$99 Wal-Mart iPhone Seems Unlikely

[MacRumors]

Last week, Boy Genius Report cited an unconfirmed source that Wal-Mart may begin selling a 4GB iPhone for only $99. Based on available Wal-Mart training materials and advertising (pictured above), however, it seems that this rumor is unlikely. The advertising shown only lists 8GB iPhones for sale at $197, without any hints of a cheaper model. The iPhone will go on sale at Wal-Mart beginning on December 28th.

This information also correlates with MacBlogz' AT&T sources who claim the 4GB rumors were untrue.


Article Link: $99 Wal-Mart iPhone Seems Unlikely

[talkingfuture]

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.

[SimonTheSoundMa]

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

[houdinize]

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 . . . "

[alexbates]

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

[SimonTheSoundMa]

Originally Posted by houdinize

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.

[emulator]

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.

[Chiefthinker]

Originally Posted by emulator

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.

[Sirmausalot]

Originally Posted by SimonTheSoundMa

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.

[Trip.Tucker]

Good, would have been a dumb direction regardless.

[alexbates]

Originally Posted by Sirmausalot

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.

Yes, In this case, there are not different companies selling different products, so I do not think it is price fixing.

I think that now, Apple does have some control of what price their products are sold at. At a different stores it might not be exactly $199 for an iPhone, but it is within $10 of that.

[Superman07]

So do we take the NYP story to mean a $99 is a done deal despite the thread topic/report?

[frumpy16]

Looks like it's confirmed...

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...gLaSY&refer=us

[talkingfuture]

Originally Posted by frumpy16

Looks like it's confirmed...

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...gLaSY&refer=us

Looks as though the Walmart sales are confirmed but the 4GB is still a rumour to me.

[DakotaGuy]

Originally Posted by Chiefthinker

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

If people take a look at how most retail stores are doing right now there is a chance many will be gone by next year. Walmart is the only store that is actually increasing their market-share in this recession and making a profit. I can see why Apple would want to get the iPhone into a retailer that is doing well at this time. Last month some stores like Target were down 10% or more, however Walmart was up. If the trends continue I would expect more Apple products to end up in Walmart. Whether or not you like Walmart it is one of the few stores that is actually increasing it's customer base and if you are a company that is where you want your products.

I don't care for Walmart, but I still do some of my shopping there. Where I live there isn't a lot of choice for shopping so I am actually glad we have a Walmart. I would never wear Walmart clothes and I only purchase low end items there, but it serves a purpose for me.

[iParis]

Thank God.

Well, that doesn't mean we have to throw the $99 rumor out the window.
Maybe after the 32GB comes out it will be sold for something like $99 or $149.

[jayducharme]

Originally Posted by talkingfuture

Looks as though the Walmart sales are confirmed but the 4GB is still a rumour to me.

Agreed. The article is ambiguous about the 4gb model. I can't see WalMart getting an exclusive on such a phone; that would cut into Best Buy's sales. I don't think Apple would want to pit retailers against each other, undercutting sales of their products. iPod sales have fairly fixed prices. The only leverage retailers seem to have is offering ad-ons (free case with purchase, etc...). WalMarts iPods are usually just $1 below other retailers, so it's not like they have a big advantage. I would expect iPhones to be treated the same way. The biggest beneficiaries will be Apple and AT&T.

BTW, does anyone know how Best Buy has been doing with their iPhone sales? The chain doesn't seem to be pushing it very hard. In flyers around here, there are page after page of ads for Verizon and T-Mobile phones, but scant mention of the iPhone.

[Shasterball]

Originally Posted by SimonTheSoundMa

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

Price fixing = no price cut anywhere... I know this is just a minimal cut. Plus, I really don't think there is price fixing here -- just retailers that need to make money.

[kdarling]

It's a little ironic that one of the main sticking points that prevented Verizon from selling the iPhone, was Apple's refusal to let them sell it through Best Buy and other Verizon outlets.

[Sweetfeld28]

I figured a $99 iPhone was to good to be true.

[TJunkers]

apple never goes back, so I doubt it. It would be nice for them to introduce something even less expensive for people who can't afford one, but then they might as well come out with another phone model... hint hint apple. hahha

[Mercury7]

It seems this makes it unlikely for the 32gig bump at macworld...I mean would walmart launch a marketing campaign for the 8gig version just a week before the standard becomes 16 and 32?

maybe a new iphone is possible though, ie iphone nano or iphone pro

[gkarris]

I can see the 8 Gig model going to $99 everywhere it's sold, to combat against the new Android phones as well as the touchscreen Samsung and LG ones. Won't happen until the 32 Gig one is released.

[kornyboy]

Wirelessly posted (iPhone: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 2_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/525.18.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/5G77 Safari/525.20)

This is still pretty neat that Wal-mart will be selling the iPhone. I try not to give the Walton family anything but there are some people out there that don't buy anything unless it is sold at Wal-mart.

[lucasmonger]

Remember when the first iPhone came out and people begged for an iPhone nano? I'd venture to guess that Walmart is just selling the 8GB iPhone for now, but in Jan, Apple might just announce a smaller, simpler phone at the lower $99 price that has most of the features of the original iPhone, but with a smaller screen and no ability to run downloadable Apps. Maybe another cost-cutting measure is Edge and no Wifi? If we're lucky it will have 3G and negate the need for Wifi. This should be available to everyone selling iPhones, not just Walmart. Maybe no GPS or camera either, but more like a phone a wireless internet device.

That would differentiate from a high-end smartphone and raise the bar on "regular" phones.

Just a guess...