Much cheaper iPhone reportedly on way

[Jeff]

http://www.ajc.com/business/content/business/stories/2007/07/10/iphone_0711.html

[megaphore]

The same analyst thinks you will be able to turn ipod nano's into phones. This guy is a freakin idiot.

[TrippalHealicks]

I would love "iPhone 2" to be a scaled-down version, instead of a bigger, better one, like everyone speculates.

Would be a better business move for Apple, and it would also NOT piss off all the early-adopters.

[Quake97]

I see a smaller iPhone as inevitable. Why wouldn't Apple try to make different lines of iPhones like they did with the iPods. With the iPhone costing them $200 in hardware, why wouldn't they try and design a smaller one costing $100 and then charge $300 and $400 for it. The tough part would be the touchscreen, maybe it wouldn't have one, who knows.

Joe

[Hondamaker]

Same thing on etrade in Apple stock news:

"Among the gainers, Apple Inc. (AAPL (https://www.etrade.wallst.com/v1/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=AAPL)) advanced almost 3% to $133.88.

J.P. Morgan analyst Kevin Chang said Apple might be preparing to launch a less expensive iPhone near the end of 2007, using a design based on the iPod Nano. He cited a filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that suggest Apple is developing a cheaper device aimed at younger consumers. See full story..."

[c1ockwerk]

from IGN.Com

iPhone-Nano Shipping in Q4?
JP Morgan reports cheaper iPhone model is in the works.
by Gerry Block (http://gear.ign.com/email.html) http://media.ign.com/ign/images/readmyblog.gif (http://blogs.ign.com/Gerry-IGN/)

showUSloc=(checkLocale('uk')||checkLocale('au'));d ocument.writeln(showUSloc ? '<strong>US, </strong>' : ''); July 9, 2007 - Little more than a week has passed since Apple's iPhone launched rather spectacularly on weekend sales estimated at more than 700,000 units, yet word is already slipping out that a follow up model is in the works, and may be launching sooner than anyone expected. JP Morgan analyst Kevin Chang today put out the word that, according to unnamed sources in Apple's manufacturing supply chain and a patent application filed on July 5th, a smaller, cheaper iPhone based upon the iPod nano is well on its way to production.

The patent application suggests the iPhone-nano will employ a traditional Click Wheel instead of the iPhone's multi-touch interface, so as not to cannibalize sales of the higher-end model. JP Morgan expects Apple to launch this lower-end model for less than $300 to attract the particularly price-conscious American mass-market. Most interesting is JP Morgan's speculation the iPhone-nano will launch before the end of 2007, which is somewhat earlier than most expected to see an iPhone follow-up.

Apple has declined requests for comment, and official word from the company is highly unlikely until much later in the year. Is an iPhone an iPhone without a sexy multi-touch interface? Will a basic phone and iPod amalgam at a lower price be enough to entice customers not willing to shell out for the more advanced model? If JP Morgan is correct, we shall see rather soon.

[alb0zf1n3st]

They want to give the "real" iPhone buyers time to recooperate from spending $500-$600 on the phones so they will sell a much more less advanced verson then after that they will sell some crazier version ... thats maybe my take haha

[lilo]

Here are the pictures (from Apple patents):


http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.engadgetmobile.com/media/2007/07/apple-iphone-simple.jpg

(URL: http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2007/07/06/the-iphone-nano-patent-surfaces/)

and:

http://www.unwiredview.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/applle-ipod-and-iphone-nano-with-touchpanel-on-the-bottom.jpg

URL: http://www.unwiredview.com/2007/05/10/next-gen-ipod-and-iphone-nano-full-screen-with-touchpanel-at-the-bottom/

If these are real ones, I am not sure people outside iPod community will be interested.

[alb0zf1n3st]

Yeah damn looks pretty decent and thought out i like it.. but love my iphone more lol

[lilo]

Yeah damn looks pretty decent and thought out

What exactly do you like, a rotary dial? Back to the future:smile: I'll stick with the keypad, thank you.

[tharmsen]

The same analyst thinks you will be able to turn ipod nano's into phones. This guy is a freakin idiot.
Apple filed a patent for such a device already, so apparently he's not the idiot you think he is.

[joe]

I just don't see this happening at all. (http://www.everythingiphone.com/forum/iphone/apple-may-be-developing-iphones-with-a-range-of-prices-1803.html#post18051)

[ColsTiger]

It might work. One of my favorite features about the current generation is the large display though.

