A mini iPhone is looking more and more likely, as a report has just been posted by the WSJ suggesting that a less-expensive iPhone will launch in an attempt to increase sales of smartphones, due to growing competition.

According to “people familiar with the matter”, the new mini iPhone will apparently be around half the size of the current iPhone 4, and would allow carriers to subsidize a good portion of the retail price, thus allowing for a much more competitively priced phone.

Along with the new device there is also talk of Apple updating its MobileMe online storage service. This revamp may involve making the service free, which currently costs $99 to use. Although the storing of personal data would mean an initial loss for Apple in the short term, the closed nature of the service could mean that Apple benefits in the long term – as the data will be stored in the cloud, freeing up memory on the new mini Apple device.

Social networking and music should also be key features incorporated in the new service.

This news also suggests that Apple is taking no chances with its smartphone future, and maybe it’s taking the news of the Nokia and Microsoft teamup a little more seriously than previously expected.

The new mini iPhone and updated MobileMe service should be launched sometime in the summer.

Via: http://www.pocket-lint.com

Read more: iPhone mini looking more likely by the minute – Pocket-lint http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/38560/iphone-mini-more-likely-minute#ixzz1E1cLl2JW

By Sean Hollister posted Feb 13th 2011 at 6:40PM

The Wall Street Journal has weighed in on rumors of Apple’s smaller iPhone, and citing “people familiar with the matter” the publication says that the rumors are likely true. One such familiar person reportedly saw a device half the size of the iPhone 4, bearing the codename “N97,” and said that the handset will be only about half the size of the original, and at only around half the price too. Amazingly, those anonymous sources continued to divulge information, expressing the idea that Apple could finally make its MobileMe cloud service suite free, and that it just might be the platform from which Apple could finally launch a streaming music platform and lessen the need for all those gigabytes of flash storage in your pocket. We’ll let you know if or when any of that happens, okay?

Update: The WSJ‘s source proved even more talkative after getting an eyeful of the Samsung and Sonyannouncements this morn; the publication’s article has been updated to read that the device is “signifcantly lighter” than the iPhone 4, has an “edge-to-edge” touchscreen, and “voice-based navigation” of some sort.

By Carrie-Ann Skinner, PC-Advisor-(UK)    Feb 11, 2011 10:31 pm

Apple is thought to be preparing to launch a low-cost version of theiPhone.

According to Bloomberg, which cites a source that claims to have seen the device, the iPhone Mini will be around a two thirds of the size of the existing iPhone and does not feature a ‘home’ key. It is likely to cost around $200 in the US, although no speculation was made on UK pricing.

It is thought the smaller handset will be available with a “universal” SIM that allows users to switch between networks without having to remove on SIM and insert another. Furthermore, it is likely to be made available on a Pay As You Go (PAYG) basis rather than 18-month or two-year contracts.

Apple hopes the low-cost device would help rival the success of Google Android, which as well as targeting the high-end smartphone market, has become popular with low-cost devices that offer many of the same functions as smartphones.

“Instead of targeting 25 percent of the global mobile-phone market, Apple would be going after 100 percent,” Charlie Wolf, an analyst at Needham & Co, told Bloomberg.

The source also revealed that Apple initially aimed to unveil the device mid-way through 2011 and very few Apple employees know the ‘iPhone mini’ exists.