Walmart officially cuts iPhone 3GS to $97, potentially clearing out inventory for the iPhone 4?
By Nilay Patel 
posted May 24th 2010 7:58PM
posted May 24th 2010 7:58PM
[Thanks, Ryan]
posted May 24th 2010 7:58PM
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Let the sales begin!
@Stevenk
Is 97 the new 99? It's a pretty unusual price tag, isn't it?
@SeeKo
Walmart likes it's 97 so they are always cheaper than everyone else.
@Stevenk
Clearing for iPhone 4 or Android hemorrhage prevention? $199 gets you two baby!
@Engadget
iDontCare
@UnsilentMajority And $750 in ETF with AT&T's new changes.
@ssgadget Agreed
@ssgadget
I'm surprised this wasn't breaking like all the other apple news
Five Finger discount!
I didn't know walmart sold the iPhone.
@n8equalsd The sell a lot of high end phones. They were one of the few places that actually sold the Droid for $199 w/contract instead of the $299 + $100 visa giftcard w/contract. We actually got our Droids at Sam's Club.
@n8equalsd
We actually carry phones for T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T at the store I work at. We just got the HD2 in not too long ago.
@n8equalsd
Walmart sells anything completely built in China. If the product isnt made in china then it isnt sold for cheap at low low prices..i.g. Video games; Software. Ironically, walmart is one of the biggest video game retailers.
I don't think the $100 is a big difference for me. From the start, if the 3GS is $97 and the 4G is $200, i would go for the 4G. That $100 difference over 24 months (the contract you are stuck with anyways) comes out to less then $5/mo.
@xtasi Not only that, ATT plan with data is about $30 more expansive than Sprint's per month, so that's $640 extra on a 2 year contract. Also ATT 3G coverage is horrible! A friend of mine can't make calls here in LA unless he turns off 3G on his iPhone, otherwise he will get all the drop calls. Only the suckers will get the iPhone when EVO is coming out in just a few days.
@Tony Montana
Complete anecdotal evidence from you.
Here, let me cancel that out. I get completely great coverage and 3G speeds from AT&T over here on the east coast.
Honestly, if you don't live in an area covered by 4G, you should probably check to see which network has the best 3G speeds for your area. It could really be any of them.
@Tony Montana How does his bad 3G data service affect his voice service? They're two seperate things. That's why you have bars and a 3G indicator. If you don't have 3G coverage, it'll turn into an E or even a o, but that doesn't change your bars.
@Tony Montana
pretty sure when he said 4g he meant the 4th iPhone and not the htc evo.
@xtasi : yes, the article is about the iPhone, so I was referring to the iPhone 4G. My comment was in general to how much little difference the initial cost of a phone makes. Take a look at your monthly bill, on the most part... that's your bill for 24mo. What's the average iPhone contract? $90 (voice/data/text). That's $2160 over the contract. At the end of 24 mo I would rather have a 2 year old phone (iPhone 4g) then a 3 year old phone (3GS). Electronics move quite fast, a year gets you a lot.
Clearing out inventory for the iPhone 4?
....Nah
@Ishboy
clearing out for the htc EVO!
everyone knows this.
@Ishboy Blackberry slide FTW!!
What would be the estimated price of an official, unlocked iPhone 4G?
Is Apple / ATT even planning to offer it without contract? I recall reading the 3GS to be available in such a mode at ATT stores.
@MyTwoCopperCoins I remember that as well but when I went to one store; I was told that I still need a contract.
@MyTwoCopperCoins - You mean contract free, right? Neither Apple or AT&T sells an unlocked iPhone in the US.
@Ricbed
You can definitely do it at full retail without a contract. You spoke to the wrong rep.
@MyTwoCopperCoins
I'm assuming it will replace the current 16Gb and 32Gb 3GS prices outright.. which are 600 and 700.
@MyTwoCopperCoins You can currently purchase an unlocked iPhone 3GS from Apple in New Zealand for roughly $770 USD. Of course that doesn't take into account any taxes or tariffs that may apply.
They should start selling them without contract as well.
@Ricbed
So you could do what... move your iPhone to another carrier?
So what happend to the 3G price...are they handing them out to people with welfare?
I thought I had some resale value in my 3GS but I guess it's lost.
@Massive Poop
Probably not as bad as you think... well, I was surprised when I sold my 8GB 3G for $300 (er, CAD) last week.
@Massive Poop If you unlock, you'll probably still get $300+.
@Massive Poop You'll be surprised how many people on welfare that have iPhones, more than you think.
Why am I feeling that the geek popularity will now go down now that its being sold by Walmart?
@mandarin
As far a I know the iphone has been sold at walmart since the 3g.
I see a 3gs in my future if they pass on discounts to europe, i want the os4 experience not fussed about multiple cameras
@mark29 Yeah, 3GS is good enough for me but I don't want to pay for a contract.
I'm surprised the price cuts didn't come with the leaks (which were reported by major news organisations outside of "our technological circle"). I guess the sales weren't hit that badly (if much at all).
Same pricing model as before. But except you're actually gettin' a really nice Phone for a really cheap price. 16GB, More RAM, Faster Processor, & Compass for 97.00. No Bad At All. Just gotta wait till June 7th to see what's next.
As long as it's an AT&T exclusive who cares? Give them away for free I still won't use one if I've got to put up with those bastards. And I know about all the awesome things people are doing blah blah blah the fact is you either have to get in bed with AT&T or pay through the nose.
Anyone to purchase an iPhone now is stupid. Android was released a few days ago and Windows Phone 7 is released a the end of the year.
The iPhone is seriously outdated.
Sent from my iPhone 3G.
@mackenziepricee I don't know if I would go with completely outdated - the 3GS is supposed to be able to run OS 4.0 in all of it's full featured glory. A standard 3G on the other hand...yeah.
http://www.bradsmobilelife.com
@mackenziepricee
ANDROID WAS RELEASED A COUJPLE OF DAYS AGO??
When did this happen!
@unseen
The thing is that we can hate or love Apple but it seams that we cant ignore it :) Im not talking about ignore Apple news option, Im talking about all the fuzz thats going on around it, U have to admit that there arent any other discussions with more hate in it
Great reporting, as usual... So on contract?
@TheLondonExchange I always get a laugh out of your comments being down-ranked on every post you comment on LMAO
@ssgadget Where's Jack Bauer when you need him?
@unseen Engadget needs to implement an 'obvious' tag.
This should definitely be BREAKING...
Wow should I sell my iPhone now or wait till the conference?
I'm waiting to see if i get this promotion at work before I sell it. I'll be upgrading a whole year earlier than I'm supposed which will make the phone a lot more expensive right?
How much was the iPhone 3GS off contract?