Best Buy Gives Discount on the iPhone
December 19th, 2008 by Mike McPeek
Just in time for holiday giving, electronics giant Best Buy has decided to knock ten bucks off the price of the coveted Apple iPhone 3G from now through January 3rd . Prices of both the 16GB and 8GB versions of the smartphone have been reduced to $289.99 and $189.99, respectively.
Putting the world’s hottest selling smartphone on sale during a peak buying season is just another of the many oddities that we see in the current economic climate. As Scott Moore, Best Buy’s Vice President of Marketing put it, “…we’re always looking at what’s going on in the marketplace, and this is one crazy marketplace.” He added that Best Buy will also eliminate its $30 fee for personal configuration of the device and will give its Reward Zone customers double points.
Best Buy has been selling iPhones since early September and is the only U.S. retailer to sell the devices except for Apple and AT&T stores. There was no comment from Best Buy regarding whether the sale was in response to the reports that Walmart will begin selling iPhones on December 28th. The Walmart price is expected to be $297 for the 16GB phone and $197 for the 8GB version, $2.99 less than the going rate up until now.
We had previously reported that Walmart would be selling a watered-down, 4GB version of the device for $99. Today’s unconfirmed information seems to run contrary to the previous report. Still, selling the high-end iPhone at Walmart, presuming it indeed turns out to be true, would mark a major departure in Apple’s sales strategy which has typically been marked by exclusivity.
Check out our new Mobile Tech portal for side-by-side reviews of the iPhone and other great smartphones. And don’t miss our Holiday Gift Hotlist for the season’s best shopping tips.
Tags: Best Buy, cheap iphone, iPhone, iphone best buy, iphone deal, iphone discount
