Apple plans cheaper, Nano-based phone: JP Morgan
126816
Apple Inc.  plans to launch a  cheaper version of the iPhone in the fourth quarter that could  be based on the ultra-slim iPod Nano music player, according to  a JP Morgan report.
544055
Apple Inc's hefty iPhone price cut pits it in direct competition with handsets from Motorola Inc and Palm Inc, which are struggling to convince Wall Street they can turn around their aging brands.
698230
Remember a couple of weeks ago when Steve Jobs took the stage and announced a $200 cheaper iPhone. That was pretty bad. And an iPhone that's just an iPod. Who needs that! The new Nano sure is cute, but cute insn't enough. I have a 1.5 year old 60GB video iPod that still works (sorry Steve) and I never use the video, so the $300 I have burning a hole in my pocket for my monthly Apple impulse buy (above and beyond the new Mini I bought last week) is going to (drum roll please) Nokia!  Yup, my next iPod/iPhone-alike thingy isn't even from Apple and it runs Linux, and comes highly recommended by geeks everywhere. I just put in the order on Amazon, I'll let you know how cool it is in a few days.  PS: This is my way of thanking Ben Bernanke for the huge windfall I got in the stock market yesterday and today. I think the 1/2 percent drop in interest rates is supposed to make us go out and buy stuff to stimulate the economy. Just doing my part Uncle Ben!
208925
Apple Inc  is playing mobile operators NTT DoCoMo Inc  and Softbank Corp  against one another on selling the iPhone in Japan, where it would vie with some of the world's most advanced phones.
51588
Forget pushing the envelope: Apple is likely to take it easy on its allegedly forthcoming phone, an analyst predicts. In Gear Factor.
310674
HTC's Touch, to be released in November, will undercut Apple's price.
557992
Plus: iPhone price cut, Google Phone rumors, and more.
361480
Similar to earlier forecasts? Industry moles have told Morgan Stanley analyst Rebecca Runkle enough to convince her that Apple will launch the eagerly awaited iPhone in the first half of 2007 after an announcement at Macworld Expo early next year.â¦
544232
People looking to walk into an Apple retailer and buy an&#160;iPhone&#160;with cash will be out of luck. The company is now accepting only credit or debit card payments for the devices so they can track who purchases the phone, according to an employee at the Apple Store in New York&#39;s SoHo neighborhood.The new policy is Apple&#39;s attempt to prevent people from purchasing and then unlocking and reselling iPhones, a situation that has been a problem for the company. Apple won&#39;t let anyone without a credit card or debit card in their name purchase iPhones, according to an unidentified Apple Store employee in a phone interview.&quot;We need to track the purchases of the iPhone [because] we have people buying the phones, unlocking the phones and selling them,&quot; she said.A report by the Associated Press last week said Apple was limiting the purchases to two devices and allowing users to purchase them only with credit or debit cards. According to store employees, the two-device limit has always been in place, but the noncash policy is new.Apple&#39;s public relations team did not respond to multiple requests for comment on the new policy. However, it&#39;s no secret the company is trying to stem the tide of unlocked and resold phones, now totaling about 250,000. Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook mentioned that number last week in a quarterly results conference call as the difference between the number of handsets sold -- approximately 1.4 million -- and those actually connecting via AT&amp;T Wireless, the iPhone&#39;s exclusive U.S. carrier.If one analyst&#39;s estimate is correct, those unlocked phones are costing Apple millions of dollars. Piper Jaffrey analyst Gene Munster said that he believes Apple receives US$18 per iPhone per month from AT&amp;T Wireless, based on iPhone-related revenue Apple reported in its latest quarterly earnings , totaling more than $4.5 million in lost revenue.REFERENCES:AT&amp;T paying Apple $18 per iPhone per month?, Macworld.co.uk, Oct. 25, 2007Apple: 250,000 iPhones unlocked from AT&amp;T, Network World (US), Oct. 25, 2007
123028
An analyst has told clients to expect Apple and Motorola to demonstrate a new mobile phone with a built in iTunes software client at Macworld Expo San Francisco.
161618
Investor's Business Daily - Apple Computer's   new product announcements are often presaged by buzz that the company will release a low-cost device. And every time, the rumormongers are wrong. Until now.
