AT&T Mulls 3G iPhone Affordability Plan
by John Paczkowski
Posted on April 29, 2008 at 4:20 PM PT
Well, if this rumor proves true, Canada really will have to declare a national day of mourning for the BlackBerry (RIMM). When Apple (AAPL) CEO Steve Jobs uncrates the 3G iPhone a few months from now, presumably at the company’s WWDC conference in June, the device’s price may draw more oohs and ahs than its feature set.
Fortune claims AT&T (T) plans to knock $200 off the cost of a new iPhone for customers who sign two-year contracts. If that is indeed AT&T’s intention, the 8-gigabyte version of the device would likely price out at $199, the 16-gigabyte model at $399. Which is a pretty compelling value proposition given that the device will soon support Microsoft (MSFT) Exchange and run Spore, Salesforce (CRM), AIM from AOL (TWX) and a host of other third-party apps.
No wonder Apple execs seemed so comfortable reiterating the company’s goal of selling 10 million iPhones in 2008. At $199, they might be able to hit that number without the Asian markets.
