“We believe that iPod Nano will be converted into a phone because it’s probably the only way for Apple to launch a lower-end phone without severely cannibalizing iPod Nano,” Chang told Reuters. The new device would have “rather limited functionality,” he added, but at a price of around $300, would be attractive to millions of people who want a snazzy new phone but who wince at the idea of spending $500 to $600 on one.

Now, leaving aside for a moment the probable impossibility of compressing the iPhone’s robust technology into a nano-sized form factor, don’t you think a lower-end iPhone based on the nano design would, you know, defeat the purpose of having an iPhone? Certainly, it would render the device’s Web browsing and video features useless.

Little wonder, then, that a trio of Chang’s New York-based colleagues issued a note yesterday warning clients against putting much faith in his report. “One of our colleagues in Asia, Kevin Chang, published a note discussing his expectations for a low-end ‘Nano’ version of the iPhone,” the note reads. “We caution that the potential for a low-end, subsidized phone from Apple seems unlikely in the near term. Perhaps Apple will choose to eventually replace its iPod family with phones over time, but it would be premature to assume this will happen in volume anytime soon. Our view is that the next iPhone will be 3G and remain a high-priced, nonsubsidized model.”

“We believe that iPod Nano will be converted into a phone because it’s probably the only way for Apple to launch a lower-end phone without severely cannibalizing iPod Nano,” Chang told Reuters. The new device would have “rather limited functionality,” he added, but at a price of around $300, would be attractive to millions of people who want a snazzy new phone but who wince at the idea of spending $500 to $600 on one.

Now, leaving aside for a moment the probable impossibility of compressing the iPhone’s robust technology into a nano-sized form factor, don’t you think a lower-end iPhone based on the nano design would, you know, defeat the purpose of having an iPhone? Certainly, it would render the device’s Web browsing and video features useless.

Little wonder, then, that a trio of Chang’s New York-based colleagues issued a note yesterday warning clients against putting much faith in his report. “One of our colleagues in Asia, Kevin Chang, published a note discussing his expectations for a low-end ‘Nano’ version of the iPhone,” the note reads. “We caution that the potential for a low-end, subsidized phone from Apple seems unlikely in the near term. Perhaps Apple will choose to eventually replace its iPod family with phones over time, but it would be premature to assume this will happen in volume anytime soon. Our view is that the next iPhone will be 3G and remain a high-priced, nonsubsidized model.”