelated rumors, a listing for "MacBookMini" has popped up in Adium's statistics. While we wouldn't normally think anything of this -- as TUAW correctly notes, anyone can edit their computer IDs -- it was from these pages that we first heard the name MacBook Air. Chances are this is nothing, but with all this talk of 10-inch screens and media pads, it kind of makes you wonder.

[Via TUAW; image courtesy of Frunny]

Read - BusinessWeek
Read - Adium stats

[Chris @ Apr 28th 2009 2:06AM]

the new Verizon Hub made by Apple? sounds like it could be good.

[Franco @ Apr 28th 2009 1:48AM]

not surprising since apple to a company that will look out for itself own well being, now apple has gotten as many as at&t user then its time to go for the rest of the people who is not on at&t.

[LonelyTV @ Apr 28th 2009 1:49AM]

Let's just hope that Verizon doesn't cripple this "iphone lite" like they do with all their other phones.

[The Dude @ Apr 28th 2009 2:13AM]

If you mean that you hope they don't bleed all over the phone with their hideous laggy red interface...you're asking a lot of Verizon.

[rTwelve @ Apr 28th 2009 2:17AM]

lite = denoting a reduction of an aspect of a product, be it fat, size, features...

My money's on the last two :P

[MastrCake @ Apr 28th 2009 2:53AM]

Hey now, the major cripplage is primarly only on their dumbphones.

Their smartphones have only minor cripplage. After all, they allowed the App World for BlackBerry, right? And they didn't mess around with the BlackBerry interface, did they? Oh, and what about the Windows Mobile interface? Sure, that could use a lot of messing around with, but they don't do it (with the exception of the Q9m), right?

My point is that if Verizon wants a shot at the iPhone, they need to allow Apple to do what they want. That means NO VCast video, NO VCast Music (after all, Apple has iTunes) and ABSOLUTELY NO VZ Navigator!

If Verizon gets the iPhone, it will probably be the exact same thing as the AT&T iPhone, but with better reception and such.

[Dragonfly @ Apr 28th 2009 5:18AM]

I doubt very much that a control loving company like Apple, would ever allow anyone to mess with their UI.

[Macfly @ Apr 28th 2009 12:46PM]

Huh !?

[iphonerulez @ Apr 28th 2009 8:19AM]

I almost feel sorry for the competitor handset makers if Apple is able to pull this one off with Verizon. It might double the amount of iPhones being sold. People will be tossing their LG Dares into the garbage where they belong. People won't have a weak reason to say they can't get an iPhone because they don't want to switch networks. Apple might be able to gain enough leverage to change the carrier industry making the handset company more important than the carrier. Verizon should bring the iPhone into the the network, step back and let Apple do it's thing. Verizon will be able to sit back and just rake in the cash. There would be an improvement for all customers at both Verizon and AT&T as both carriers try to make joining each respective network more attractive. Might even drive down monthly costs.

[CaptCaveman @ Apr 28th 2009 1:24PM]

"If Verizon gets the iPhone, it will probably be the exact same thing as the AT&T iPhone, but with better reception and such."

I would hope so. But why are they calling it "iPhone lite"?

If the only thing that makes it lite is that it doesn't have a SIM card then this would be wonderful for customers. ATT would no longer be the only carrier with what could be called one of the most popular phones out right now. Verizon would go after the ATT customers that are nearing the end of their contract and ATT would have react to try to keep them. Heck, even customers that have plenty of time left on their contract could jump ship. It's not like you couldn't sell your current iPhone to pay for the ETF and still have plenty left over...

[ThreeDee912 @ Apr 30th 2009 10:55PM]

@MastrCake

Usually Verizon doesn't cripple smartphones much, except for maybe change the theme/skin to red... -_-

But take a look at what they did to the HTC Touch Pro:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ej_BENjjeb8

[JAW IV @ Apr 28th 2009 1:49AM]

Maybe the writer mistook iPhone LTE for iPhone LiTE...

