We don't doubt that Apple (AAPL) chief Steve Jobs will mention the iPhone during next month's Macworld keynote. But we highly doubt that he'll be using his keynote to introduce a new, smaller iPhone nano.
Macrumors points to a photo from "questionably reliable" iDealsChina, purportedly showing off a case for a "Nano iPhone," and other illustrations of a smaller-sized iPhone.
Nice job, but probably fake. Why? While the iPhone nano is a funny, recurring joke, it doesn't make sense. Eventually, we think Apple will broaden its iPhone lineup. But we don't think its next move is to make a smaller iPhone. Why not?
- It's already hard enough to type on the current iPhone.
- A smaller one -- which would probably have a different screen resolution -- would either not work with current apps or would make them look/work different.
- A smaller iPhone would almost certainly not have better battery life than the current iPhone -- perhaps worse.
So a smaller iPhone would almost certainly be a worse consumer experience than the current iPhone. That's not the kind of thing Apple does. We don't think Apple will ever sell an iPhone that is not at least as good as the current iPhone -- anything less would not be an iPhone.
Moreover, the iPhone's biggest problem isn't size, it's price, and we don't think a smaller iPhone is a cheaper iPhone.
We think Apple will cut the prices of its current iPhones by $100 by next summer, and will add on to the high end of its lineup with more memory, color choices, and potentially additional features and services. But we think they'll do so without sacrificing features and -- for now, at least -- without making the iPhone physically smaller.
See Also:
Will Apple Sell A $99 iPhone Next Year? Yes
Goldman Whacks Apple: Tanking Economy To Hurt Sales
Apple Tweaking iPhone App Store: Good News For Shoppers, Developers
