Budget iPhone thought to borrow colors from iPhone 4 bumpers

Budget iPhone (Nickolay Lamm and Matteo Gianni concept 004)

Just as Reuters ran a story this morning claiming Apple is planning to release two phablets next year and build  a budget iPhone in variety of colors in 2013, the reliable Japanese blog Macotakara piggy-backs with its own story asserting that Apple’s inexpensive iPhone will actually borrow colors from those iPhone 4 bumpers.

This apparently means such color choices as black, white, pink, orange and blue. The story goes on to note that Apple is shooting for a September launch of the budget iPhone

Reuters in its report mentions that the less-pricey iPhone will come in 5-6 colors, while Macotakara thinks there will be at least five color choices to choose from. The Japanese blog cits a reliable source as saying that green is no longer being considered, though  a (PRODUCT) RED variant is ostensibly in the cards.

Budget iPhone colors (Macotakara 001)

Apple currently offers several gizmos in (PRODUCT) RED, including the iPod shuffle/nano/touch. And conveniently enough, both the iPhone 4S bumper and the iPad Smart Case are being offered in (PRODUCT) RED variants.

Apple Product Red (teaser 001)

As for the upcoming iPhone 5S, Macotakara says gold will be among the color options and maintains the handset is due this Fall, which is consistent with what other reliable sources have claimed.

iPhone 5S SIM tray (image 001)
Golden and beige nano SIM trays believed to belong to the iPhone 5S leaked in April.

A number of analysts believe Apple’s upcoming iPhones will be colorized as Tim Cook & Co. seek to offer customers more choices.

Topeka Capital Markets analyst Brian White wrote in a January note to clients that Apple would offer the iPhone 5S in pink, yellow, blue, green, purple, silver, slate and (PRODUCT) RED.

Two months later, Taiwan-based newspaper Commercial Times wrote the plastic iPhone would also come “in several colors”, with Hi-P and Green Point Enterprises under Jabil Circuit named as suppliers of its polycarbonate body.