iPhone nano still enroute, but not for US?

Apple could be making its rumored iPhone nano primarily for non-US markets, checks by analyst Brian Marshal of AmTech. Despite the absence of the smaller, lower-cost device at Macworld, Marshal believes the device is still on track for an early 2009 release based on investigations but warns that AT&T isn't yet known to be testing the hardware, suggesting that any early release would launch outside of the US.

"The best-case scenario here would be a China launch," he says, referring to the pressure to launch the device in the populous country. "But we have no definitive knowledge of this and are working on identifying the [locale] of launch and other pertinent details."

Such an effort would be uncharacteristic of Apple, which often insists on launching new products and services first in its home country and launching the devices elsewhere later. To date, the company has also reserved its new iPhone introductions for mid-year with a small-scale capacity boost having appeared in early 2008.

However, Apple is potentially under pressure by China Mobile to adapt to the local market, which through the carrier will embrace the locally developed TD-SCDMA standard for 3G instead of HSPA.

The iPhone nano posited by a currently unverified case leak is said to be a shorter but thicker variant of the iPhone 3G's design that may reduce storage or features to reach a lower price point.