It’s never fun retracting something you or someone that works for you wrote. JP Morgan had to issued a note retracting Kevin Chang’s earlier projection about a near term iPhone Nano. According to TUAW’s exclusive report, the company now says that the majority of Chang’s assumptions appear to have come from a review of the patent that was published last week, adding that a near-term launch of an iPhone Nano product would be “unusual and highly risky.”

[Chris Davies]  While I’ve no doubt Chang is feeling pretty sheepish right now, this whole affair goes some way to show the massive impact a company like Apple can have on the analyst and investment community. Remember, people like Kevin Chang are paid to predict the future; okay, they have patents, inside sources and other information to go on, but at the end of the day their profit comes from capturing the zeitgeist of public and producer and theorising a few steps down the line.

[Chris Davies]  What these retracted ideas do indicate is the potential consumer demand for iPhone-related hardware. Hits to our original analyst story about Chang’s report were massive, and rumours and conjecture have occupied many bloggers across the internet community today. Right now, the focus seems to come back to 3G before anything else (and there’s no doubting that Apple has creases and omissions to sort out in its first-gen device), but few would argue against Jobs & co. likely making the most of their already-iconic handset. A mid-range, perhaps nano-based cellphone from the company is pretty much inevitable; we just have a whole lot more rumour and speculation to go until we know anything solid.

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