The Apple iPhone has been a huge success, bringing innovative touchscreen technology to the masses and making Apple lots of money. However, it’s not exactly a cheap option, with the handset itself costing a tidy sum and the monthly contract making owning an iPhone an expensive pastime. Cue the iPhone Nano.

Maybe, hopefully, possibly. You see, despite numerous rumors of a smaller, cheaper version of the iPhone having been floating around the blogosphere for months, nothing has yet been officially announced. Now, with the Macworld Expo in San Francisco just a few weeks away, those rumors have resurfaced once again.

The latest speculation about an iPhone Nano come courtesy of IdealsChina, which claims to have got hold of the case design for the new iPhone. The site claims that the case is already in production, and uses the fact that the case design for the 3G iPhone leaked ahead of release to back its claim that this is legitimate.

The rumored new iPhone Nano is smaller version of the 3G, with all the features except for 3G itself. IdealsChina claims Steve Jobs will use the Macworld Expo to launch the device, with production starting on December 20, 2008. There is rumored to be an early production run of between 60,000 and 80,000 units per day.

IdealsChina has a mixed record on these types of rumors and looks to throw a lot at the Web in the hope that some stick. So I’m treating the speculation with a whole heap of skepticism. If Jobs does indeed announce an iPhone Nano at the Macworld Expo then so be it, but until then, this is all just speculation of the highest order.

Having said that, it would make sense for Apple to release a cheaper version of the iPhone. It would bring a whole new demographic into its customer base and increase sales of the iPhone considerably, making it even more of a market leader than it already is. Maybe the $99 Wal-Mart iPhone is actually the Nano?

Then again, when has Apple ever tried to appeal to the working man or those at the lower end of the financially viable food chain? All its products are overpriced, so a cheaper iPhone would be going against the grain of Apple’s history quite considerably. I guess we’ll find out the truth at the beginning of January when Jobs takes the stage for his annual Macworld keynote speech.

Related:

Cameras coming to the iPod touch, iPod nano?

3G capable iPhone 2 launching mid-year

New Apple iPhone could be shrunk in size, price, features

iPhone Nano on way – name, release date, features unknown

Camera equipped iPods an all but done deal…

Entry was posted on Monday, December 15th, 2008 at 3:46 pm under News, Opinion, Rumor, iPhone.  Print This Post

Read more entries by Dave Parrack.
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