Yesterday, Steve Jo introduced the iPhone. It is clearly the next generation of iPod. It's the full-screen video iPod we've waited for. It's the full-color fully-designed interface we've waited for. It's the fully-co ected wifi and bluetooth device we've waited for. And that doe 't even mention the built in eakers and microphone.
So why does it have to be an iPhone? Surely there's a huge market out there who wants all these features but who doe 't want the Cingular piece of the action. Of course, many of you will rightly point out that one can purchase the iPhone, maybe even use the iPhone to good effect, without using the phone itself. The included two year contract is a bit of a stumbling block, e ecially if monthly charges (which I'm still really unclear about) a ly.
So why not offer a phone-le iPod? It doe 't have to wait for FCC a roval except i ofar as any Bluetooth or WiFi device might need some paperwork done. Why not sell a basic "true fullscreen video iPod" at the $299 price point that removing the phone hardware might allow, to the large market of iPod upgraders who'd jump on buying one like a starving Georgia Tech student on barbeque?
My gue is that introducing a phone-le iPod would ca ibalize early sales of the iPhone. Of all the goodies introduced about the phone, it's the phone component that's the least glamorous. Sure, a lot of us would pay a premium to carry fewer gadgets in our pockets. Combining the iPod and the phone and a lot of the PocketPC features makes se e--and I tell you as a PocketPC user, that the iPhone does not score too well on the PocketPC range of capabilities--but it also takes a lot of choice out of the equation for those of us under existing phone contracts who are looking for a better iPod and not nece arily an iPhone.
So when do we see an actual G6 iPod sa the phone co ectivity? Your gue is as good as mine.
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