Wal-Mart announced it is lowering the price of the iPhone 4 to $147, a move that should keep sales figures up in preparation for Apple's next device.
IPhone 4 sales have been strong since the device launched last June on AT&T. An estimated 1.5 million units were sold on launch last year, and it has stayed near the top sales charts in the year since.
The device debuted on Verizon's network in February, andCEO Dan Mead called it the biggest product launch in the company's history. Analysts predict Verizon's iPhone will sell nine to 13 million devices in 2011.
With Apple's next-generation smartphone, the iPhone 5, not set to roll out till later this year, Wal-Mart could potentially capitalize on consumers who really like the Apple smartphone, but don't want to wait for the iPhone 5, or find the price drop irresistible from a company whose products usually command premium pricing.
The deal's announcement came just hours before Apple CEO Steve Jobs and other executives took the stage at WWDC to outline Mac OS X, iOS 5 and its iCloud server service. A new iPhone, usually the headline of each WWDC, wasn't shown this time around, leaving some to believe it won't be available until later this year.
Wal-Mart's timing capitalizes at a moment when the words "Apple" and "iPhone" were on the mouths of both casual and rabid technology fans. Apple stories and announcements at WWDC flooded social networking sites including Facebook and Twitter, and even grabbed front-page space in major newspapers, including the New York Times' business section.
Clips of Jobs' keynote speech even ran on nightly news broadcasts.
Apple's biggest software competitor, Google's Android, is offered on a many different devices at a variety of price points, helping the operating system become the most widely used platform in the world, owning nearly 50 percent of the market. Historically, Apple really hasn't been an option for lower-end customers who don't have the funds to spend on a $200-plus smartphone.
But with Wal-Mart's most recent offer, the budget retailer carries two high-end Apple handsets under $150. Apple's other device, the iPhone 3GS, currently retails for $50 on AT&T, with two-year contract.
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