Developing applications for iPhone Nano might suck

Items of a smaller, more affordable iPhone have circulated since the original iPhone was still in production. There were prototypes of Photoshop and even spec-sheets for the mythical gadgets but rumors seemed to die around the time that Apple started to offer $ 99 last-gen iPhones. For whatever reason, rumblings of an "iPhone Nano" have been cropping up again over the past two days. Here are a few reasons why developers might not be so eager for this device be released.

Fragmentation

One of the biggest annoyances in developing for Android is in writing and testing different hardware capabilities and screen resolutions. This is called fragmentation and iOS from other developers have relatively easy. An iPhone Nano would complicate the development, and some applications simply don't work on a smaller device.

The paradigm of App

One of the most polarizing regarding the iPhone Nano is about stripping out the on-board storage for cloud-based operating system in order to reduce costs. Be able to write native apps offline, is a huge boon for users and proven by billions of downloads of the App Store. To stream applications from the cloud goes against the whole app paradigm we have become so accustomed to. In addition to designing the user interface, the clear advantages of native applications on mobile sites begin to decrease clunky scenario Nano-cloud. I could see this being more reasonable if the Nano had 4 G (and 4 G was largely a marketing ploy at this point). Still no iPod on the subway? Absolutely not.

Data costs

While I'm lucky enough to have been grandfathered into an unlimited data plan from AT&T, new developers might not be so. Tests based on Cloud apps over 3 G would be much more important on an iPhone Nano. This would invariably suck bandwidth, which could inadvertently punish developers very flourishing community of Apple App Store is based on.

On the other hand...

That said, an iPhone Nano might be a good thing if done respectfully users and developers alike. Maybe we'll see a screen with 320 x 480 Nano on board storage is fast mobile data-I wouldn't beat the cloud entirely, but also not rely completely on it. I suspect that the time is not quite right in terms of cost-effectiveness, but then again, as Apple aggressively goes after mass-market appeal of late price with products like Apple TV, this entry may be mature, after all, especially given the heavy subsidisation of service provider. While smartphone sales continue to increase, they are still only about 20% of phones purchased and I'm sure Apple has intention to change the situation.

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New subscription plans for Apple: 5 services that might get screwed

Although the new approach Apple subscriptions on the iPhone and iPad is apparently intended to publishers of newspapers and magazines will also effect non-publication apps.

All subscription-based applications will soon be required to provide in-app purchases, with a cut of 30 per cent going to Apple. This means that profit margins for Internet services will get lighter as consumers are enticed to get their subscriptions directly via the iOS. John Paczkowski at all things d notes that these applications have until 30 June to provide a mechanism for in-app purchasing and, although they still can allow subscriptions outside of the app, the prices within iOS must be equal or better.

Here are five services that may be affected by the change of the policy:

Hulu

Hulu charges $ 8 per month for his Hulu Plus service, extending access video streaming for the iPhone and iPad, among other devices. But Hulu has also to pay for content makes available, and that might be difficult if subscriptions coming through iOS result $ 2.40 less revenue per user, per month. My prediction: Hulu Plus users will be treated to more ads on iOS devices to make up for Apple to cut.

NetFlix

As Hulu, Netflix charges $ 8 per month for a plan of video streaming that excludes DVD mail-order. However, I'm guessing that the impact of Apple's policy on the Netflix subscription will not be immediate as a cause of enormous subscriber base and plenty of other devices that support streaming of Netflix. Prediction of the worst-case scenario: Netflix removes its apps iOS as a kind of power play.

Kindle/Nook/Kobo

Apple's policy also States that apps cannot include links that allow the customer to buy content or subscriptions outside of the application ". This means e-book apps like Kindle from Amazon and Barnes & Noble's Nook will have to sell their products in terms of Apple. If these services would remain on iOS devices without destroying your profits will increase prices of electronic paper.

MOG/Napster/Rdio/Rhapsody

All three music subscription services listed above charged $ 10 per month for unlimited music streaming, on demand of smartphones, while comparable services on your PC will cost only $ 5 per month. Why the discrepancy? Playback on mobile phones requires additional license costs. Although I do not know how much money these services make per subscriber, I hope it is more than $ 3. Otherwise, cutting 30 percent of Apple will wipe out profits for these services, could lead to price hikes for new subscribers.

Dropbox/Box.net/SugarSync/etc.

There is no shortage of online storage services, clamoring for your business with iOS apps, all with different pricing models. Expect the reaction is different for each service, but those who need to modify their may use a combination of higher prices, lower monthly limits or file size restrictions.

Jared blogs for today @ PC World from Los Angeles. Say hi on Twitter.