JPMorgan: Next iPhone based on iPod Nano design

Speculation about iPhone 2.0 is already well underway, and the latest tidbit involves an iPod Nano-like phone supposedly scheduled for later this year.

Kevin Chang with JPMorgan Chase in Taiwan thinks a slimmer iPhone is on the way, based on conversations he had with unnamed sources and an Apple patent filing for a slim device that uses an input method similar to the familiar iPod scroll wheel, Reuters reports. This would allow Apple to ship a cheaper version of the original iPhone, he said.

Could the iPod Nano be the template for iPhone 2.0?

(Credit: Apple)

I'm not sure what to make of this one. The iPhone's main selling point is its touch-screen interface; why would Apple come out with a crippled version of that so quickly? Chang notes that a scroll-wheel iPhone would have "rather limited functionality," but that seems to be putting quite a gloss on the pitch. Maybe Apple's bringing back rotary dialing?

Still, a smaller iPhone could help Apple make inroads into places like Europe and Asia where shoppers are accustomed to sleek, powerful phones. But it would seem quite an engineering challenge to get all the necessary components into a device the size of the iPod Nano. Motorola's Razr phones come to mind, but they didn't use the same touchscreen interface and they weren't running Mac OS X, which means they could have gotten away with slimmer and less powerful chips.

This isn't the first reference to iPhone 2.0. Another report surfaced in May claiming that the second-generation iPhone would use a different design on the outer shell of the device. And the European version of the iPhone, which Apple has said will arrive later this year, is almost universally expected to run on the faster 3G networks prevalent across the pond.

[Zerocool3001]

I'm not sure when they'll figure it out

I've seen this sort of thing before. Whenever Apple unveils a <br />product that catch the attention of more than just the Mac <br />community, people not familiar with the ins and outs of Apple <br />speculate that they will begin behaving like everyone other <br />technology company they're familiar with. Only they don't.<br /><br />Apple has consistently demonstrated that their marketing and <br />development strategy is in no way normal (and ends up being <br />much smarter). I don't think there are any plans whatsoever to <br />release a downgraded version of the iPhone. In fact Steve Jobs <br />has made it clear that he wishes there were enough space and <br />battery power in the current design to accommodate additional <br />features (3G for example). Since this sort of prediction has been <br />made endless times in the past I doubt anyone familiar with <br />Apple will pay attention, but it likelihood of this prediction <br />coming true must be spelled out.<br /><br />If you don't believe me, see the development and marketing <br />process for the first iPods, or the first iMacs, or current iMacs, <br />or...

[tehrani625]

New iPod!?

This could be a sign that they are making the device that I have always wnted in the first place: an iPhone without the Phone and with more flash say around 32gig. or this could be say a multituch remote for front row so that you don't have to see your mac to use it. Or it is the iPhone nano. Just throwing out ideas wondering what other people will think.

[ubnyan]

iPhone 2.0 speculation

Speculation about the iPhone 2.0... well, is just that, speculation. Everybody is already trying to guess what will be apple's next big thing. Remember all the iphone online concepts and people saying it will be like this or like that then all of the sudden they were all proven mistaken when the real iPhone was unveiled early this year. I am confident Apple will amaze us again with new products. Let's just wait and see what they bring us next... without the speculation.