Just a few days ago, rumors of an impending iPhone Mini came back in full force after disappearing from the scene for a while. Today that rumor is got a bit more credibility thanks to the Wall Street Journal, whose "people familiar with the matter" believe that the device is real. One of those sources claims to have seen the iPhone Nano a few months ago and says that the handset is half the size and half the price of an iPhone 4 and currently sports the codename "N97." The WSJ's tipsters also said that Apple may be planning to make its MobileMe service completely free as well as an important part of an streaming music service.

While I'd much rather see Apple release a bigger iPhone rather than an iPhone Nano, I'm sure that there are plenty of other people that would jump at the chance to pick up a cheaper, smaller iOS handset. The WSJ didn't have any information as to when the miniature iPhone could arrive, but we've heard before that it could be as soon as this summer. So does a pint-sized iPhone sound any more appealing today than it did before?

UPDATE: The WSJ has updated their story with more details on the mini iPhone, claiming that it'll be "significantly lighter" than the iPhone 4 and feature an "edge-to-edge touchscreen" as well as voice-guided navigation.

Via WSJ