More on the iPhone (if there even is one)

Michael Gartenberg | October 31, 2006, 09:26 AM

Ian Fogg goes into the four scenarios that are possible for an iPhone. I agree with him on the scenarios but all of them have issues. The first scenario isn't really an iPhone and while we haven't heard much from Moto about iTunes for some time, I would expect that there are plenty of handset vendors that would love to partner with Apple. Of all the scenarios, this one is still the simplest way to get iTunes into the mobile space quickly.

The second scenario seems hard to imagine. Given Apple's nature , the idea of Apple partnering in a traditional sense with any of the US carriers seems questionable. I can't see a meeting of the minds at a time when carriers are haggling about branding, software UI and all the things Apple is least likely to cede to partners.

The third scenario would be more interesting would it not be for the sad state of most MVNOs. Hard to see Apple looking at that business and jumping in.

The fourth scenario is possible but totally goes against the way consumers in the US buy phones. Even an Apple branded phone, with no carrier subsidies would face some uphill battles.

So what does this mean? Nothing really. It just means the current models for doing this don't play well with the way the market works at the moment. It would not surprise me to find that Apple has either a fifth model or some unique twist on one of these in the works to bring a phone to market.