My take on the Apple phone

There have been all kinds of rumours about Apple releasing a phone. No matter what they do now, unless it was something very cool like a shoe-phone, it won’t measure up to the stunningly vivid hype that’s been happening. I think they’re working on one. Whether it’ll see the light of day or not is another question.

But here’s my take on what I think it’ll be.

It obviously won’t be called iPhone, because Linksys owns that name, and has released some products with that name . I don’t think it would ever have been called that. iChat Mobile, rumoured before WWDC just sounds lame – it does leverage the iChat thing, but not many iPod users know about iChat. Bzzzt. The two brands that Apple has are iPod and Mac. Like the iPod nano, iPod shuffle and mythical iPod video, this will be iPod phone. Why create another brand?

Concerns have been raised about Apple trying to sell their $600 phone next to cheap and subsidised phones from Sony Ericsson and Nokia. I don’t think this will happen, at least in the short term. Apple’s got a very good network of company stores (at least in the US) and a smattering of resellers world-wide. Why create a new dealer network when you’ve already got one? These phones won’t be side-by-side with other mobile phones. They’ll be for sale online and at existing Apple resellers. Anyone who sells iPods will now sell phones.

I’m not sure what mobile technology Apple will use. GSM seems likely, but some variety of 3G also seems likely. Problem is, Apple’s biggest market, the US, doesn’t really have the 3G coverage that the rest of the world has. Sydney and Brisbane both have HSDPA networks, which allow (in theory) 1.5 mbit downloads. Melbourne’s will be up in March. I think that while a 3G phone would appeal to Apple, they might have to settle for a plain GSM phone to ensure compatibility with networks worldwide.

The form factor. Hmmm. I’m going to go out on a bit of a limb here. I think the new iPod phone will be a clip-on accessory for current generation iPods. It will feature number keys, pick-up and hang-up buttons, and an enhanced headphone jack that will allow for voice input. It clips on to the iPod in much the same way as the Nike+ or iPod radio does. It’ll be cheap, too. Future iPods may have this functionality built in, but I think a cheap-ish clip-on device is just the kind of revolutionary idea that would appeal to Steve Jobs. Instantly convert the millions of iPod owners into potential phone carriers. That’s enough to cause the big phone companies a bit of a worry. Later on, there will be refinements – touch screens and virtual scroll wheels and stuff, smartphone features – but right now, I think they’re going to keep it simple with a clip-on.

None of this is based on any privileged knowledge. I know just about as much as the average schmoe, and the form factor idea is really out there. But I figured I’d throw down my predictions to see how off the mark they’d be come MacWorld. What do you think, gentle reader? Is there even going to be a phone?