iPhone Savior: Old iPhone Nano Rumor Enjoys Useless Comeback

While all eyes are focused on an Apple tablet rumored to make an appearance sometime in September, Apple may have re-leaked a two-year-old patent for the long fabled iPhone nano concept which re-appeared in new Australian documents. The mysterious relic measures roughly 3.6 inches tall, 2.5 inches wide, and one-quarter inch thick and closely mirrors the size of the company’s current 4th generation iPod nano.

VentureBeat was quick to run with the ancient patent story first picked up by Mac NN, adding fresh life to the tired rumor by making up imaginary launch dates and possible pricing, offering up wild guesses that other websites will inevitably grab and report as factual news. I'm convinced this useless rumor comeback is one of epic proportions.

"Our best guess is that Apple will unveil the iPhone nano at CES in January, or at a separate event around that time to upstage other phone makers’ announcements,"

"The phone would become available in the middle of 2010. Price, subsidized by a mobile carrier? It’s tempting to say “Free,” but we’ll go with $49 because Apple likes to position its products as cost-effective premium gadgets, rather than giveaways." Some dude with a hat wrote for VentureBeat

Meanwhile, Jack Purcher for Mac NN waxes on in depth, totally speculating about the nano's interface, painfully pouring over the patent drawings with several long and unnecessary paragraphs. He called the device an "Interesting yet confusing concept." Any rumor that outdated is bound to be confusing. Even so that still does not disqualify it from becoming fresh headline news in the age of the internets.

While it's too early to tell if Apple leaked the iPhone nano patent news down under in order to take focus off their tablet, it's safe to assume there's no such iPhone device in the pipeline. But you should know that Jack Purcher claims the Nano-phone concept is "In development at Apple." Which may be a bit of a stretch for the sake of giving the story fresh legs.

Here's what we do know for sure, none of us is as dumb as all of us when we dare to put our heads together.

[VentureBeat via Mac NN] [Nano concept by Tracy Hall]