An under-$100 price for Apple’s iPhone remains a wish, but the buzz about the iPhone being available at Wal-Mart may be true — for $197.
Calls to several Wal-Mart stores in both Massachusetts and Rhode Island confirmed that the iPhone will be available at the end of the month. One sales representative who handles wireless products said stores haven’t been given an exact date, but the iPhone will be available by the end of the year.
At Wal-Mart’s headquarters in Arkansas, however, officials remain tight-lipped. “As of right now we have no official comment on offering the iPhone at Wal-Mart or Sam’s Club,” said Ashley Hardie, a spokesperson.
Wal-Mart officials may not be ready to announce that it will be the second retailer after Best Buy to offer Apple’s iPhone, but its ads have been touting Wal-Mart as the place to go for brand-name electronics. The company also sells more than 80 iPhone accessories on its Web site, including color cases, screen-protecting films, and iPhone chargers.
Analysts agree that the iPhone has had successful growth, and some even say Apple is the company leading the charge in the steady growth of the smartphone market, but they don’t agree about an Apple price cut.
“It’s the right move if people buy,” said Ken Dulany, a Gartner analyst, “but the problem with the iPhone is a commitment for two years that costs $30 per month just for data. Forget the $99 (price); the typical Wal-Mart buyer is not in the upper echelon of incomes. So that’s one problem.”
“Then you have the fact that [the iPhone has] been reported to be a $99 4GB machine,” he said. “When the original iPhone came out, it came out with a 4GB and an 8GB model. The 4GB was taken off the list because no one…