[iPaul]

Apple filed a patent for such a device already, so apparently he's not the idiot you think he is.

iPwned....lol.

[megaphore]

yeah cool so the nano's have phone chips in them ready to be unlocked ... I don't think so... anyone who thinks that is a freaken idiot... As I was saying to the analyst who suggested it

[Citsur86]

Apple filed a patent for such a device already, so apparently he's not the idiot you think he is.

Iv'e actually done some research on this. The patents which were taken out leading to the suspicion of a cheaper and likely smaller (scaled down) version of the iPhone mean nothing and here is why.

These patents, I believe there were 3 in total, were all taken out BEFORE the patents for the current iPhone features and phone itself where. What this means is that these patents could have been taking out for a number of reasons, one of course being a smaller, cheaper, iPhone but is it likely, no way. Whether that was an original prototype which they decided not to use or a patent to simply prevent other companies from developing a similar product, I would not expect apple to release a smaller version of iPhone, at least not anytime soon.

[mjeagent]

Should be real easy to rotary dial while driving.

[megaphore]

Apple filed a patent for such a device already, so apparently he's not the idiot you think he is.

UPDATE 1-JPMorgan analysts disagree on future iPhones
Reuters - July 11, 2007 11:33 PM ET

NEW YORK, July 11 (Reuters) - Clients of JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM) could be excused for feeling dizzy in the last few days after reading the banking group's investment research on Apple Inc (AAPL).

Kevin Chang, an analyst covering telecom equipment for JPMorgan in Taiwan, issued a report on July 8 saying Apple may introduce a phone in the fourth quarter that is inspired by the design of its ultra-slim nano music players and is half as expensive as its $600 iPhone, launched on June 29.

But a day later, Bill Shope, a U.S. analyst who covers Apple for JPMorgan, followed with a note to clients that contradicted virtually everything his colleague had said and questioned the sources Chang used for his take on Apple product plans.

Rather than bring out a low-end version of the iPhone any time soon, Shope said, Apple would likely make its next phone a more sophisticated device with high-speed cellular Internet connections, a feature missing from the current iPhone.

Asked about the conflicting reports, Brian Marchiony, a U.S. spokesman for JPMorgan, said Shope "holds JPMorgan's official view of Apple's stock."

Chang declined comment.

On Tuesday, Apple shares rose as much as 3.2 percent following the report. The stock closed 0.03 percent higher at US$132.39 on Wednesday, underperforming the U.S. Dow Jones index's .DJI 0.56 percent rise.

While Shope said the eventual introduction of a cheaper iPhone is "inevitable," he described the prospects for a near-term launch as "unusual and highly risky." He also dismissed Chang's assertion that Apple could convert its nanos to phones.

"We struggle to understand why Apple would abandon one of its most successful product lines with a carrier-centric low-end phone," Shope said.

He also questioned his colleague's sourcing, saying "the majority of Mr. Chang's assumptions on the form factor and functionality of the 'nano phone'" were derived from a patent filing that gave little information on actual products.

Shope said he was unable to independently confirm Chang's reference to unnamed "channel checks" even as he said the channel checks -- supply-chain sources -- were "very interesting and worth further monitoring."

Another investment bank, Goldman Sachs, weighed in on the debate by saying on Wednesday that it was unlikely a nano iPhone was in the works at Apple. Even if there was one, the product is more likely to be launched next year or the year after.

[phoenixjea]

http://www.unwiredview.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/applle-ipod-and-iphone-nano-with-touchpanel-on-the-bottom.jpg

I think if they didn't have a qwerty keyboard, and they just had it a-z I'd have a real hard time typing. Also, the D is a V in that picture. Hahah.

I personally wouldn't want a "nano" version, just because of the video capabilities ... YouTube passes my time quickly, and if the screen was smaller, my eyes wouldn't appreciate that. Hahah.

[hutchensgd]

I hope your lungs have near infinite air capacity, becuase if you hold your breath waiting for this, you will be in serious difficulty soon.

http://www.ajc.com/business/content/business/stories/2007/07/10/iphone_0711.html

[rbusta]

I would say that, for me, the best feature of the current iphone is the multitouch display. Cellphones with buttons, or rotary dials for that matter, are so difficult for me to even look at now...