Analyst: 4GB iPhone 3G Likely, To Have Other Differences

A new report from analyst Kaufman Brothers says that the chances of Apple releasing a $99 4GB iPhone after the holidays through Walmart are a lot higher than we thought. He says in the report that while the exact timing is unknown, Apple has a good reason to do so. He believes that part of the reason that Apple has managed to corner the media player market so successfully was their offering of several devices at various price points.

By that same logic, he says Apple would be able to greatly expand their presence by releasing a $99 iPhone to form a combination of low-end, mid-range, and high-end devices that would capitalize on the iPhone's strong brand power.

They also speculate that the 4GB model is likely to also have feature differences that distinguish itself from the other models.

They also add that they think they could significantly decrease their prices by significantly reducing their margins. They estimates that the actual cost of an iPhone 3G is closer to $700, but subsidies from wireless companies like AT&T in the U.S. bring the price down in exchange for the user purchasing an expensive data plan.

[via MacNN]