BenQ, a cellphone maker based in Taiwan, has stated that Apple will be producing an iPod with a built-in phone and have been courting various Taiwanese phone producers in the last 3 months or so to manufacture the new device. Scheduled to launch within the next few months, the iPod Phone (or iPhone) will more than likely not carry the capacities that the larger iPods see (currently 30 GB and 60 GB), but will instead be in the 1 GB - 2 GB range of the iPod nano. Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Hon Hai Precision will build the new device, according to reports coming out of analysts in Hong Kong. “An iPod phone is definitely coming. BenQ will not be making it as we are in competition with Apple however several of our suppliers have been approached to manufacture parts,” the unnamed BenQ executive. “Among manufacturers in Taiwan it is common knowledge. The issue for many is the availability of parts if the phone takes off.”
Ellen Tseng, a Morgan Stanley analyst in Taipei, added, “Apple still hasn’t decided whether to give the contract for what’s being referred to as an ‘iPhone’ to Hon Hai or to another manufacturer.” Another unidentified analyst stated that Taiwan Green Point Enterprises, which manufactures plastic iPod casings, is in talks with Apple to participate in the creation of the iPhone.
In any case, a successful music-playing cell phone would be a tremendous boon for Apple, whose current major “cash cow” is the iPod. With almost 900 million phones expected to be sold worldwide in the next year or so, even a very small percentage could yield a good deal of profit for Apple. While it would seem more than likely that the iPhone would be a phone with music-playing capabilities, it’s also possible that a modified iPod Video with a built-in phone could be the real iPhone. With Apple, it’s tough to decide which is more plausible, so keep your eyes on Apple to see exactly what they’ve managed to cook up this time.
[Source: SmartHouse]
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