iPod - repair or just trash & buy new?

[Kevy Baby]

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

$99 iPhone coming to WalMart.

Maybe not, depending on who you listen to.

From The Street

Apple is reportedly opening up another front in its smartphone war by teaming up with Wal-Mart for the holiday season, although rumors of a $99 iPhone may be wide of the mark.

From Business Week:
iPhone At Walmart? Yes. At $99? Unlikely.

Why bother with a 4GB iPhone in the first place? Sure you can get the price down from the $199 starting price on the 8 GB model, but you can’t fit much in the way of media and applications on a 4 GB phone.

You might argue that Apple might like the opportunity to get the iPhone into Walmart, but remember, Apple is a premium brand, and isn’t exactly the sort of company that would compromise that cachet, even for so big a retail partner as Walmart.

Analyst Maynard J. Um, writing in a research note for UBS issued this morning, says a $99 iPhone would be “atypical of Apple’s premium brand strategy ($149 seems more logical if a 4GB model were introduced). More likely is a scenario in which select Wal-Mart (& possibly Sam’s Clubs) are simply added as further iPhone distribution points (like the Best Buy announcement).” Additionally he says a 4GB would likely cannibalize sales of the 8 GB and 16 GB models.

There are many more credible sources saying no, so I wouldn't hold my breath on that one. Also, I agree that the 4BG iPhone would be kinda worthless.