Bloomberg is reporting that Apple is working on new iPhone models, one of which is smaller and less expensive.
Here’s an excerpt:
Apple Inc. is working on new versions of the iPhone that are aimed at slowing the advance of competing handsets based on Google Inc.’s Android software, according to people who have been briefed on the plans.
One version would be cheaper and smaller than the most recent iPhone, said a person who has seen a prototype and asked not to be identified because the plans haven’t been made public. Apple also is developing technology that makes it easier to use the iPhone on multiple wireless networks, two people said.
This new smaller iPhone would cost around $200 and would not require a contract. This lower price could theoretically allow networks to offer the iPhone for free with the signing of a contract.
Anyway, the smaller iPhone is said to be about 1/3 smaller than the size of the current iPhone, and would have the same internals seen in the iPhone 4.
While Apple has aimed to unveil the device near mid-year, the introduction may be delayed or scrapped, the person said. Few Apple employees know the details of the project, the person said. Apple often works on products that do not later get released.
As a side note, the iPhone also notes that Apple is working on a universal iPhone that could work on both CDMA and GSM networks.
First off, we’ve already seen that the Verizon iPhone now ships with a radio that can handle both GSM and CDMA networks, so, it’s a reasonable thing to expect the next iPhone to work with both networks right out of the box.
To the rumor itself, I still don’t buy it. First off, a smaller iPhone would be hard to use, because a common complaint I still hear is that the current model is too small for some to use comfortably. Next, Apple will never allow networks to give the iPhone away for free. Apple wants this to look like a luxury item, and not a free giveaway phone with a network contract. Lastly, the main complaint for iPhone customers, or even the reason I don’t own one myself, isn’t the cost of the device itself, but rather the cost of the network. $70 a month to run a phone is a lot to swallow for a lot of people. Get that cost down, and iPhones will really move.
So put this on your “possibly maybe” list.
Continue reading:
- Everything New Apple Just Announced (Septembe
- Apple Watch Pre-Order
- Apple Research Kit launches with 5 Apps
- Apple TV now only $69
TAGS:
