According to Chinese-language Economic Daily News a chip manufacturer is going to receive microchip orders from Apple sometime in March which must mean that we should see an iPhone Nano sometime around June. Right? It must. Maybe.

Will the iPhone Nano be a lower-cost alternative? Or will it be a premium, small product? If Apple wanted a lower cost iPhone, the company could simply lower the cost on the profit-heavy current iPhone cries the Internet Gurus. Unless, that is, the price is locked into a contract with AT&T or there is a whole new lineup coming.

So, if there is an iPhone Nano coming in June and it’s going to a be low cost model, it only makes sense that Apple will then launch a higher memory and more powerful full-size iPhone at the same time. That way the company would be able to market one as inexpensive and the other as full featured without taking anything away from the current hot-selling iPhone 3G.

Then again, this is just a f’n rumor from a Chinese news source. Probably not a good idea to hold your breath.

AppleInsider has received photos of an iPhone nano clone that copies the original iPhone almost perfectly but in a considerably smaller form factor.

Rest assured that if a nano does hit the streets come MacWorld, it won’t look like this misshapen homonculous. I’ve been consistently wrong about Apple recently – I was sure the 3G would have a front facing camera – but I doubt the nano is going to make it to stores this year unless Apple truly has some magical factories that can turn out low-cost miniaturized devices in a down market.

There have been rumors circulating that Apple is going to release a Nano version of the iPhone at Macworld in a few weeks – despite that the big man himself will not be there. We have seen a case mockup but this is the first pic of the alleged device. The picture is labeled as a concept so obviously don’t assume this an iPhone Nano. It just looks like a shank down iPhone that happens to line up nicely with the case mockup from a few weeks ago. Will Apple capitalize on the iPhone success and launch another version at Macworld? Who knows.

Who could forget XSKN, the iPod (etc.) case manufacturer that essentially leaked the existence of the iPhone 3G last May? Looks like it’s done it again, this time outing the iPhone nano, maybe.

A quick scan of the company’s Web site shows an entry for “iPhone Nano” in the iPhone section of its online store. There’s no picture(s) of the case, but keep in mind that iDealsChina did publish a picture last week of an alleged iPhone nano case.

We could jump to conclusions and say something like, “Oh, dear, the iPhone nano is the real deal!” Or, we could be prudent and say something like, “Well, there’s mounting evidence that suggests the iPhone nano could be real.”

MacWorld, anyone?

via MacRumors

Macworld is mere weeks and there really hasn’t been any substantial rumors besides this one involving a iPhone Nano. Ever since the original iPhone launched, Mac fanboys have been dreaming of a complete iPod-ish lineup that includes a small, nano version. It is widely known, and the source of many leaks, that iPhone/iPod case manufacturers receive basic specs and dimensions of upcoming Apple products so there are accessories available at the time of launch so this rumor might have some truth to it. The world has been yelling for a $99 iPhone and this small version might be Apple’s answer. Who knows.

The Daily Mail claims that Apple will release an iPhone nano of sorts in time for Christmas this year, priced at £150, or about $300. The Mail, which, frankly, isn’t exactly The Guardian, also says it’ll be available with pay-as-you-go plans.

The idea here is that that iPhone 3G, while totally amazing, is far too expensive to be made available for pay-as-you-go plans. A smaller, iPhone, on the other hand, would do wonders to fill O2’s (et al.) coffers.

Quite the rumor, yes.

via 9 to 5 Mac

Apparently Bob Woodward now works as a gadget blogger. Unwired View insists that the iPhone nano is real. It also insists that the iPhone nano won’t—repeat, WON’T—have a touch screen. Super. Why would Apple remove the iPhone’s only killer app? It’s not like people are flocking to the iPhone because AT&T has such a wonderful cellular network. (Or maybe AT&T just stinks in New York?) Either way, the View says that, when JP Morgan said it couldn’t confirm the availability of the iPhone nano, it wasn’t a retraction of its earlier story saying, “Sure, the iPhone nano might come out one day.” Terrific.

I guess I just don’t “buy” that Apple would release an iPhone without its much vaunted touch screen. That’s like releasing the Xbox 360 without the ability to play video games; you can only stream your pics and video to it. It seems silly, IMO.

iPhone Nano Is Real [Unwired View]