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By all means, let's "confirm" *ahem* bolster rumors with other rumors!

If that truely happens...it would not be a blood bath...but rather a mass slaughter...

So much for that Blackberry stock I was going to buy!

"Now, we all know Apple dropped the 4GB iPhone from its initial line-up, but that was at a $399 price-point."

The 4GB was $499, right?

Dec 04, 08 - 04:01 pm Comment from: El Guapo

Who the hell is "Boy Genius"? Some thirty-something-single basement-dweller? What makes him and authority?

Dec 04, 08 - 04:02 pm Comment from: zmarc

Crap, so now there'll be $99 iPhone rumors just like the mythical $899 MacBook and when it doesn't happen, the stock will tank again!

Dec 04, 08 - 04:05 pm Comment from: Wandering joe

buying opportunities, zmarc, buying opportunities!!

Dec 04, 08 - 04:14 pm Comment from: 84 Mac Guy

This is freakin' great. Now every Walmart shopper is going to be walking around in 2009 with a shinny new iPhone. How the hell can us Apple elitists stand out if Walmart shoppers are using iPhones.

Dec 04, 08 - 04:18 pm Comment from: HolyMackerel

4 Gb is still about 16 times the 256K memory that comes with most other 'smart' phones…

Dec 04, 08 - 04:21 pm Comment from: NeverFade

@t

Just out of curiosity how does the metaphor "blood bath" differ from "mass slaughter"?

Both sound equally morbid to me...

This IS great. The iPod dominates because it has versions that compete at the low-end ($49 shuffle) as well as the higher end (iPod Touch/iPod Classic). And none of them are "trash," they're all great products for their price range. That's more or less what Apple needs to do with the iPhone. A lot of the folks who can only afford a $99 phone today will be able to "upgrade" to a higher end phone in a couple of years. Get them hooked on iPhone's ease of use and the App Store now, and Apple will keep them for a long time!

Dec 04, 08 - 04:31 pm Comment from: Spudly

Screw Walmart and all their cheap ass customers!

People wonder what's wrong with America (& the world) these days... look no further than Walmart and "The Walmart Effect"

i read on other website that the $99 iPhone might be a new model like iPhone nano. and that can really be true. the website was http://www.techztalk.com

Dec 04, 08 - 04:38 pm Comment from: iSteve

The objection I hear from people is not the price of the phone but the monthly cost of the voice & data plan. However, a $99 purchase price may entice more than a few to give it a try. I think we'll see more people drop their land lines in favor of a cell phone only.

Dec 04, 08 - 04:41 pm Comment from: Patrick Cranston

I don't believe it. In order for this to make any kind of financial sense the cost difference between a 4GB memory chip and an 8GB memory chip would have to be significant. I would guess that the actual cost difference is negligible so why would Apple give up a large chunk of their profit to sell a cheaper version of the best selling smartphone. Also 4gb is very little space for most people when you start considering the App Store - a driving force behind the iphone success. I have almost a 1 GB of Apps on my iphone current. And it's not like you can upgrade your memory later.

Let's hope another Walmart employee does not get hurt in the after Xmas sales mania if this turns out to be true.

To increase market share a $99 price point makes sense. I think it will more likely be $99/8GB, $199/16GB and a new $299/32GB.

They would sell a ton of them to new users and plenty of Gen 1 qould be tempted to upgrade to the 32GB.

I am one of those that want the iPhone but don't need a data plan. And my dad has been trying to decide what to get for his first cell phone. I got him a Mac for his first computer, but I can't recommend the iPhone to him because of the extra data plan costs. If a $99 iPhone that has $40/month plan becomes available within a few weeks, both of us would likely get iPhones on a family plan, and I would probably cancel my land line.

Dec 04, 08 - 04:59 pm Comment from: binarypackrat

I think this one is real.

Dec 04, 08 - 05:14 pm Comment from: MacintoshSoftwareList.com

Not going to happen. 4GB is a joke anyway. Talk about selling crap.

Dec 04, 08 - 05:18 pm Comment from: ken1w

If there is a $99 iPhone at WalMart, it will be downgraded by more than 4GB of storage. Perhaps no GPS, maybe even no WI-FI. It would still have decent speed Internet access without the WI-FI, and "iPhone killer" Blackberry Storm has no WI-FI. It will still have a camera, since that is now an expectation of even a low-end "dumb" phone these days.

