Looks like the rumours were true. A low cost iPhone is in the works. How would they structure it though will be a mystery. Will it be something like the iPod Shuffle? An iPhone with bare minimum functionality? I have 2 lines of thought for this low cost iPhone.
The first line of thought is pretty straightfoward. Strip out some functionalities of the iPhone and create a low-cost alternative. I can think of the following changes in a low cost iPhone:
- No Wi-fi
- No GPS (means no Google Maps App)
- Less than 8GB of internal memory (maybe 4GB or lower)
I was thinking of adding reducing the size of the iPhone but it is not feasible due to the minimum size of the on-screen keyboard. I do not think Apple will want to introduce the stylus to the iPhone, and I do not think they will create a brand new Apple OS for a low cost iPhone. It won't make business sense.
I also have another line of thought for a low cost iPhone. The concept is actually quite simple. Use the previous generation iPhone as the low cost alternative. This would make business sense for Apple because:
- They can reduce their inventories of their previous generations of iPhones and help their partners clear stock.
- Tap the market where users get the previous generation phones due to the lower cost.
- Naturally create a limited supply of low-cost iPhones.
I guess we'll know next week. Looking at the Steve Jobs news, I will not be surprised if he makes an appearance in the WWDC 2009. He might not be presenting the keynote, but he might "show face".
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