“Myth: According to the entire internet, Apple will, just after Christmas, sell a 4GB, $100 iPhone through Walmart. The usual excuse is made: Apple needs to sell cheaper hardware in ‘these troubled times,'” Charlie Sorrel blogs for Wired. “Fact: Apple will in fact sell iPhones through Walmart, but they will be the same ones you can get elsewhere, and at the same price. What every one of these analysts fails to understand is the Apple business model… Why on earth would Apple undercut its own successful iPhone line with a cheap version? If it can sell as many $200 or even $300 iPhones as it likes, why sell a $100 one?”
“Myth: Some day soon, Apple will release a touchscreen Mac tablet. It’ll be sort of like a Windows-based Tablet PC, except not lame,” Sorrel writes. “The thing is, Apple already makes a tablet PC, and it is the current iPod Touch.”
“Myth: Apple is just about to release a super-light, super-cheap netbook,” Sorrel writes. “One day, I’m sure, we’ll see a tiny MacBook with a proper keyboard and a trackpad you can actually use. But it will be awhile, and it will probably cost more than the competition.”
There’s much more explanation in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “walter” for the heads up.]
Apple already sells ipods at Target which is a discount retailer. Those are not marked down or special Target versions. Apple may sell products at Walmart, but they will be priced just like they are everywhere else. It’s just getting them more and different exposure. Why is that so hard for everyone to comprehend?
What do you mean decent keyboard and usable trackpad. I LIKE my keyboard and trackpad.
@ Bread
I think what that means is that most super small netbooks are not usable. Most that I have seen look too small and awkward.
This guy knows nothing. Where do these idiots come from? There is wave after wave of dumb azzzz clowns that plague this brand. It is getting way bad.
Apple will sell a lower-priced version of the iPhone for the same reason Apple is selling an iPod Nano and an iPod Shuffle. Apple currently has 30% of the smartphone market but over 70% if the mp3 player market. Why be satisfied with 30% when you can have 70%?
THANK YOU!
Finally, a tech writer that does his job rather than just repeating the same drivel that analysts are spouting.
Yes, clear out those channels for that new iPhone on Jan 9!
Yea baby!
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@darrel dujloy
I agree! I also believe that Apple Jan 1 will finally release a working tricorder.
Not $99.00 but $149.00. Can’t they get anything right!
I agree with this guy. He must not be an analyst.
Nope
Tablets and Netbooks are extremely useful. Jobs just doesn’t like the form / function available today. Touch on a larger screen isn’t going to happen at apple. From using the iPhone, I have to agree that larger touchscreens on which to be doing work don’t make sense.
But I also have to say, the HP tablet my son has for engineering school is neat, and as much as I’d like to get him a mac, it doesn’t make sense, because the needs to be able to write into his computer notes all of the math equations , sub and super scripts that you just can’t keep up with on a keyboard, and sorry, no “extra” equipment to carry and set up, and no extra $1500 for a converted mac book.
Um, if Apple DOES sell a $99 iPhone, it will be everywhere, and may be at Wal-Mart at high stock.
@Jake
Why drop 30% profit just to sell more phones quicker? This isn’t dell or ibm this is Apple! The ones with a SMART business plan.
One thing is for sure. Steve Jobs is going to ruin someone’s day on Jan. 5th.
Either he will fail those who are waiting for that uber device that redefines an entire computing category and propels the computing industry forward….or he will fail those closed minded naysayers who desperately want to hold on to the primitive past.
Nothing Apple will ever do will be cheap or for market share. Those crying for cheap Apple products really need to get real jobs or save their money instead of whining that Apple is “overpriced”.
Usually, before big Apple events, we get plenty of new hardware rumours. Did anyone notice that no specific hardware rumours have been circulating that are specifically tied to MWSF (only 4 weeks away)? Other than the cheaper iPhone or Mac tablet (which have been making rounds for months now), there is absolutely nothing in the rumour mills. This can mean one of only two things: either Apple significantly tightened their leaks, or there in fact isn’t any major new hardware slated for MWSF. Perhaps it will all be about new iLife, pro apps or something similar.
With the exception of the iPod and the $50 Shuffle, you’re right.
So, the iPod proves you wrong, doesn’t it.
I too believe that this 99 dollar iphone at Walmart rumor is a bunch of hooey…where do these things come from? Oh, that’s right, from “analysts” who apparently like to try to manipulate stock prices…
One day, these “journalists” are going to be held accountable for their rackets…