But somehow, I doubt this rumor is true. Apple seems to be selling iPhones at a rapid clip at the $199 price.

Dec 04, 08 - 05:39 pm Comment from: Brau

While Walmart selling iPhones is likely, I seriously doubt Apple would design a sub-standard 4GB model. With storage increasing exponentially and prices dropping, it's more likely they'd design a version with more than we see today (Nokia now boasts 32GB on their newest) perhaps even a 64GB model. Now wouldn't that be cool!

Dec 04, 08 - 05:45 pm Comment from: ron

@t, "If that truely happens"

Yes, it truly would.

calls .... BOGUS

If this is true, PLEASE let it be a genuine iPhone, and not a cheapened-out POS "WalMart version" of an otherwise good product.

Sure a $99 iPhone would be a blockbuster, but what good would it be if it's complete junk to get that price point?

Anyway WalMart is well established as the lowest common denominator, and has a well-earned reputation for selling crap. Don't buy anything from WM that you can't afford to throw away.

Mainstream or not, I'm not sure the iPhone has a place in WM. It's not the kind of customer that Apple targets.

Does Steve Jobs and his friends know how to make a $99 iPhone without it turning out a heap of junk?

so apple will put out a cheap product (which they generally don't do) for people who cant afford the iPhone to gain more market share? how much of this unit cost is subsidized? 50, 100 bucks?

i hope someone is going to subsidize the monthly plan though, because if you can't afford 200-300 for a phone, how can you afford 100+ a month over 2 years for unlimited data on top of your voice plan.

it's a no-brainer, apple won't play this. it sounds like a desperate move only palm would make. buy 2 dvds and a dishrack and get a palm treo for $99!

IF it does happen though, AND if i lose or break my iPhone, can i go to walmart and replace it for a lower capacity unit? this might be the insurance plan that at&t;won't give us ....

Apple will be going backwards going to 4gb. I'm still waiting for a 128 gigabyte model before I can truly appreciate the iPhone and replace all of my other gadgets. They have a long way road to travel it seems before they see my money from an iPhone purchase. My 80 gig iPod has 60 gigs of used space. I'll wait for when I can hold all of my tunes and podcasts & applications / movies I expect I'll want on it. Hopefully by that time the iPhone won't be shackled to AT&T;in the US. We'll then see if competition will cheapen the monthy plans.

Am I missing something when I think that it is the two-year voice and data plan that cost thousands of dollars that restricts sales, not the actual cost of the handset?

This would be a deathblow to the iPhone competitors. They simply won't be able to make a profit if they try to match Apple's price. With profits that the iPhone commands from the carriers, Apple could give the phone away for free and still be profitable. Can RIM, Nokia, LG, Samsung or whoever do the same?

4 GB is WORTHLESS!!! WORTHLESS!!!

Dec 04, 08 - 10:50 pm Comment from: ken1w

> Am I missing something when I think that it is the two-year voice and data plan that cost thousands of dollars that restricts sales, not the actual cost of the handset?

You are missing something...

Most consumers think of the up-front cost, and don't consider the ongoing or total cost of ownership. That's why Windows PCs are (or at least were) so popular, because people don't consider the cost of things like an anti-virus subscription, maintenance, or resale value after two years.

That's why the iPhone suddenly became even more popular when the new model was released. Some people may have waited because of "3G," but most decide to bite because it is now "only" $199 up front (even though cost of ownership for two years was now higher).

Dec 04, 08 - 10:56 pm Comment from: ken1w

> 4 GB is WORTHLESS!!! WORTHLESS!!!

It is only worthless if you are using it only as a video player. It will hold a decent amount of music. And most people get an iPhone for the mobile phone and internet capabilities, and the coolness factor of the multi-touch screen. If it still has those three qualities, it will NOT be worthless with 4GB of storage.

Dec 04, 08 - 11:13 pm Comment from: BlackWolf

Just food for thought. Wal-Mart saves the average American $2000 a year. That combined with GW's average $2000 tax break has made it so I could afford to switch to Mac and get my iPhone."

I like the idea of going up in GB, not down. I would pay full price ($899) for the upgrade, of course this would come directly from my Wal-Mart/GW cash flow.

Dec 05, 08 - 02:12 am Comment from: Tommy Boy

Standing in line at Wal-Mart tonight the woman ahead of me in line points out: "You can find the answer to things on the internet."

Get that lady an iPhone today!

