Ondrej Holzman Undoubtedly, iPads and MacBooks have received the most attention in recent weeks, with new versions expected in the near future. The Apple tablet has been talked about for a long time, and speculations about a new series of laptops with the Apple logo are also quite extensive. In the last few hours, however, the number one topic is someone else - the iPhone nano. The new version of the iPhone, on which they are said to be working in Cupertino, should arrive in the middle of this year. What is it all about?
A small iPhone has been talked about for years. There have been frequent suggestions of what a scaled-down Apple phone could look like and how much it would cost. So far, however, Apple has denied all these efforts, and journalists have only ended up with figments of their imaginations. But now the stagnant waters have been stirred up by a news magazine Bloomberg, which claims that Apple is indeed working on a smaller, cheaper phone. The information was to be confirmed to him by a person who saw the prototype of the device, but did not wish to be named because the project is not yet publicly accessible. So the question arises as to how reliable this information is, but according to the amount of (unverified) information available, it is probably not made from pure water.
iPhone nano
The working name of the first small phone should be by The Wall Street Journal “N97”, but many fans already know what Apple would name the new device. The iPhone nano is offered directly. It should be up to half smaller and thinner than the current iPhone 4. Speculations differ about the dimensions. Some sources say the size is one-third smaller, but that's not that important at this point. Much more interesting is the information about the so-called edge-to-edge display. Loosely translated into Czech "display from edge to edge". Does this mean that the iPhone nano would lose the characteristic Home button? That's still a big unknown, but we've recently been talking about the future of one of the few hardware buttons on an Apple phone they speculated.
The new MobileMe and iOS in the cloud
In terms of design, the iPhone nano should not be too different. However, the fundamental difference may be hidden inside. An anonymous source that should also have something to do with the secretly guarded prototype, namely pro Cult of Mac stated that the new device will lack internal memory. And completely. The iPhone nano would only have enough memory to stream media from the cloud. All content would be stored on MobileMe's servers and the system was mostly based on cloud synchronization.
However, the current form of MobileMe is not sufficient for such a purpose. That's why Apple is planning a big innovation for the summer. After "rebuilding", MobileMe should serve as a storage for photos, music or video, which would significantly reduce the iPhone's need for large memory. At the same time, Apple is considering providing MobileMe completely free (currently it costs $99 per year), and in addition to classic media and files, the service would also function as a new online music server, which the Californian company is working on after buying the LaLa.com server.
But back to the iPhone nano. Is it even possible that such a device could do without internal memory? After all, the operating system and the most important data must run on something. Photos taken with an iPhone would have to be uploaded to the web in real time, email attachments and other documents would also have to be processed. And since on a global scale internet connection is not well available everywhere, this could be a major problem. Therefore, it is more realistic that Apple would rather choose a kind of compromise between internal memory and the cloud.
One of the reasons why Apple would resort to erasing the phone's internal memory is undoubtedly the price. The memory itself is one of the most expensive components of the entire iPhone, it should cost up to one quarter of the total price.
A lower price and Android challenger
But why would Apple even venture into such a device, when it is now reaping huge success with the iPhone 4 (as well as previous models)? The reason is simple, because more and more smartphones are starting to hit the market and their price is falling and falling. Above all, smartphones powered by Android come at prices that are very attractive to users. Apple simply cannot compete with them at the moment. In Cupertino, they are very aware of this, and that is why they are working on a scaled-down model of their phone.
The iPhone nano should be much more affordable, with an estimated price of around $200. The user would not have to sign a contract with the operator, and Apple is working on a new technology that would allow switching between different GSM and CDMA networks. With the purchase of a phone, the user would thus have a completely free choice of the operator that offers him the best conditions. This would significantly break the ice for Apple in the US, because until recently the iPhone was offered exclusively by AT&T, which was joined by Verizon a few weeks ago. In case of new Universal SIM, as the technology is called, the customer would no longer have to decide which operator he is with and whether he can buy an iPhone.
A device for everyone
With a smaller iPhone, Apple will want to compete with the large influx of cheap smartphones with Google's Android operating system, and at the same time appeal to those who were thinking about buying an iPhone but were put off by the price. Today, almost everyone has heard of the mentioned $200, and if the iPhone Nano had the same success as its larger predecessors, it could significantly shake up the mid-range smartphone segment. However, the small iPhone should not be intended only for newcomers, it will also find its users among current users of either iPhones or iPads. Especially for the iPad, this smaller device would seem like an ideal addition. In its current form, the iPhone 4 is significantly closer to the iPad in every way, and many people will not find a use for both devices at the same time, although each device serves a slightly different purpose.
A possible iPhone Nano would, however, be offered as an excellent complement to the iPad, where the Apple tablet would be the "main" machine and the iPhone Nano would mainly handle phone calls and communication. In addition, if Apple perfected its cloud synchronization, the two devices could be perfectly connected and everything would be easier. A MacBook or other Apple computer would then add another dimension to everything.
We can conclude the whole case by stating that Apple and Steve Jobs himself refused to comment on the speculation. But Apple is probably testing the iPhone nano. Several prototypes are regularly tested in Cupertino, which in the end will never be seen by the public. All that remains is to wait until the summer, when the new phone should appear together with the redesigned MobileMe service.
I don't want to say, but if the iPhone nano will be smaller, it will not only be smaller in height, but ESPECIALLY IN WIDTH!
Why should it be like that? be? is there some rule that it must be smaller than the diameter or where did you come up with that???
In fact, the wide one could stay the same because it's the perfect size for the palm of your hand. With a smaller width, your fingers cross over to the other side, or how to describe it differently. ;-)
I agree with ipadmaster - as the main reason for keeping the aspect ratio is application compatibility.. However, let's remember how elegantly Apple solved the increased resolution - multiple times, in order to allocate as little work as possible to the developers and so that the applications look the same on every device..
just according to the available photos, it looks like the display should be the same dimensions.
I don't know where exactly this information comes from, but I assume that the roots will be with Apple itself, which is checking reactions to some similar device. In my opinion, this is stupid. App compatibility issues aside, I would never buy a touch phone with a smaller screen. If the display remained the same but the dimensions were reduced, then I don't understand how Apple could sell it as a cheaper version, because the production costs would be higher.
If I wanted to have a cheaper version of my flagship, then I will simply continue to sell the previous model 3GS, where my research and development costs were paid for a long time ago. Although with the 3GS itself, it was basically nothing.
People will buy it because it will be new, unused, all the applications will work, the design will still work, and if it cost 1/2 or a third of the price, they would definitely turn their retinas green.
That's exactly how I think :-)
why do expensive development, testing, when I can use the ending generation as an "entry level"
If there is anything like that at all, I don't think that the size of the display will fundamentally change. It would immediately disprove several claims made by Steve Jobs Drive. I think it would be logical if Apple prepared some kind of edge to edge iPhone (about the size of the current display), which would have a real cloud OS. This iPhone would be different enough to not be able to cannibalize the sales of the new iPhone5 and for 2) it would not contradict what apple claims.
And how about making the iP4 cheaper and selling it as a lite version of the iP5? If the iP5 had 8 megapixels, the display would be slightly improved, better endurance, more memory, etc.
:D you amused me
Again, in the future, a cheaper series may appear more advantageous than dragging out the production of older models. If the first iPhone nano succeeded, the development of the 2 would be paid for and Apple would have both the upper and middle class occupied at once :)