With lines about to form for the new iPhone 4G, America’s largest retailer is the first to try to liquidate its stock of older models, knocking $100 off the cost of a 16GB iPhone 3GS handset as of Tuesday.
At $97 with a two-year AT&T contract, that may be the lowest price around for an iPhone. Apple sells its eight-gigabyte iPhone 3G for $99 online. The catch is you’ll have to go into a Wal-Mart store to take advantage of the $97 deal. Likely hoping shoppers will spend more money once they are lured to the chain’s sprawling shelves, the company isn’t offering the deal online.
Apple’s new iPhone OS 4.0, unveiled last month, will be available for the iPhone 3GS, so that handset won’t be a complete dinosaur once the new operating system lands. But unless Apple and AT&T make some provisions for upgrades, those who take advantage of the Wal-Mart price and get locked into a two-year contract would pay a steep price if they later decide to trade up.
“You could be spending up to $700 to get the new version, and that’s a lot of money,” said Ramon Llamas, a wireless analyst at IDC Research, estimating that price based on the unsubsidized cost of the iPhone 3GS.
Wal-Mart’s low-cost 3GS suggests that Apple wants to phase out the older models, Llamas said. “We saw similar aggressive pricing when they were making way for the second generation,” he said. “It’s not very Apple-esque to have three different models out all at the same time.” The analyst predicted that even with the lower price, many consumers will hold out for the newest iPhone.
“If you look at the 4G, from what’s been out there, it has a lot going on,” he said, referring to leaks of the iPhone 4G…