Contrary to reports last week from Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal, Apple may not be looking to shrink the size of the iPhone, just the price.
The New York Times today published a report that cites people “people briefed on Apple’s plans who requested anonymity” that claims Apple is focusing on finishing the next version of the iPhone and it will be about the same size as the iPhone 4.
Apparently Apple doesn’t think that a smaller size iPhone makes sense right now, as such a device would only introduce unnecessary fragmentation for developers.
The Times also reports that Apple is working on making the iPhone easier to use by adding more robust voice commands for those that don’t want to use the device’s existing virtual keyboard. The company is also looking to reduce component costs to bring down the price.
Additional details of Apple’s plans include an overhaul of the company’s Mobile Me service, which currently costs $100 and has suffered a lack of adoption due to competitive free offerings from others, including Google.
The new version of Mobile Me would be free and allow users to store and sync files wirelessly and make them available to users across multiple devices. Part of the reason Apple wants users to store more files on line is that it would allow the company to make cheaper devices with less native storage. Flash storage is one of the iPhone’s most expensive components.
Reports were published last week that claimed Apple was working on a smaller “iPhone nano” that had been codenamed N97. The Times cited its sources from today’s report that claimed N97 was actually the code name for the recently launched Verizon iPhone 4.
