Mobile iPod instead of iPhone?
The much-rumoured Apple iPhone may never be developed as a distinct device, but may instead simply emerge through new features that are incorporated into Apple's iPod. According to UK gadgets mag Stuff, Apple will shortly be releasing an iPod with integrated Bluetooth connectivity. This will certainly help users transfer files more easily, but it also sends the iPod down the slippery slope of wireless connectivity. The steps from a Bluetooth iPod to a WiFi iPod are small, and from there to an iPod with GSM/3G connectivity, equally as small. In other words, rather than developing the iPhone as a discrete product, Apple may have fooled us all, and may be focusing instead on adding connectivity features (including mobile communication) to the iPod.
iPod with Mobile Connectivity
This makes sense if you think about it. There are many mobile phones with music playing facilities, but they're still principally mobile phones (even Sony Ericsson's Walkman phones). In contrast, Apple's iPod has always been about the music. An iPhone would simply be another mobile phone with an MP3 player inside and presumably dedicated links to iTunes - and we all know what happened the last time that was tried! All mid- to top-end phones these days have MP3 players in them and around 1GB of storage, so the iPhone will offer nothing remotely new or innovative, and will have to compete with the major mobile phone manufacturers on their turf.In contrast, an iPod is a music device, and adding connectivity to it is just another way of easing the transfer of tunes to and from it. Add increasing connectivity over time, and you still have your music device that's not competing directly with the mobile phone manufacturers; it's just that it also happens to be able to make mobile phone calls because of its increased connectivity. In this scenario, Apple continues trading on the iPod name, its battles with the mobile phone manufacturers don't need to be so intense, and it can market in the same channels it does now, rather than going for new, unexplored mobile phone markets.
Just speculation at the moment, but worth keeping a closer eye on.
