"Extremely reputable sources have told AppleInsider in recent weeks that the company's iPhone roadmap for the 2007 calendar year includes not one but two distinct models, the second of which is set to turn up just months after the first.

Conceived as a scaled back, lower cost alternative to today's iPhone, the second iteration of the handset is presumed to marry iPod functionality with rudimentary cellular capabilities. More resource-heavy Internet browsing and e-mail capabilities are not expected of the device.

In providing the first visual descriptions of the handset, long-standing industry sources -- who've continually been in tune with Apple's future music directions -- have dubbed the device "an iPhone nano" because they say it best describes the the handset's overall form-factor and aesthetic.

Pricing of the new handset is expected to fall significantly below the $500+ asking cost of today's iPhone models, these sources say, but not so much so as to pinch sales of an upcoming revision to the iPod nano."

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