$99 Wal-Mart iPhone Seems Unlikely

This seems sensible for now. Maybe they'll up the capacities at a later date and then the 8GB model can become the "cheap" model.

Still, not the free or £50 cost of the handset we enjoy here in the UK.

Sure is interesting to see the (minimal) price cut. I wonder why Apple would allow it to be sold cheaper somewhere other than at Apple. I have heard stories of Walmart requiring certain prices for items, to the point that cereal manufacturers shrink the size of their boxes to keep them inside Walmart's price window. These are scary times we live in. Hopefully the day these go on sale Apple trains Walmart's staff on crowd control and nobody gets trampled. "iPhone 3G, now in blood red . . . "

This is exactly what I thought would happen. Apple would never start selling the 4GB iPhone again.

really??? wow, you dont say:rolleyes:

Sure is interesting to see the (minimal) price cut. I wonder why Apple would allow it to be sold cheaper somewhere other than at Apple.

That is called price fixing, and is against the law in almost all civilised countries.

all the fanboys can relax now; the wal*mart crowd won't have them. like they would have purchased the at $99 with the way overpriced service.

all the fanboys can relax now; the wal*mart crowd won't have them. like they would have purchased the at $99 with the way overpriced service.

CNBC reported this morning that Walmart is, in fact, going to be selling the iPhone before the end of the year. Here are a couple of major news outlets saying the same thing. Plus the stock is up $2.50 in premarket trading today :)

Wal-Mart to sell $99 iPhones in late Dec -NY Post
87 minutes ago - Xinhua Financial News


As of 12:00 AM ET 12/5/08
A cheaper version of Apple Inc's iPhone will be sold at Wal-Mart Stores Inc for $99 later this month, the New York Post said.

Two models of the popular device will hit shelves at the U.S. retail giant, the paper said, citing employees at several stores.

Employees also told San Jose-based Mercury News that the $99 iPhones would be 4-gigabyte models, and that Wal-Mart was attempting a pre-Christmas launch.

The iPhone went on sale starting July 11 at $199 for the model with 8 gigabytes of storage and $299 for the 16-gigabyte version.

However, iPhone users need to sign up with data service provider AT&T Inc for a plan that costs at least $30 a month for unlimited Web access and another $5 for 200 text messages or $20 for unlimited texting.

Wal-Mart has been gaining market share and clout in the U.S. recession as cash-strapped shoppers seek out its low prices.

Neither Apple nor Wal-Mart were immediately available to comment.

DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

Apple Inc. (AAPL) plans to start selling the iPhone at Wal-Mart (WMT) stores this month, according to several reports.
The San Jose Mercury News first reported Friday that the iPhone would be in stock at San Francisco Bay-area stores by the last week of December, and possibly before Christmas, citing managers and employees at several stores.
The stores had been holding meetings with employees to tell them the details of the release, the newspaper reported.
An AT&T Inc. (T) representative told cell phone department manager Kim Nguyen at a Wal-Mart in Milpitas, Calif., that the store would get a 4GB model of the iPhone, the San Jose Mercury News reported.
A 4G model hasn't been announced by Apple, but several blogs and analysts have said that Apple might offer a discounted model of the iPhone to stay competitive with low-end devices.
Bloomberg confirmed the report Sunday, citing four unnamed employees at four different California stores.
The employees, contacted by phone, said they are being trained on how to sell the device, the news agency reported on its Web site.
However, the employees haven't been told the price of the iPhones or which versions Wal-Mart will sell, it said.

That is called price fixing, and is against the law in almost all civilised countries.

Price fixing is when different companies COLLUDE to fix a price for a similar or the same product. For example, if Microsoft, Apple, and the Linux folks sat down and said, we should all ell our operating systems for $500, that's price fixing.

However, a manufacturer does have control of how, and at what price, their products are sold at. So I think Apple can dictate prices to their partners, or simply not sell to them. Free market.

Good, would have been a dumb direction regardless.