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Topic: Hardware

'iPhone nano' could swamp the mobile market; kill off rivals

Summary: Apple is reportedly working on a smaller, lighter version of their popular iPhone device, dubbed 'iPhone nano'. Could this swamp the mobile market and kill off rival manufacturers?

Zack Whittaker

By for iGeneration |

As Android remains at the top spot for the world's most used mobile operating system, Apple are reportedly designing cheaper, smaller iPhone-like devices to compete with Google's mobile software.

iPhones are expensive, but arguably proportionate in price for what they can do. Arguably, both the iPhone and the BlackBerry devices are ruling the marketshare at present for their ability to do practically anything.

As Apple Insider reports:

"The new smaller iPhone is expected to priced cheap enough to be offered by carriers for free with a smaller subsidy, or in the ballpark of $300 unlocked. Rather than being a dumbed down 'feature phone,' the smaller iPhone is said to simply be "significantly lighter," with a smaller edge-to-edge touch screen."

The 'cheaper iPhone' could be sold to carriers at half the existing price of the regular iPhone, meaning greater subsidies to the end consumer. It could in effect also be an emerging handset for those in less economically developed areas of the world.

Though the partnership of Microsoft and Nokia to provide Nokia touch-handsets running Windows Phone 7 may not be able to take on the iPhone demographic, it is more aimed at attempting to knock a few chips away from Android.

But if Apple's iPhone is already a dominating force in the mobile market, a less expensive iPhone-like device could put other mobile manufacturers out of business. Who would want a cheap Nokia phone at $99 when they could easily jump aboard the iPhone bandwagon and claim the social status for around about the same price?

The Generation Y is all about the iPhone. While it is clear on the ground that the standalone portable music player is not as important as an iPod combined with mobile calling technology, the iPhone still takes the top place as the contender of choice for younger consumers.

Topics: Hardware, Banking, iPhone, Mobility, Nokia

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  • RE: 'iPhone nano' could swamp the mobile market; kill off rivals

    i dont think it will cost half the price... and nano wont change the fact that there are some ppl which simply doesnt like iphone. I may be wrong but i dont see a nano iphone as something really useful. Its a smartphone not meant to make calls only. For regular use you need a screen at least the size it is today but anyway you can cut the price of the phone its easy you see carriers selling androids and others almost for nothing but i dont see ppl of "less economically developed areas of the world" buying a smartphone just because the phone is cheap. how about the monthly fee? phones are the least of their problem, carriers already push them at almost to none cost.
    bnlf
    Reply Vote

    • Apple is pure HYPE nothing there

      Examples are:<br><br>the 4G will turn the tide around it didn't<br>the 4G on Verizon will give Apple Millions of new users in a day. (As of now 5 days later, nothing).<br><br>Most of the hype that led to the iPhone's popularity was driven by little innovation and Tons of hype. The Nano can make some dent because of the price. But Apple and its followers base their assumptions on that everyone wants Apple products. <br><br>Why was the 4G almost a dud. Why was the 4G on Verizon a dud. Simple Lack of innovation to backup the hype. Price is a key feature, but without innovation its just dead on arrival.<br><br>Android has excelled and trampled Apple's smartphone marketshare (and most likely these coming years, tablet share) because it provides more innovation than Apple does.<br><br>Examples are:<br><br>- Larger screen<br>- 3D screens<br>- Better multitasking<br>- Faster processors<br>- A LOT OF FREE Stuff.<br><br>Free has a nice ring to it for people that can't afford much. And in a recession a LOT of people can't afford much. Once you have tried Android and go over to Apple's kingdom, you love the speed (which is irrelevant with dual core processors) but miss all the other nice functionality Android provides that Apple doesn't.<br><br>- Flash<br>- Free GPS<br>- Real Multitasking<br>- More choices<br>- Freedom!<br><br>So until Apple addresses these issues, it will continue to bleed marketshare.<br><br>FYI.. <br><br>When G1 arrived, I stated it would overcome the iPhone it has.<br>When 4G arrived I stated it was a fluke it was<br>When 4G Verizon came along I hinted that sales would not materialize, they have not<br>Back a year ago I stated Android would overtake iPhone by 2011 when everyone stated it would do so in 2014, it has.<br>I stated the Windows 7 phone would be a fluke, it has been.<br><br>The only thing i missed by a couple of months is when Android would overtake Apple's App share, stated it would be in Feb 2011, it will be later this year.<br><br>But so far, I've been on right on the money.<br><br>My take on the Nano, it may gain some market share, but to really turn the tide around, Apple has to change its philosophy, something that probably will never happen while Steve Jobs pride stands in the way.
      Uralbas
      Reply Vote

      • RE: 'iPhone nano' could swamp the mobile market; kill off rivals

        @Uralbas

        "When 4G Verizon came along I hinted that sales would not materialize, they have not"

        First of all, I assume when you say the "4G Verizon" you mean the iPhone 4, not the 4G network. Assuming that:

        Verizon stated that the pre-sales of the Verizon iPhone produced the largest number of first day phone sales in their history.

