Walmart Drops iPhone 3GS Price Ahead of iPhone 4G Release

You know we are getting close to iPhone 4G’s release date when Walmart decides to drop its iPhone 3GS prices to $97. That’s a major discount for those who have been waiting till now to get their hands on this phone. The move is not that surprising. After all, there is a good chance Walmart is holding excess inventory. This new discount should help Walmart address that issue in the upcoming weeks. Wired.com’s theory is interesting as well. iPhone 3GS is going to become the entry level iPhone in a matter of weeks. Walmart was offering a similar price for iPhone 3G, so why not do the same for iPhone 3GS.

Of course, one has to wonder why would anyone want to pick up the old iPhone when they can get a host of new features with iPhone 4G. While it’s tough to read too much into what Steve Jobs says (him being Apple’s CEO and biased), the new phone will not be disappointing. If you are going to lock yourself in a 2 year contract with AT&T, you may as well do it with the latest generation iPhone.

iPhone fans need to be very careful with their decisions this year. AT&T is going to finally lose its iPhone exclusivity, which means a Verizon iPhone could be on its way in the next few months. AT&T, having anticipated that, has increased early termination fees. If you can wait for Verizon iPhone, more power to you. But don’t expect AT&T to cut you any slack once you have done business with it. The company has failed to deliver in many fronts (including tethering). The quality of service has not  any better either. Can you take 2 more years of AT&T?