Chicago (IL) – Walmart this morning announced that it will start selling Apple’s iPhone 3G on Sunday with a small discount over the iPhone’s sold at other retail outlets. 

These are difficult times and any discount matters to consumers. In the iPhone 3G, of course, there have not been any discounts so far and even Walmart, which today officially confirmed that it will begin selling the smartphone this weekend, the savings are pretty much negligible.

The retailer said that the iPhone 3G will be available at 2500 Walmart stores beginning Sunday, December 28, 2008. Not surprisingly, Walmart is selling the device for slightly less than the official retail price of $199 for the 8 GB model and $299 for the 16 GB version:  The “every day price” of the 8 GB iPhone 3G will be $197 and the 16 GB device will sell for $297.

Savings of $2 may be $2 more in your pocket, but any iPhone 3G buyer will have to be realistic and admit that those $2 won’t go far these days, especially since there are no discounts available for the 2-year iPhone 3G service plan, which all Walmart iPhone 3G buyers will have to sign-up for as well (iPhones will be activated by Walmart at the time of purchase.)

Add everything up, and the regular $199 iPhone 3G will cost at least somewhere between $2033.76 and about $2700 over a 2-year period, depending on where you live and which taxes and fees apply and assuming that you will stay within the limits of your voice plan. In a best case, the Walmart price translates into a 0.1% discount. Essentially, the Walmart announcement is not so much about the price of the phone, but about the expanded availability of the device, which is also sold at AT&T and Best Buy stores.     

why do you always add the plan?

Dec 26, 2008 10:07     

It won't be any less with any other data enabled smart phone. Compare Apples to Apples shall we? The phone is $199 (197) plain and simple. What the plan costs is going to be the same (or close to) no matter what data enabled phone you buy. Even if you bought a non-smartphone and wanted data (media max) you would only save $5 a month. (Woohoo you paid a whole $60 less a year to not have a smart phone). Would you like to compare to the BlackBerry plan? I think not. Stop adding the price of the service plan to the price of a phone, they are not one and the same and is completely irrelevant to the topic. [The iPhone is not sold without a plan. It is part of the package and needs to be calculated into the total price. Otherwise, you wouldn't be honest to yourself, right? Yes, I did add it with the Blackberry as well, see here: http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/40183/145/ -wolfgang]

crawlgsx report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -1

haha... $99...people are dreaming.

Dec 26, 2008 10:46     

once again, the apple articles are all wrong and it's $197... not $99 dollar. Not even walmart can make apple less greedy.
yo report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +2

re: why do you always add the plan

Dec 26, 2008 12:44     

The reason why it is importat to add the plan is to emphasize the fact that EVEN if the price of this device had been dropped from $199 to $99, that should NOT suddenly make people think that they can afford it - a drop from $199 to $99 is not that significant in calculating the TCO for 2 years. This device has been selling to many people who have never had a PDA phone / data plan before -- people who have not stopped and thought about the additional costs of the plan. Therefore it is EXTREMELY prudent to mention the plan cost when discussing the price point of this device, in any context.

critic report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +3

RE: re: why do you always add the plan

Dec 26, 2008 14:02     

Well that may be fair IF they did that for every cell phone. You don't see them adding the price of the plan in Blackberry reviews, or the motorola they reviewed not too long ago. Regardless, the price of the phone plan is still irrelevant to the article. [I'll repeat my answer from the first comment, since you apparently did not read it: The iPhone is not sold without a plan. It is part of the package and needs to be calculated into the total price. Otherwise, you wouldn't be honest to yourself, right? Yes, I did add it with the Blackberry as well, see here: http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/40183/145/ -wolfgang]

crawlgsx report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -1

Come on...

Dec 26, 2008 16:33     

Do you really all need to spend 2000$ for a whim? Does it change your life so dramaticaly as to make this purchase? There are tough times coming and corporations like Apple are fabricating "needs" you don't really need and thus "enforce" you into buying expensive stuff; in other words shoveling them down your throat. And not only Apple, high end shiny phones from all known brands.
Andrei report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +1

Yep the iPhone is a need

Dec 27, 2008 17:55     

I have to have a cell phone.. no way around it, and for a bit more I can have an AMAZING cell phone. This phone has enabled my life in ways you cannot imagine. A whim? Yeah right. I planned for this purchase for a year. I have owned many smartphones over the years... and there has not been one that has been such a positive purchase, ever.
Sean report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -1

$2.00 discount? Are you kidding me???

Dec 30, 2008 18:42     

Honestly, who cares about $2.00 discount??? You think I would waste my time to go to a walmart and deal with their unprofessional staff just to save $2.00? Gimme a break.
Nameless report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

iphone

Jan 17, 2009 19:58     

nice
dalin report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0