Nano iPhone Rumors Squelched
07.11.07 - 09:40am
Apple stock has seen another surge on news that a nano iPhone could possibly be hitting stores in time for Christmas, trading as high as $134.50 Tuesday afternoon surpassing the $133.34 high set last Friday.
Alas though the rumors are in the process of being squelched - not completely by any means - but squelched nonetheless.
Kevin Chang who made the bold claims works for JP Morgan. Well, it would appear JP Morgan while not discounting the possibility is definitely not in the cheering section behind Chang.
Senior analyst Bill Shope went on the record saying, “We believe a near-term launch would be unusual and highly risky. It took Apple over two years to launch its first low-end iPod (the iPod mini),” he explained. “Not all consumers want a combined phone and music player, so Apple is likely to keep the iPhone and iPod as distinct business segments for as long as this makes economic sense.”
He also said changes sources have yet to be corroborated and pointed out that a single patent, was just that a single patent, something that rarely translates directly to shipping products. After all we saw quite a number of patents before the iPhone came out, so until we see a few more…
Shope also pointed out that replacing the iPod Nano doesn’t make the best business sense. “The current nano business is solid,” said Shope, “so why risk it? We struggle to understand why Apple would abandon one of its most successful product lines with a carrier-centric low-end phone. For now, it seems aggressive.”
Apple stock leveled off closing for the day at $132.35, but the news didn’t hurt too much as speculation about Apple is always good and this morning the stock is rising again currently at $133.23.
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