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NYT: Apple considering a cheaper iPhone, but not a smaller one right now
Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal seemed pretty sure that an iPhone nano was inbound, but the New York Times' anonymous sources dispute that tale -- the paper writes that "Apple is not currently developing a smaller iPhone," and that the company is "not planning to introduce a smaller iPhone anytime soon." While the publication doesn't outright deny the existence of such a device at any point in the story, it does quote an anonymous Apple executive as saying that it doesn't make sense for the company to create multiple iPhone form factors at any given time, and an anonymous Apple engineer as saying that cheaper components, not a smaller size, would make for a cheaper overall price. One thing's for sure: either Apple's making one, or it's not. In related news, the Times' sources corroborate the idea that Apple will make MobileMe free, and say that the next full-sized iPhone is nearly complete. Woo!
The iPhone nano to forgo local storage? Common sense says 'no'
Well, MWC is in full swing, where folks like LG, Samsung, Sony, and Nokia are pouring their souls out in front of us in device form. So, naturally, the rumors are swirling about... the iPhone nano. In a followup to the Wall Street Journal's big story, Cult of Mac is claiming some additional inside info from a source with a "great track record." The main idea is that the iPhone nano would rely on the cloud to such an extent that the device wouldn't really have any local storage to speak of, outside of a streaming buffer. This would of course go hand in hand with a MobileMe / Lala-powered streaming music service, and result in significant component cost savings (flash memory is still pretty spendy). While this sounds like a beautiful dream, it doesn't make much sense in 2011. Streaming all your music and other media over a capped 3G connection doesn't sound very consumer-friendly, and there are still plenty of situations where having a nice offline stash of music is a lifesaver. But there's a bigger problem: where do you put your apps without local storage? Android's historic shortage of app storage really bit it in the ass, and we doubt Apple wants to go down that route. Sure, we can see a 4GB or so ultracheap device, with a heavy reliance on streaming media (many people get most of their music from Pandora these days, anyways), but a memory-free iPhone just doesn't sound feasible at this point in time.
WSJ corroborates the mini-iPhone, says Apple may make MobileMe free (update: 'edge-to-edge' screen)
The Wall Street Journal has weighed in on rumors of Apple's smaller iPhone, and citing "people familiar with the matter" the publication says that the rumors are likely true. One such familiar person reportedly saw a device half the size of the iPhone 4, bearing the codename "N97," and said that the handset will be only about half the size of the original, and at only around half the price too. Amazingly, those anonymous sources continued to divulge information, expressing the idea that Apple could finally make its MobileMe cloud service suite free, and that it just might be the platform from which Apple could finally launch a streaming music platform and lessen the need for all those gigabytes of flash storage in your pocket. We'll let you know if or when any of that happens, okay? Update: The WSJ's source proved even more talkative after getting an eyeful of the Samsung and Sony announcements this morn; the publication's article has been updated to read that the device is "significantly lighter" than the iPhone 4, has an "edge-to-edge" touchscreen, and "voice-based navigation" of some sort.
iPhone nano rumors heating up, destined for Q4?
While analysts have been speculating that Apple may unleash a smaller (and cheaper) handset in the not too distant future in order to grab a sect of market share not interested in the relatively pricey iPhone, the rumors are seeming to gain traction. According to Kevin Chang, a JP Morgan analyst based in Taiwan, Apple is actually looking to "launch a cheaper version of the iPhone in the fourth quarter that could be based on its iPod nano music player." The report cited anonymous sources "in the supply channel" and also referenced the now-famed patent that suggests such a device could be materializing. Still, we'd highly recommend taking all of this in with a healthy heap of salt for the time being, but don't be incredibly shocked if your next iPod nano unexpectedly rings while you're stereotypically browsing through Gorillaz tracks.[Thanks, Matt, image courtesy of InformationArchitects]