[ManoloDF @ Apr 28th 2009 3:04AM]

Im with you on this one. There have been those rumors that the iPhone Apple makes for VZ will be LTE since it will be in 2010 anyways (since the ATT exclusivity contract ends in 2010) and LTE will be the new up and coming technology being deployed at that time, so maybe an LTE iPhone is more logical than iPhone Lite, makes more sense to me

[johnmc @ Apr 28th 2009 12:43PM]

Add this to LTE being on the GSM side of progression and I think we have a winner.

[jj @ Apr 28th 2009 3:11PM]

Agreed, from everything I have read, CDMA is going the way of the Dodo, and the world will be united in LTE bliss. My question is, will the Verizon phone be a CDMA/LTE phone (since the network will take some time to upgrade completely)? And, will AT&T come up to bat and get moving on LTE to avoid losing customers?

[d889 @ Apr 28th 2009 2:15PM]

could be true, also remember those smaller iphone covers that were spotted a while ago... maybe those were actually real.

[randy @ Apr 28th 2009 1:49AM]

Judging by the abundance of mysterious "iphone" user agent generated caches with non-standard ~213 pixel screens, Apple will indeed be releasing a smaller iphone soon. Testing appears to be in progress or something...

[iansilv @ Apr 28th 2009 7:14AM]

wait- what do you mean? Where are you getting these caches you are talking about? And what are their exact dimensions?

[SUPERman @ Apr 28th 2009 2:05AM]

It looks great!

[AMiSH PiRATE @ Apr 28th 2009 2:43AM]

um... since that image is completely different from the artist's rendition in the businessweek video (and the trackpad is non-functional), I'm guessing it's nowhere near how the real might look.

[Cunthor @ Apr 28th 2009 2:05AM]

It would be funny to see macbook mini to have even less features then air.

[Calpa @ Apr 28th 2009 2:23AM]

But still beat the Adamo?

[FoxKenji @ Apr 28th 2009 2:12AM]

Dude. Ew.

[allenvanhellen @ Apr 28th 2009 2:14AM]

That trackpad? looks worthless.

[The Dude @ Apr 28th 2009 2:21AM]

Vertical scrolling or even general vertical pointer movement should be a fucking nightmare with that trackpad.

[nikster @ Apr 28th 2009 3:03AM]

Umm.. it's a PS job that has nothing to do with Apple. Kinda pointless to discuss its merits seeing as it is that this will never see the light of the day.

[allenvanhellen @ Apr 28th 2009 3:05AM]

Photoshopping that worthless trackpad is what was pointless!

[FoxKenji @ Apr 28th 2009 2:14AM]

I can't imagine what or how these new devices are going to look like or what exactly it is that they'll do (smart phone-type computing, netbook-type computing, something else all together). If they're actually real of course.

[Ed T @ Apr 28th 2009 9:45AM]

Something else altogether. The larger device will redefine what "ebook" is all about as it opens up an entirely new segment in the portable device market. Forget the trackpad and keyboard, they are history.

Buy AAPL now, it's cheap.

[pika2000 @ Apr 28th 2009 2:17AM]

So, instead of getting unlocked iPhones like other countries, US consumers will now get provider-locked Apple netbook/tablet. Great. What's next, new iMac locked in with Comcast/Time Warner? I'm just baffled at US consumers' love-fest in paying $$$ for provider-locked devices.

[Pretol @ Apr 28th 2009 4:33AM]

I'd argue the opposite.

In US, most people get the free phones (non-existing concept in most of europe). A few people get smartphones, but pay much less for the phone with a 2-year contract (200-300bucks)

In Europe, people spend unbelievable gobs of money on smartphones (500-1000 bucks)

[pika2000 @ Apr 28th 2009 4:43AM]

@Pretol: Funny. Contract/subsidy has nothing to do with provider-locking the phone. In Asia, subsidized phones under contract are unlocked out of the box, including smartphones & iPhones. In some countries, you can get free iPhone with contract. In the US, consumers still have to pay $$$ for a locked phone. Illogical.