131651
Investor's Business Daily - As more cell phone makers launch handsets that also play musie, Apple Computer  (NASDAQ:AAPL - News) looks poised to defend its turf by going on the offensive with an iPod music player capable of making phone calls.
55292
(InfoWorld) - For all the buzz building about Apple's iPhone launch next week, success is not a sure bet, according to a survey released Tuesday. "The first million, no problem," said Chris Hazelton, senior analyst, mobile technology and trends with IDC, talking about iPhone sales. "Interest in this has been building for years. But the '08 goal [of 10 million sold]...that will depend on the iPhone experience. If it's not rock solid...." The IDC survey, which polled online users researching their next cell phone purchase, found a majority were interested in the iPhone but also revealed several hurdles to mass acceptance. About 10 percent, for example, said they were willing to pay full price -- the iPhone will list at $499 and $599 for the 4GB and 8GB models, respectively -- and sign a two-year service contract with AT&T, the iPhone's sole carrier. That's close to the estimate offered by a survey detailed yesterday by M:Metrics, a Seattle research firm, which said that 9 percent, or about 19 million, of all U.S. cell phone subscribers pegged their iPhone purchase intent at high. Although Hazelton didn't argue with M:Metrics' numbers, he stressed the snags that could limit the iPhone to a much smaller group than Apple and AT&T hope. "The exclusivity of AT&T will be the largest barrier," said Hazelton. "Only some people will have timed it right so that they can leave their carrier and won't have to pay an early termination fee." Others, the survey found, were unwilling or unable to eat the penalties. AT&T's rumored five-year exclusivity agreement with Apple will give the two companies the time to "weed out" other carriers from consumers interested in the iPhone, he noted, but again, that could be a slower process than the companies have planned on. "And then there's the price of the iPhone itself, and the need for a data plan on top of a voice plan," Hazelton said. "That's probably $80-plus a month right there. People will pay it if they want the iPhone experience, but moving forward, that may be simply too expensive." If the iPhone doesn't deliver on its promises, though, all might be moot. Dubbing it the "iPhone experience," Hazelton ticked off many of the same potential pitfalls as other analysts, ranging from the lack of a tactile keyboard to the slower speed of AT&T's EDGE-based data network. How users react to the iPhone, and how they expect to use it, said Hazelton, will ultimately be the most important determiner of success. Nothing will kill the buzz faster and brand the iPhone as a failure, said Hazelton, like negative word-of-mouth from the first buyers. And although the early adopters may be especially savvy about technology, one unknown could play a major role. "There are relatively few people who use smartphones in the U.S., and most of them are business users. This will be the first smartphone aimed at consumers," he said. "It's a complicated phone, basically a computer, and like computers, like Macs, it may crash, maybe a lot." Tales of iPhone problems, say frequent crashes, will turn Apple's hope into another Newton, Hazelton argued, referring to the 1993 PDA flop. In other words, there is much that may not go Apple's way after June 29. Ironically, that would make rivals unhappy, rather than glad to see Apple fall flat, Hazelton said. "The iPhone could open up the smartphone market to the U.S. consumer," he said. "When we talk to other device makers and carriers, they generally welcome Apple to the game. It makes sense. The iPhone raises the bar of customer expectations for what a cell phone is. If it succeeds, other vendors will have more ability to drive product upgrades, get customers to pay more for the device, and carriers will be able to get more people to subscribe to the more expensive plans." Apple will launch the iPhone Friday, June 29, at 6 p.m. local time, with the device available then at AT&T and Apple retail stores.
549905
TechWeb - A teardown analysis finds that Apple has reduced the cost of materials for the 4GB Nano.
357081
Two new iPhones, including a 3G version, could be part of Apple's plans for next year along with a puzzling rumor about Apple TV, according to the financial giant.
101378
Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs apologized and offered $100 credits Thursday to customers who shelled out $599 for the most advanced model of the iPhone this summer, only to have the company unexpectedly slash the price $200 in a push to boost holiday sales.
592216
If you crave an Apple iPhone, but balk at the idea of spending half a thousand dollars on a smartphone, then take heart in analysts&#39; predictions that a less expensive iPhone is on the way. Those predictions suggest a new iPhone might use the iPod Nano&#39;s click wheel interface.