Subscribe by EmailWill Walmart Sell the iPhone for $99?
December 6, 2008 by Jimmy Rogers | 2 commentsBy Jimmy Rogers
Contributing Writer, [GAS]
In a bit of a surprising (yet not so surprising) move, Apple may be releasing a more economical iPhone for sale in Walmarts around the country. This rumor comes from Kaufman Brothers, a technology market analyst group that believes a cheaper, lighter iPhone is “inevitable.” The specifics are, of course, speculative, but here’s what we have so far:
- Apple will partner with Walmart
- The device will have 4GB of hard drive space
- It will use AT&T as the service provider
- It will cost $99
Gizmodo is fairly skeptical of this because the Kaufmans’ claims have been along these lines in the past and Apple hasn’t taken those steps yet. That being said, this would extend their product line out into a much larger group of users (much as they have done with the iPod already).
This rumor has been somewhat substantiated by an image of Walmart/AT&T phone activation manuals found “in the wild.” Good enough evidence for me! I know a lot of people who would jump at a cheaper version of the iPhone (though the service plan would likely be the same).
[Picture Source: Engadget]
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This would be a good move for Apple many people would love to have device, some apple products have a status symbol attached to them so those who normally would not get this type of phone could get just for that.
Myself I switched over to T-mobile as soon as my contract ended which was timed perfectly with the G-1 phone released :) :) :)
While it would put a damper on my hate/hate relationship with all things Apple, I wouldn’t mind seeing a cheap version of this go out. I’ve long considered getting a smartphone, and one as expandable and adaptable as Apple’s offering would be great. I would, of course, have to research the reception it gets in my area first. I still hear horror stories about the network (phone or internet) failing on these things.
I’m guessing $99 for the phone still doesn’t mean a budget data plan of any sort? Now THAT would be impressive to me.