Note – This idea can be argued from both sides. This is just my thoughts on the topic.
I was reading through Digg today and noticed this article. . .7 Reasons Why the iPhone nano Is a Bad Idea. Call me crazy, but this list just seems like a collection of potentially true opinions, nothing more. When an article like this to hit the front page of Digg, it just makes me think. Then again, just look at who submitted it DrOZMAC. 90% of his submissions are from MacBlogz.com(or at least the majority are) so I guess a few have to hit the front page eventually.
So let me break this list down 1 by 1 and tell you why an iPhone Nano is not only a great idea. . .but also, why it would sell well.
1 – App Store – This article says that if Apple released an iPhone Nano then they wouldn’t allow the App Store on it.
This is completely bogus. The best part of the App Store is that most of the applications work on both the iPhone and the iPod Touch. Yes there are some that use GPS and require the iPhone 3G. . .but for the most part, it’s all compatible.
2 – Virtual Keyboard – This article says that the virtual keyboard for the iPhone Nano would have to be smaller.
The virtual keyboard for the iPhone Nano wouldn’t have to be smaller. It might need to be re-designed, but that’s it. The iPhone Nano would have the same width as the regular iPhone(as least by the concept art), it just has a smaller height. Open the Notes application and notice the extra space above the keyboard, and below the text that’s actually being typed. There is room to fit the keyboard.
3 – The Tininess – The article says the iPhone Nano would sell well in Japan(they like tiny gadgets).
The size of the iPhone has always been an issue. Yes some people would like a bigger screen for playing games, but not everyone plays games on their iPhone. Look what Apple did with the 1st revision of the iPhone(they made it smaller). . .and the same can be said with the iPod Touch. The icons that appear on the home screen are scaled down, so why wouldn’t they do it with the iPhone Nano too(with all other images).
4 – Stripped Features – This article says the iPhone Nano would have to be stripped down.
Yet another bogus prediction that has no merit. It’s almost been 2 years since the launch of the original iPhone, why would they need to remove parts. Hardware gets smaller over time and all it really takes is a re-design(internally) with new, smaller parts.
5 – Less Storage – This article says the iPhone Nano wouldn’t be able to have the storage that the new iPhone models get.
This is the only part of the article I agree with. But that is only true if you want to one with a 16GB or 32GB SSD chip. Yes there are a lot of people with iPhones that think even 32GB isn’t enough. Then again, there are people that still have a 4GB iPhone and have yet to fill it up. I could even see a 2GB iPhone Nano(micro SD cards are pretty small).
6 – Worse Battery Life – This article says the iPhone Nano would have a smaller battery, hence a shorter battery life.
Even though this has the potential of being true, I think that a smaller device would be easier on the battery. Especially when it comes to a smaller screen. Personally I don’t have an issue with the battery life. I go days without having to recharge my device. Then again I’m not using it with wifi, bluetooth, 3g, and gps all the time.
7 – Cell Contract - This article says the iPhone Nano would still require a cell contract from AT&T.
This one makes me laugh the most. Personally I think they would have done better and left it at ’6 Reasons Why an iPhone Nano is a Bad Idea’, and left this one out. I guess fluff is fluff though right? Of course the iPhone Nano would require a contract, but did that prevent you from buying the original iPhone(or iPhone 3G)? It didn’t prevent 10+ million other people from buying it(I don’t know the exact number of iPhones sold). If you don’t like a contract, jailbreak it and unlock it(that’s what I did).
Conclusion
Look, there will always been a market for small devices. Whether it’s people buying netbooks instead of laptops or people buying a PSP/NDS instead of a full console. Tiny is good, even when it comes down to losing some functionality. . .Apple and Steve Jobs have proven this with the MacBook Air. The bad part is that the smaller a device gets, the more it will cost(again, refer to the MacBook Air). I wouldn’t be surprised if an iPhone Nano would cost upwards of 400-600 dollars. And just like before, there will still be millions of people willing to buy it.
About Mark
These are some good points, but i still cant see apple making an iPhone nano…… I guess we’ll have to wait and see
I could imagine an iPhone Nano, but EDGE only, maybe GPS, and maybe, unlocked, for people who can’t afford the necessary iPhone 3G plan. As for the app store, there wouldn’t be a seperate one, just devlopers need to add support for a smaller screen and hardware.
if an iPhone nano came out would anyone really buy it??
If u can get a 8gig for $99 with all the features why would anyone spend the same or even more for a small iPhone with less features. Personally I think it a iPhone nano is a waste of time it just seems pointless and with cost of things dropping then how cheap are they willing to sell it for if it is real??
The main thing (amongst many) you got wrong here is cost. The iPhone Nano wouldn’t cost MORE than an iPhone, it’d cost a lot less. That’s the whole point of the iPod Nano, and why everyone keeps on about a $99 iPhone.
So of course it’d have to have stripped-down features. Of course the screen would be smaller- and like it or not, this would have a huge impact on anyone designing apps because they have to target two screen sizes. Changes UI design completely.
Virtual keyboard? You’re basing it having only smaller height on fan-made mock-ups of a device that doesn’t exist. Given Apple’s standardisation of screen ratios across the range (look at the new iPod Nano for example), it seems unlikely they’d just chop some height off.
And you totally missed the point about the App Store.
If they did release the iPhone Nano, then every app would have to re-designed. That doesn’t make much sense. Unless the screen size doesn’t change.
Hey John,
I don’t see your side. Why would every app need to be redesigned? The iPhone could just resize the images on-the-fly
Doug, since the screen size and dimensions would be different, you would have to competely change the interface for every application. Application layout is tightly bound to the dimensions of the screen, and if the phone were to simply “resize” the layout, it would throw off the positioning and/or usability of the elements. For developers, Apple has a document on “User Interface Guidelines” which specifies the minimum pixel spacings so that elements remain usable. It’s worse when you’re relying on the dimensions of the screen for a game like billiards. If you resized the screen, the proportions of the table would be wrong.
Matt,
I understand what you’re talking about. . .but I think it would still work. If nothing else, the iPhone could at least keep the aspect ratio by adding bars to the left/right side(during those games that it would affect)
Remember, I’m not saying this would be the best device to play the games from the App Store. It’s hard enough to play games on the regular iPhone/iPod Touch. In the article I comment on the fact that not everyone uses applications from the App Store. . .so this ‘issue’ just wouldn’t be important to them.
This is a topic that can be argued from both sides. I laid out my thoughts about the idea.
No matter what we think of the iPhone Nano, Apple seems to like it. And it’s going to be coming out for sure. Hey the iPod got smaller and it was a hit. Why can’t the iPhone have the same success.
400$ ? don’t even think about it.. it’s still a phone, and it’s still Apple..
700$ is better !
But I think iPhone Nano is a good idea, and they will do it, even if it means cutting down some pieces (3g, gps).. And it’s not the first time they did it.. remember Macbook Air ? :)
Then I am still waiting the iPhone Shuffle.. Calling randomly someone when you shake it :D