Don't know about phone.  But they could integrate a 4G network integration with their next handheld via a partnership with a phone company to make online gaming and downloads less of a hastle on mobile in the western world where WiFi isn't as reliably omnipresent :P .

But they said pretty clearly that the whole mobile thing is going to be...well a mobile thing, built from the ground up for the current mobile market space.  SO I don't think this would be a particularly beneficial appraoch.  They seem to desire segregation of handheld, mobile, and console in terms of game experience, not blending. 

Dude, don't make it more difficult then it really is. Nintendo doesn't have to teach anyone how to play CoD, AC or GTA. Nintendo gamers already buy and play these games, they just do it on PS or Xbox. Why? Cause these games are better on these platforms! Compare AC IV - Wii U is easily the worst version and it is all because of Nintendo and its stupid mistakes. The game plays like the PS360 game, yet doesn't have trophies/achievements and it's an obvious downgrade when compared to the PS4/Xbone versions. Why would a reasonable gamer pay the same price for an inferior version of a game? What Nintendo has to do is allow 3rd parties to make ports that are on par with the competition - drop the PowerPC architecture and give current-gen hardware. 3rd parties are designing their games with PS4/Xbone scope in mind and Nintendo has to deliver here or they can get lost - 3rd parties won't care about them, neither will gamers sans a handful fanboys. It's a business, you either deliver or get left behind. Happened to Sony with Vita and happens to Nintendo with Wii U.

Lateral thinking with withered technology has served them well when that "withered tech" doesn't include a $100 tablet controller.

Especially with rumors of the fusion concept. Wii U's problem isn't the lack of Nintendo fans, it's that core gamers who aren't seriously into Nintendo games are content getting their Nintendo fix on 3DS. One device (or two closely interlocked devices) fixes that problem, and keeping the hardware price low but profitable while keeping that Nintendo quality going on the games, and you've got a broader base than what Wii U's stuck with.

I think he's saying that Nintendo needed to announce this so "people" (media, internet, etc) didn't assume and start rumors that Nintendo was leaving the hardware business.

Fixed for you. The rest is too much to fix.

Too late though: this radio station came over: Nintendo accepts defeat, goes on to make mobile games. Annoyed the living hell out of me and if i knew where the guy was I would gone by him smacked him silly and tell him to fuly explain the story and stop trying to screw over my company of choice. The media is doing a lot of damage right now.

To quote Totalbiscuit, "Gotta bait, gotta bait, get that outrage click/[viewer]/[listener] culture."  Journalistic ethics my foot. 

No need to be rude when he is 100% correct. I buy my third party games elsewhere because they are better elsewhere.

There is a very limited number of gamers who only own nintendo systems. 

You said the opposite of what Iwata said. that would make it 100 percent inaccurate. They mentioned it to squash the rumours of dropping hardware. Meaning they aren't dropping their hardware.  

If you are talking about NX being a new device? Yes, they did say that.

Edit: I reread your initial post, I think I misinterpreted it. You meant to quell the naysayers as opposed to Nintendo dropping consoles right?

e.g. on PC

At least that's where I would go.