Dec 05, 08 - 04:01 am Comment from: zmarc

@iPhone Holdout:

You can already get the rate down to $40/month via a family plan. At least you could with the original iPhone (I'm not sure about the it with the higher 3G rate). That's I've done since the original iPhone launch. You get shared minutes, but I haven't used all my minutes in a month yet (most of my calls are to other AT&T;users so they're free). And the data's unlimited. It's great.

"With profits that the iPhone commands from the carriers, Apple could give the phone away for free and still be profitable. Can RIM, Nokia, LG, Samsung or whoever do the same?"

Yes Dufus, they can. You don't really think that when you get a "Free" phone from a carrier that the company who made it got nothing, or do you? The standard business model is that cellphones are SUBSIDIZED by the carriers to get you to sign up.

Silly rumor. $99 4gig will cannibalize sales and dilute brand image, not to mention selling it at walmart. What next, a free iphone with a bucket of chicken at KFC?

Did I mention that I recently saw Steve Jobs having lunch with Elvis and several space aliens? Alas, the camera on my iPhone failed to deliver a decent photo so I can't prove it. Must have been the radiation given off by the Windoze machine in the next booth.

Oh, the $99 iPhone!! Well, I actually think a cheap iPhone tied into a pre-pay plan would be a great idea. But, what do I know.

Dec 05, 08 - 11:34 am Comment from: Famous Grouse

Might make sense if they leave out the GPS or cripple international roaming or otherwise do something to differentiate it from the real iPhone. Might also require a 3 year contract. A $20 / month data plan with a usage limit would also make sense for the Wal-mart set.

If a $99 budget iPhone makes sense, can we also have the $599 or $699 unlocked phone as well?

"Silly rumor. $99 4gig will cannibalize sales and dilute brand image, not to mention selling it at walmart."

All iPods are already sold at WalMart.

What does Apple care what AT&T;sells the phones for in Wal-Mart if they're shifting a bucket load more units and paying Apple an acceptable price for them?

Perhaps you care because your flashy iPhone will become a wal-mart commodity, but I doubt Apple does. They've already crossed that bridge with the iPod and it doesn't seem to have hurt.

Perhaps you're right, Double Wide. But iPods are one thing, iPhones are another. I myself have three iPods, but why would I want an iPhone that will undoubtedly be less capable than a slightly pricier model. How will Apple position it? "The iPhone that does less"? "The no-camera model"? "New iPhone, now Internet-free"?

"How will Apple position it? "The iPhone that does less"? "The no-camera model"? "New iPhone, now Internet-free"?"

That's easy!

The new iPhone: SingleWide $99, DoubleWide $199, TripleWide $299!

""How will Apple position it?"

Something been standing between you and a new iPhone?

Not any more! The new iPhone, Only $99! Stampede on in and get yours now!

All iPods are already sold at WalMart.

"ALL iPods" is the key term here. Not "Emasculated junk WalMart-spec iPods...".

Imagine a $49.99 iPod nano with 1/2GB, crap screen, half-hour battery and paper-thin case.
Sure they'd be cheap enough to be disposable, but what good is junk at any price?
What would such a POS do to Apple's brand?. I.e. "I got an iPod and HATED it...".

If Apple wants to bring the iPhone to WalMart, great. Just have it be the real thing, and not some dumbed-down WalMart version.

"If Apple wants to bring the iPhone to WalMart, great. Just have it be the real thing, and not some dumbed-down WalMart version."

I'm sure they'll sell the current double wide and triple wide iPhones alongside the new single wide, so you can still buy the largest version and be the phone king of your trailer park.

The thing is, it's normal in the phone industry for a phone to start out at around $199 for a hot new phone, drop to something like $149 then $99 then $49 and finally it's free with a contract.

Apple's just going down the standard cellphone lifecycle with the iPhone.

And the price paid for the phone doesn't need to bear a relation to what the phone maker gets. So this can easily be a full iPhone with less memory.

What happened to the fact, that AT&T;is the only carrier in US that have the exclusive right to sell iPhone? Have Apple sold it's soul for green dollars? I can't have an iPhone if you can buy from Wal-Mart. Everybody has them after that!

"What happened to the fact, that AT&T;is the only carrier in US that have the exclusive right to sell iPhone?"

It would be sold with an AT&T;contract. Anyway sounds like Wal-Mart is just going to get the standard double wide and triple wide phones.