Rumors: Verizon could get 'iPhone Nano' and 'Zune phone'
Published: 29 April, 2009
The 'iPhone Nano' has become one of those rumors that is just too good to let go, and a cutdown version of the Apple handset has been linked to just about every wireless partner and event this year, without actually materializing. The latest candidate to launch the device is Verizon Wireless, which was reported this week to be in talks with Apple about a CDMA version of its flagship smartphone.
The reports have grown more detailed overnight, and BusinessWeek cites sources that claim there will be two iPhones for Verizon, both different from current models (which could arguably get round any commitments to AT&T even if it extends its exclusive to 2011). These will be, say the unnamed sources, a low cost handset called 'iPhone Lite', and a media pad with a Wi-Fi connection. The latter would be geared to images, music and video and would fall into the emerging hybrid category of tablet/netbooks, which have also been spotted at Samsung and various European operators such as O2 and Orange.
Verizon is certainly determined not to put all its eggs in one handset basket as AT&T has done. This week's rumor mill also included talks between the number one US cellco and Microsoft, plus an Android phonemaker, while the operator is also expected to launch an upgraded BlackBerry Storm this summer, following the phone's outstanding contribution to its data ARPU in the first quarter.
The Wall Street Journal trumped BusinessWeek's story with a report that Verizon is in talks with Microsoft about a musicphone running the Zune software - like the cutdown iPhone, a Zune handset is one of the industry's favorite recurring rumors this year. Microsoft is unlikely to risk developing its own hardware just as it is signing up more big name supporters for Windows Mobile, so a Verizon branded device would likely come from an existing CDMA phonemaker, with the bets on LG, Microsoft's closest ally in the sector and a long time Verizon supplier.
"Microsoft's strategy has not changed, it is and has always been to provide a software platform for the industry," a company spokesman said.
Meanwhile, Venture Beat speculates that Verizon is also looking to launch an Android phone this year. The cellco has been lukewarm about Google's software platform, unlike CDMA rival Sprint, which was a founder member of the Open Handset Alliance, the body that supports Android. However, with the platform gaining profile, it could decide to get in early, perhaps working with Samsung, which just launched its first Android handset in Europe with O2.
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