Could an 8GB iPhone 3GS replace the 8GB iPhone 3G Apple currently offers as it's ahem bargain-basement smartphone? The $99 iPhone 3G was one of the big stories of 2009, competing against otherwise anemic Pearls and Qs at that price point. An 8GB 3GS at $99 (or lower?) has been rumored before. Now Gizmodo says it could be immanent:
A user on the German apfeltalk forums ordered an 8GB iPhone 3G, and while the handset was what he was expecting, the packaging suggested it contained an 8GB version of the latest model, the 3GS. As you know, it's only available in 16GB and 32GB options, so either the box info contained a typo, or Apple accidentally got its new packaging mixed up with the old.
Sure, $99, $199, $299 makes little real difference when you factor in the thousands of voice and data dollars spent over a 2 or 3 year contract. Psychologically, however, walking in with almost no money in your pocket and walking out with an iPhone is huge to a mainstream customer base, and Apple could be planning to keep up the low price-point pressure in 2010.
Would you want?
