A Nintendo Phone is a terrible idea. It would be immediately be shown up by all the apple products, and what's left will be finished off by Androids. The last Phone/Handheld was a failure. Nintendo can't just try to get in the phone market and expect to become rich. We already have companies that have superior phone technology, and with Nintendo's idea of Lateral thinking with withered technology, a Nintendo phone would prove to be a failure, especially without any sort of collaboration. By no means do I hate Nintendo, but they're just not suited for anything like a phone.

I would love to see a Nintendo phone, especially if they can keep up with launching new higher powered models every couple of years. Nintendo would have several advantages to leverage over the competition including its game library, its upcoming cross-hardware ecosystem, its quality of life and fitness line, and its longtime experience and success in the handheld gaming arena. I would like to see Nintendo phones capable of interacting with the console in the way that the Wii U Gamepad does, except on a much smaller and more manageable controller.

Like iPad paired with Apple TV?

Ideally, this is how the mobile market should have matured, but now I am afraid it is to late. Nintendo and Sony needed to make the move back when 3DS and Vita were launched. If we had Cellular cabpable 4G 3DS's and PS Vita's that could do online gaming over AT&T and Verizon this gen of handhelds would be in a whole different position.

Like you stated in the OP, having a wifi only, and a 4G + Cellular capable version of the devices would benifit both platforms. People looking for a dedicated handheld would have the gadget they want, and people looking for the best all in one mobile platform would have the device they desire. Sales of both would expand the overall userbase, and help drive development for the platform.

Personally, I would have added a 3rd platform, which would have been a pure phone, that allowed the play of 3DS/Vita games with either virtual buttons, or a DS3/Pro controller. This would have expanded the market even more by allowing people that prioritzed the portableness of a pure phone over the difficulties of a pure game device to still have access to the games and help the userbase grow.

Unfortunatly, at this point I think Android and iOS are almost impossible to compete with. Microsoft is trying to get Windows phones to compete, but even for them it has taken years, and they are still a long way off from reaching anything close to the other two.

For Nintendo to have any chance at getting a device like this to work they would have to have massive 3rd party support from not only 3rd party and indie game developers, but also the support of non gaming and productivity apps. If anyone wants to compete with iOS and Android they have to have the ability to get mobile banking apps, driving apps, email/calander apps, calculators, word processors, restrants, stores, Fitness, manuel, etc., etc., etc.

Personally, I would love for this to happen, and I hope Sony and Nintendo both have the balls. and can find the finances to achieve it. It is not something that would be easy to pull off, and as I said, it is probably already to late for them to compete. However, gaming is my most beloved form of entertainment, and I would give everything I have to see a company that cares about that first be on top. If Microsoft, Google, or Apple are ruling the world of home and mobile gaming, then I am very sad for the future of this great art, entertainment, emotional, and physical medium.

@Bolded: Did you read my OP at all? I specifically asked in the OP that people read it before commenting. I'm speaking only of handheld gaming here, I have said nothing about consoles. I also said in response to someone else earlier in this thread that "I've had this idea for years. When the Vita was announced, I was disappointed that the 3G model wasn't also a phone. Now that it's almost certain that there won't be another Sony handheld gaming console, Nintendo is my only hope to see how well a dedicated portable game with a wifi model and a phone model will work."

If not Nintendo, then what about Sony or Microsoft? I'm more interested in the potential of the idea than I am in whether its Nintendo that pulls it off or someone else.

Not at all. Please read the OP.

I doubt they would ever let us run the same software. Nintendo isn't going to go from trying to sell us a Mario Platformer/Kart on portable and one on console to being happy only selling us one. They would cut off much of their profit.

They have even been unwilling to practice Sony's limited model of crossbuy.

@bolded: Well, you actually did and just because you wrote the OP does not mean you get to define the bounds of the discussion. I don't think you can talk about Nintendo's future handhelds without talking about their home console when Nintendo themselves have specifically said their future strategy involves integrating both platforms, their 'third pillar' being QOL.

So I agree with the part about an approach that is similar to iOS, in terms of one OS for multiple devices, but I disagree wholeheartedly with you about which platforms they will be.

You painted your picture of how an iOS approach might work, I describe mine, if you feel this isn't relevant consider my contribution complete.

p.s. Bluntly telling people to 'read the OP' is hardly conducive to discussion. If several people have mistaken your meaning, as appears to be the case, then perhaps some clarification is required on your part.

As far as Nintendo Phone goes, Nintendo is a dinosaur that won't be able to get with the times. Nintendo are even bigger control freaks than Apple. They have to have their own walled garden. Good luck selling the public on the idea of a Nintendo Smartphone OS. iOS has the first mover advantage. Android offers a lot more choice. And Windows Phone is a cross between choice and stability.

My prediction is that Nintendo will either scale down their operations to give themselves a chance to cut expenses and get themselves back in the black. Safe bets like Pokemon will continue to have big budgets. But more experimental titles or titles with less mass appeal will see their budgets slashed. Or they will go the way of Sega and strictly become a software developer (I don't think that's really necessary though. That's just a last resort).