More iPhone Nano rumours are surfacing out of China, as some are beginning to wonder if the much-rumored small iPhone will ship in that area only.

Digitimes picked up on a brief from the Commercial Daily Stories that chip makers Taiwan Semiconductor Producing Company ( TSMC ) and United Microelectronics Co ( UMC ) are prepared to get the contract to make chips for an iPhone Nano, which was described as a “low-cost entry-level” iPhone. TSMC and UMC are maybe the 2 most well known chip foundries in the business, and are maybe preparing to execute Apple’s first iPhone chip design put together by the P.A. But what of the iPhone Nano itself? Rumours first appeared about such a device in 2007, straight after the launch of the first iPhone, but quickly died. They were revived late last year when an iPhone case manufacturer added an “iPhone Nano” class to its products. There is a concept that the genuine iPhone Nano is simply the knock-off versions sold in markets in China and other places in the East, that has proved so popular that demand has risen for cases. But Brian Marshal of Broadpoint AmTech expects Apple to launch such a device at some point this year, and thinks Far East could be the 1st place it arrives.

Marshal asserted his checks with providers show that ATT has not received the device yet for testing, which he thinks suggests that China may be the likely launch place for the iPhone Nano and a new Apple relationship with China Mobile or another carrier. If this iPhone actually does exist, a June launch would make sense given the pattern set in 2007 and 2008.