$99 iPhone?
UPDATE: well it would appear that the rumor may not be true. But then again, we have a month to find out more details.
My contract with T-Mobile has finally expired and you know what that means — iPhone time! I have been looking forward to this for a long time and frankly, I will probably wait a bit longer. I need to get a few things paid off before the larger monthly expense of an iPhone can become a reality, but stories that I have been hearing lately about cheaper iPhones warm my heart.
First there was the rumor that Costco will start selling the Wonder Phone for a delectable $149. That would be spectacular as $50 is a pretty significant savings. But it pales in comparison to today’s rumor. Word on the internets is that Walmart (rumored previously to begin selling iPhones after Thanksgiving) will be selling a 4GB version of the iPhone for $99. Ninety. Nine. Dollars!
This is really spectacular news. If it’s true, it would show that Apple is really serious about acquiring new customers. A lot of people are interested in the iPhone, but not everybody can justify the $199 price tag. But $99 is a different matter, and I think Apple knows this.
Most people will scoff at the 4GB of storage. When your phone can carry music, videos, and various programs, the 4GB might seem stifling. But I can guarantee you that there are a lot of people that won’t care about it at all. There are a lot of people that are more interested in the computer side of the iPhone — the apps and the internet connectivity — than the media side. For these people the 4GB version is more than enough.
Even though I would prefer more storage, I have to be honest and admit, that the 4GB version would be enough for me 90% of the time. Before it broke, I had a 512MB iPod Shuffle. It held just over 8 hours of music, enough to last me all day at work. I would fill it (using the random fill option from a specified playlist) every morning and never really felt that I was missing something.
Applying this to your 4GB iPhone you could use 512MB for music (remember, that’s over 8 hours of audio), 1GB for videos (that’s about 2.5 hours of video at the right settings), 1GB reserved for some apps and games, and that is still only 2.5GB. Sure you have to shuffle things around everyday, but is that really a problem? You have to charge the iPhone about everyday anyway, so is it that big of a hassle to choose some new videos and re-randomize your music when you plug it in? If I am being honest with myself, a 4GB iPhone would probably work just fine for me. And it would allow The Wife and I to each get an iPhone for the cost of one 8GB version.
And if you really think you need more space, remember, we haven’t even discussed all the streaming audio and video options that are becoming available for the iPhone. That can free up a lot of room on your iPhone.