Analyst claims iPhone nano on track for fourth quarter
A researcher from JP Morgan believes that Apple is already on the verge of releasing a second, lower-cost iPhone model based on its most popular iPod.
Pointing to alleged, unnamed sources within the supply chain near his Taiwan office, analyst Kevin Chang suggests in a new report that Apple is gearing up for the release of a cheaper iPhone in the fourth quarter of 2007 that could use the iPod nano as its foundation to trim costs. A distinct possibility for Apple, Chang guesses, would be to simply gut the smaller iPod and price a version adapted for phone use at $300 or less.
"We believe that iPod Nano will be converted into a phone because it's probably the only way for Apple to launch a lower end phone without severely cannibalizing iPod Nano," Chang says in the report.
The prediction also refers to Apple's recent click wheel phone patent as proof of the technical backing for such a concept. The result would be "limited" in features but would be feasible with the approach described in the US Patent and Trademark Office filing, he says.
Such a price drop would also boast a far greater potential for sales in 2008 than the 10 million Apple chief Steve Jobs announced in January of this year. Sales of between 30 and 40 million are "achievable"if Apple has a less expensive iPhone ready in time, Chang adds.
The method described in the July 5th claim refers to a converted click wheel that adjusts its functions based on context, such as reverting from the traditional circular scrolling motions to tapping out phone numbers on different sections of the wheel during the calling process. No touchscreen is included or mentioned in this design, which to date remains only a concept.
Apple representative Natalie Kerris has declined comment on the issue, refusing to either confirm or deny the report. The company in the past has typically stated that it does not comment on rumors or unannounced products.
Pointing to alleged, unnamed sources within the supply chain near his Taiwan office, analyst Kevin Chang suggests in a new report that Apple is gearing up for the release of a cheaper iPhone in the fourth quarter of 2007 that could use the iPod nano as its foundation to trim costs. A distinct possibility for Apple, Chang guesses, would be to simply gut the smaller iPod and price a version adapted for phone use at $300 or less.
"We believe that iPod Nano will be converted into a phone because it's probably the only way for Apple to launch a lower end phone without severely cannibalizing iPod Nano," Chang says in the report.
The prediction also refers to Apple's recent click wheel phone patent as proof of the technical backing for such a concept. The result would be "limited" in features but would be feasible with the approach described in the US Patent and Trademark Office filing, he says.
Such a price drop would also boast a far greater potential for sales in 2008 than the 10 million Apple chief Steve Jobs announced in January of this year. Sales of between 30 and 40 million are "achievable"if Apple has a less expensive iPhone ready in time, Chang adds.
The method described in the July 5th claim refers to a converted click wheel that adjusts its functions based on context, such as reverting from the traditional circular scrolling motions to tapping out phone numbers on different sections of the wheel during the calling process. No touchscreen is included or mentioned in this design, which to date remains only a concept.
Apple representative Natalie Kerris has declined comment on the issue, refusing to either confirm or deny the report. The company in the past has typically stated that it does not comment on rumors or unannounced products.
Comments
That's some quality grammar AI.
Also, why is this not in the iPhone category?
But as for the content of the article itself, I say that an iPhone nano would be pretty cool even though it has been talked to death already and we were sure it would come, but was just a matter of when.
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"Kevin Chang has suggests"
That's some quality grammar AI.
Also, why is this not in the iPhone category?
"We believe that iPod Nano will be converted into a phone because it's probably the only way for Apple to launch a lower end phone without severely cannibalizing iPod Nano," Chang says in the report.
This is just speculation, right? It would mean that Apple will replace their best-selling MP3 player with a phone? If true, can this iPhone nano be used as an iPod, without AT&T activation? In the fourth quarter of 2007 the iPhone will be available in the U.S. and in Europe, but maybe not all of Europe. And what about the Asian market? The iPod nano will be allegedly discontinued, the iPhone nano won't be available in Asia until some time next year.
I also believe that all ipod/iphones from now on should include a multitouch display.
Thats just my opinions./
No way. After all the feedback Apple are getting I'm sure the iPhone software engineers are busy working on updates for the current phone, which by the way has to be ready for release in Europe by Q4 and Asia in 08, no small undertaking. Also, many engineers will be working on Leopard to ensure its success in Q4, a product that will be available worldwide at launch. It will come under intense scrutiny from many journalists, bloggers and I suspect even the mainstream media will announce its arrival. Getting it right will be crucial to Apple's continual growth in its $1000+ hardware lines. The iPhone has demonstrated to many PC users the brilliance of Apple software engineering, Leopard needs to be great and I believe this is where Apple is focusing for the short term.
I have no doubt Apple are working on a another model, what form it takes is unpredictable as the current size of the iPhone is perfect for typing and navigation. I think the virtual keyboard in its current form becomes impractical at nano sizes. They'll come up with a great solution, but we won't see it till Q2-3 08.
iPhones do not replace any of these in my mind, unless you have more money than brains.
iPhones should remain a separate product line with Mini and Business/Pro models.
Leopard, new Macs, new iPods, and the iPhone was only released 11 days ago. However, this foolish rumour should help AAPL's stock value tomorrow.
PS: I thought we'd see a simple update to the iPhone and an Apple PR release of how many they've sold by now.
That means anyone who wants a small form iPod would BE FORCED into a 2 year contract with AT&T. Highly unlikely.
I have no doubt that a smaller iPhone is in the works, but it won't replace the nano, it will be in addition to.. It will probably be just a basic phone and iPod without all the web/email and internet functions, but again, I really think Apple is going to focus on getting the current iPhone into Europe and Asia before we see any new models.
Does an iPhone nano even make sense. The reason that I want the iPhone is wifi, email, browsing, interactive calendar, contacts, etc. don't think this would be workable on a nano.
Of course it does. However, it almost certainly won't have all of the above features or the big iPhone touch screen. I'd guess it would outsell the iPhone too as most people don't want an expensive big phone.
Sony Ericsson make the big fat P990 with all of the features of the iPhone (roughly) but they also make the ultraslim W880i Walkman phone (9.4mm thick 3G phone) for those people that don't need all the features of the P990.
Incidentally, before the latest round of SE updates to Symbian OS 9 on their phones, the Symbian based phones all had perfect syncing with iSync. It's partly why I still use a P910i (Symbian OS 7) instead of the OS 9 phones. And Opera Mini on the P910i is actually pretty good too.
If they don't make the iPhone Nano as wide as the full iPhone though, typing on it could be a little tricky, which makes me think it'll forgo the touch screen and have real number keys and be a more traditional phone form factor.