I think it’s a shame. I might’ve bought a 4 gig model.
Walmart confirmed it will be selling the iPhone at select stores – most likely the ones that already have an Apple section to it. They will be selling the 8 and 16 gig iPhones. If you want to save a couple bucks (literally), you can get them there for $197 and $297 respectively. Purchasing in other stores will cost you $199 and $299.
There was a lot of buzz on a $99 – 4 gig model. In all reality, a 4 gig model is pretty good for those who want to use it mostly as a phone. My current smartphone (an HTC) only has 128 Meg on the phone and a Mini SD card that adds another 2 gig to it. Then again, I don’t have the iBeer application or anything like that.
It doesn’t mean that Walmart wont offer a 4 gig model down the road. Maybe they will announce at MacWorld new iPhones. I don’t think Apple would go backwards – unless it’s a 4 gig iPhone mini. I would guess, though, they would announce new iPhones at 32 and maybe 64 gig. That could push an 8 gig iPhone to $99 – or maybe $97 at Walmart. Of course we won’t know until MacWorld – that’s only a couple weeks away.
For now, if you want to save the $2, then it’s off to Walmart you go. That is, unless the Walmart is a farther drive than the Apple store. Then $2 is not going to help.
I’ll admit that I rarely have my 8 GB model completed filled up, but my buddy bought the 4 GB model when Apple was closing them out last year, and it’s not really enough space. By the time you account for formatting and the operating system, you’ve got very little room for apps, music, and especially videos.
The real question is how much longer before the 8 GB model can cost $99. Video takes up so much space, especially TV episodes and movies from the iTunes Store. If you’re going to put your own DVDs on the iPhone, you can optimize the size for the iPhone (which is smaller than Apple’s, which is optimized for the Mac/Apple TV). I wrote a post at Mac Guru Lounge covering how to do this.
You can get a 8 gig refurb iPhone for $99.00 through ATT
http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-phone-service/cell-phones/refurb-phones.jsp but I do believe its for a limited time though.