        As far as the lack of crowds at the stores on actual first day of sales to "everybody", most people ordered online. Verizon has free overnight shipping, so why go wait in line? I guess Verizon customers are smarter than AT&T customers, or maybe AT&T customers are more concerned with being seen in line waiting to get their magical Apple device, I don't know.

        That said, my wife now compares her brand new iPhone to my original Droid, and except for screen quality, is kind of disappointed in it. It also doesn't have the connectivity at home that my Droid and her old Moto Crave did, YES, she drops calls at home whereas she didn't before. Go figure.

        I do agree with you as far as Android goes, however. I am in no hurry to trade my Droid for anything else.
        babyboomer57
        Reply Vote

      • Wow. 100% wrong on all accounts.

        @Uralbas

        Must be a new record. What is this 4G you are talking about?

        As for the iPhone 4 on Verizon, it now represents more than 10% of Verizon's total smartphone share on their network. A dud. Thanks the the delusional humor.
        Bruizer
        Reply Vote

      • Well...

        [i]"the 4G on Verizon will give Apple Millions of new users in a day. (As of now 5 days later, nothing)."[/i]

        Well, it's hard to get exact sales figures, but apparently Apple had prepared 2 million CDMA iPhones for Verizon's pre-order sale. Verizon had sold out in 3 hours its first batch of 500,000 iPhones. Over a period of 17 hours, Verizon had sold out of the 2 million CDMA pre-order iPhones. That's a pretty impressive feat by any standard.

        [i]"Most of the hype that led to the iPhone's popularity was driven by little innovation and Tons of hype."[/i]

        Apple's innovation was an intuitive, touch-centric OS and expansive app store, all bundled into one package. Apple wasn't the first to the market with many of these concepts, but they improved on them and developed an effective model that made for a great user experience.

        Nearly every company now makes a phone that looks and functions eerily similar to Apple's iPhone. That isn't by mistake.

        [i]"Android has excelled and trampled Apple's smartphone marketshare (and most likely these coming years, tablet share) because it provides more innovation than Apple does."[/i]

        I would argue it's because Android works well enough, and Google followed Microsoft's business plan by licensing an OS to every handset maker instead of making a phone themselves. It is certainly not nearly as polished as iOS, in my opinion.

        Collectively, Android based products have sold more; however, when you compare phone sales by individual companies, the iPhone outsells them by a significant margin.

        [i]"- Flash"[/i]

        I've blocked flash content on my desktop computer for years, and I've never missed it. The only reason you need Flash is for porn and YouTube, and you don't need it for YouTube anymore. Very, very few times have I run into a website that I needed to access that used Flash.

        [i]- Free GPS[/i]

        GPS is free in general, it's the software that usually costs a lot of money. iPhone has GPS via Google.

        [i]"- Real Multitasking"[/i]

        Not sure what to make of that. They both have multitasking, implemented in different ways, with each respective system providing advantages and disadvantages.

        [i]"- More choices
        - Freedom!"[/i]

        I think more options and vendor freedom can be a good thing, but you also have to deal with more forked versions of the OS that aren't compatible, side-loaded crapware and bloatware, and no upgrade path for even newer phones.

        Both the open Android and the relatively closed iOS have their merits.
        olePigeon
        Reply Vote

      • RE: 'iPhone nano' could swamp the mobile market; kill off rivals

        @Uralbas Agreed 100%<br><br>I can only laugh at some of the other replies to your comment. Its like the iPhone crowd has fallen completely into just making up statistics at this point. <br><br>The iPhone is already 10% of Verizon subscribers? If that were true it would be pastered everywhere by now. <br><br>It broke Verizon first day sales records? Has anyone bothered to ask what the record was before? The last phone I remember them talking about was the 200,000 Incredible that sold in 2 days before stock ran out. Well thats 100,000 the first day. And every figure I have seen has put the highest sales figure of iPhones at 500,000 but some have said realistically it may be more around 100,000. Thats great and record setting at all but in the grand scheme of what people think is going to happen with the iPhone its nothing at all. <br><br>Multitasking? No matter what Jobs tells you the iPhone does not multitask like a real computer. It freezes apps when you leave them. So those apps are not updating while you're doing something else. You can't use a third party IM app and stay connected while you do something else. <br><br>Fact is the iPhone on Verizon isn't going to be anywhere near the Android killer some people thought it would be. Reality has struck. All the fabricated superiority of iOS don't add up side by side in real life to Android. Its simply the better OS and people are making that known with their purchases by a large margin.

        @babyboomer57 Your wife's experience hasn't been the first I've heard of people comparing their new Verizon iPhone to an Android device. Mostly I'm hearing people are disappointed when comparing it to an Android device.
        storm14k
        Reply Vote

      • RE: 'iPhone nano' could swamp the mobile market; kill off rivals

        @Uralbas <br>You're looking at the shiny stuff that is meaningless. <br>Four years ago, Apple had ZERO marketshare and ZERO profits in the cell phone business.<br>Now it has 4% of the entire world's cell phone market (not just smartphones) and 50% of the entire cell phone market's profits. <br><br>All the stuff you are talking about is irrelevant.

