How would an iPhone nano work?

The rumours of a cut-down iPhone that is smaller and cheaper persist and every day there seems to be some new news story or blog about it. Actually, there is no news because Apple doesn't say anything about products that may or may not be in development. So is there an iPhone nano in the pipeline? It seems very unlikely and I'd say that it is a 99% certainty that there isn't.

There are several reasons for this and one is that the iPhone is all about apps. There are hundreds of thousands of them and there are some amazing ones that are really good. Without any apps, the iPhone would not be anywhere near as attractive. It would look expensive and unexciting.

Imagine an iPhone nano with a smaller screen. How would all those apps work? They wouldn't. If the screen is shrunk down even by just a bit so it is 75% the size of the current iPhone many of the current apps wouldn't fit on the screen. Making a bigger iPhone is fine because like the iPad, apps could be scaled up or displayed in the centre of the screen with a border. How do you make apps fit a screen 25% smaller though?

If you shrunk the screen and used the retina display on the current iPhone you could end up with a small-screen iPhone that had the same number of pixels as the original iPhone. This would allow apps to run OK, however, many iPhone apps use very small text and it is often at the limit of my vision. If the screen was made smaller these apps with tiny text would be unusable because they would be unreadable.

Just as the iPod nano is like a tiny iPod Touch without apps, an iPhone nano would have to be like an iPhone without apps, or at least limited to very basic ones bundled with it like contacts and calendar. Even email would be difficult on a smaller screen. And what about the on-screen keyboard? Would it be as good if it was smaller?

Of course, Android is available on many different screen sizes including small ones, but the difference is that from the start app developers have been creating apps for screens of different sizes. Have iPhone app developers been told to create apps for a smaller screen? That's one rumour I've not heard. I think app developers would be the first to know if there was an iPhone nano coming out.

Read More

iPhone nano coming soon

Every year there are rumours that Apple is working on an iPhone nano. This will be smaller, lighter and cheaper than the ordinary iPhone and it will open up new markets for the company. This year's rumours say that the iPhone nano is a response from Apple to the continuing success of the Android operating system and the number of mobile phones that are now using it. Where do these rumours come from and is there any truth in them?

There are more rumours about Apple and the company's products than any other and this is partly because of the secrecy that surrounds its activities. Whereas other companies are more than willing to let you know about the exciting new products and services they are working on, Apple keeps quiet and doesn't say anything until it is ready to launch or is very close.

I think that the rumours about the iPhone nano and other products (there's a new one each week about the iPad), are just wish lists from enthusiasts. Someone will wish Apple would produce an iPhone nano and they will start a rumour that the company is working on one. The rumours will spread as they get repeated in blogs and websites and tweets. The hope is that this will grab the attention of Apple and the company will think that there is a strong demand for the product and so create it.

I don't think there is any truth in the rumour about the iPhone nano and it's just someone trying to persuade Apple to create one by getting everyone to talk about it.

I think Steve Jobs uses his company to produce products for himself. This is why there is such a small range - compare the number of products that Apple produces with Dell or HP for example. There's a case for a desktop computer and a laptop, even a standard laptop and an ultra thin one. There's a case for an iPad. There are different uses for an iPod Touch and a Shuffle or nano and you don't want an iPod Touch in the gym for example. But Mr Jobs is probably thinking, "I've got a phone, it;'s a great phone, what do I need another phone for?" Unlike an iMac and a MacBook, iPod Touch and Shuffle, you can only use one mobile phone at a time and you don't need two. Apple sells a lot of kit to Apple enthusiasts and all those iPhone owners won't buy an extra phone because they've no use for it.

There is no iPhone nano.

Read More