Stephen Withers
Monday, 08 December 2008 05:53
Opinion and Analysis
Page 1 of 2
A market analyst's report has sparked renewed speculation that there will soon be a $US99 iPhone. There are a number of reasons why the speculation may well solidify into something concrete.
There have been recent r
umours that Wal-Mart will begin selling a version of the iPhone 3G with 4G of storage for $US99 at the end of this month.
Now analyst firm Kaufman Bros has expressed the opinion that a $US99 iPhone is inevitable - but without predicting when that's likely to happen.
The reasoning is that part of the iPod's success was due to Apple offering models at various price points.
That said, Kaufman Bros is tipping that there will be more to distinguish the hypothesised $99 iPhone from its more expensive siblings than just a reduced amount of storage.
The report also suggests that carriers could afford to increase their handset subsidies thanks to the data revenue associated with the iPhone. iPhone users account for a disproportionate share of mobile web use.
And there are precedents for lower iPhone prices. One example can be found in Australia, where Optus offers a 16G iPhone 3G for $0 upfront on a 24-month $A79 contract.
What might Apple and its partners be thinking? Please read on.