        That's why LG and Moto are still struggling to make a profit in Mobile, Nokia sold it's soul to the devil, HP ditched WM7, RIM is desperately trying to switch OSes and Samsung and all the other cell phone OEMs still aren't making any more money than they were before Android.
        Synthmeister
        Reply Vote

      • RE: 'iPhone nano' could swamp the mobile market; kill off rivals

        @Uralbas

        Bit Rot
        michaeljackson
        Reply Vote

      • RE: 'iPhone nano' could swamp the mobile market; kill off rivals

        @Uralbas - But it will be many years, if ever that Android will overtake iPhone / iOS. Apple already has 210 million devices in use, Android, 66 million.

        The Android has been a huge failure so far, customers and developers absolutely hate the platform. It will end up like Linux with about 1% share in the coming years.

        So you haven't gotten any of your predictions right.
        Pederson
        Reply Vote

    • status symbol

      @bnlf
      Its a nano status symbol- just cheaper and lesser status.
      I honestly dont know who they are selling that too?
      To those that wanna show off they have an iphone - but a lesser version?!
      JABBER_WOLF
      Reply Vote

    • RE: 'iPhone nano' could swamp the mobile market; kill off rivals

      @bnlf - No, you could make an iPhone with exactly half the screen size, but the same resolution, it will sell like hotcakes.

      Android has pretty much died now that the iPhone available on Verizon, customers and developers HATE the Android devices, so it's good they are being phased out.
      Pederson
      Reply Vote

    • RE: 'iPhone nano' could swamp the mobile market; kill off rivals

      olePigeon - faux multitasking. The iPhone with iOS 4.2 won't multitask even downloading of updated apps the instant you click on ANY app to load. Not even the calendar. It's a bit of a, what's that word..., "joke".
      HypnoToad72
      Reply Vote

  • It won't work!

    This is one rumor that doesn't sound good at all. I mean could you imagine using the puny on screen keyboard? I call bull on this one. Could it be that there'd be 2 iphones a 3.5" and a 4.0"? I just don't see it working too well on a smaller screen.
    General C#
    Reply Vote

    • What? Small screen tablets and huge screen phones.

      @General C#

      The ideas of some people just confuse me. There are lots of successful 3.3" screen phones out there and in the past. Having carried a Droid X for 2 weeks, the thing was just clumsy and it was just slightly larger than the iPhone (lots thicker due to that gaudy camera bump).

      To me, the limit on practical phone screen size is 4.0".
      Bruizer
      Reply Vote

    • RE: 'iPhone nano' could swamp the mobile market; kill off rivals

      This is how I see it and it is really not that hard to imagine.<br><br>Apple already sells the iPhone GS for $49 through AT&T. They could build a similar spec'd but even cheaper model that uses the combo CDMA/GSM chip which:<br>1. Could be sold unlocked/unsubsidized for $200 -$300 (like an iPod touch). Many, many people would like a previous generation iPHone WITHOUT the ridiculous data-contracts. They will just use wifi for data. If you don't believe me, just try to buy a used, unlocked iPhone GS and see how much it costs. Often over $400!<br><br>2. Could still be sold by the telcos for "free" with the obligatory two year contract.<br><br>Of course Google tried this with the Nexus but failed miserably, but Apple's unlocked iPhone wouldn't cost $600, would have plenty of retail distribution, plenty of customer support and a huge ecosystem. And Apple has real hardware chops. Google does not.<br><br>However, Apple will have at least the iPhone GS screen resolution on this model and enough processing power/memory to take advantage of the most app store apps. They will not ditch the app ecosystem just to make a cheaper iPhone. That's what Nokia would do. But a cheap, unlocked iPhone would be just one more way Apple could make an end-run around the telcos.<br><br>The perfect entry level iPhone for developing countries and developers.
      Synthmeister
      Reply Vote

  • RE: 'iPhone nano' could swamp the mobile market; kill off rivals

    I'm disappointed that ZDnet published this story with its rather extreme title. It is very doubtful that one product will "kill off" all others. Zack, there is more involved in mobile communications than fashion.
    mtngoat73
    Reply Vote

    • RE: 'iPhone nano' could swamp the mobile market; kill off rivals

      @mtngoat73 For the Gen Y perspective, social status and fashion are key, intrinsic elements to technology.
      zwhittaker
      Reply Vote

      • RE: 'iPhone nano' could swamp the mobile market; kill off rivals

        @zwhittaker
        Sorry Zack, I have to agree with mtngoat73 - this article is all hype and no substance. Seems more like a fanboy post than an analyst statement.
        nishsingh
        Reply Vote

      • RE: 'iPhone nano' could swamp the mobile market; kill off rivals

        @zwhittaker

        Which means technology is simply a part of everyday life.
        thofts
        Reply Vote

      • RE: 'iPhone nano' could swamp the mobile market; kill off rivals

        @zwhittaker

        Regular cellphones used to imply social status too, now they are everywhere and they are no longer raising any eyebrows. Everyone has one.
        The same thing is happening to smartphones. Nobody is impressed by the fact that you own an iPhone today, why would they be impressed by you owning a cheaper "iPhone lite"?
        Theli
        Reply Vote
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