[iDavey @ Apr 28th 2009 9:06AM]

@Pretol
Are you slow??? Really?
Where have you ever seen an EU company charge that much for a phone?? Really...
Xperia, Magic, Dream, Touch, N95...
All these phones are free on contract over there...
Over here...we dont even get them on contract...
We're the ones having to pay over $600 for those phones.
I agree with Pika....its stupid that we pay ridiculous monthy amounts on top of $200+ for a decent smartphone right off the bat.
And not to mention phone selection is FAR superior in EU than the US.
They've had access to 5 and 8MP phones for ages...
We're just now getting them

[TareX @ Apr 28th 2009 2:21AM]

Looks like the iPhone is not getting a major hardware update, with all the focus being on a netbook/hd streamer.

I was almost certain the iPhone 3G would be followed by an iPhone HD with a hi-res screen, like all the new high-end phones... and maybe a front cam for iChat.

[Calpa @ Apr 28th 2009 2:25AM]

The current iPhone hardware is over a year old; of course Apple will update it.. all these rumors are just that; rumors.. there's still common sense.

[VanillaSpice @ Apr 28th 2009 8:35PM]

It would be a worry if Apple missed this chance to significantly boost the iPhone's specs - they cannot ride the wave of the App Store success forever, they need to keep pace with (well, at least not stray too far behind) their competitors on the hardware front, too. I still love my first-gen iPod Touch but I'm keen for a newer version with a much better processor so that the games can start surpassing the PlayStation I quality they are at now.

[Greg Mcp @ Apr 28th 2009 2:23AM]

All we have to do,
Is take these Lies,
And make them true...

[FoxKenji @ Apr 28th 2009 2:37AM]

lol that's one pissed off hitler in your avatar

[Jenny Moore @ Apr 28th 2009 4:39AM]

Well, given that, all we have to see is that in the same way that I don't belong to you, neither do you belong to me. It's six of one, half a dozen of the other, really.

[Giroro @ Apr 28th 2009 2:24AM]

"The first one is a smaller, less expensive device that's been dubbed as 'iPhone lite'"

Sunnovabitch! I knew Verizon would figure out a way to ruin the iPhone! They destroy everything they touch :(

[CannedNoodlez @ Apr 28th 2009 3:07AM]

Yeah, because Verizon "destroyed it" by supposedly looking at a prototype.....

[gerrrg @ Apr 28th 2009 2:29AM]

It's like I said on Marketwatch, I think Apple is going for a tablet that takes its form factor and GUI from the iPhone.

[MastrCake @ Apr 28th 2009 2:38AM]

Random post of the day goes to:

Eleazar

Eleazar also wins: FAIL of the day

[Lancelot @ Apr 28th 2009 3:50AM]

Actually this is good news. Maybe now AT&T will lower their rates in order to become more competitive. I'm amazed at the millions of people who have accepted AT&T's terrible rates just to own an iPhone. I have one on T-Mobile but only because I get unlimited internet, minutes & 200 text for $42.00 per month (their preferred customer price). For all you device locked hardware buyers I've just one thing to say.. Wake Up & demand unlocked products. Any wonder European rates are so much cheaper. It's due to the competition caused by the unlocked products you can buy there..

[010111 @ Apr 28th 2009 7:42AM]

yeah. about a billion of people with Mini9 Hackintoshes change it to "MacBookMini".

i wouldn't read much into that at all.

[010111 @ Apr 28th 2009 7:43AM]

er. why'd this show up here? i totally hit the right reply button. i swear.

[Epsilon-Not @ Apr 28th 2009 11:55AM]

Because if there's anyone you can count on for low prices, it's Verizon Wireless... *rolls eyes*

[loosely_coupled @ Apr 28th 2009 2:40AM]

NONE of this makes sense...

First of all, Verizon would get an iPhone before they get a cheaper "lite" version.. Secondly, this tablet/netbook device would obviously have 3G broadband, why would it "place calls over WiFi" ?

[Mitch @ Apr 28th 2009 2:56AM]

It sure could be the new Verizon HUB. VOIP with wifi to stay put in the home. The LITE could be the handset for the HUB.

[Vic @ Apr 28th 2009 11:57AM]

Why do idiots keep bring up LTE. Verizon's LTE network will be NOWHERE expanded enough to begin selling dedicated LTE voice devices. Verizon will sell only data-only LTE devices initially and eventually bring out CDMA/LTE hybrid devices once they expand their LTE network to more major markets.