More rumour hits the next waves today concerning Apple gear but this time not just about the next generation iPhone, the iPhone 5 or the iPhone 4S but rather concerning an area that thus far Apple hasn’t exploited, the prepaid off contract option with a rumoured lower cost iPhone, but apparently that lower cost prepaid iPhone may not be new as expected.
According to the guys over at the Boy Genius Report, they have received a bit of interesting information from an unnamed source that they say is “incredibly solid,” who says that Apple will be launching a lower cost iPhone to address the prepaid market later in the year.
Now for the very interesting bit, apparently “It’s entirely possible that the low-cost iPhone will in fact be the iPhone 3GS,” and would retail at no more that $350 off contract.
Apparently although the guys have independently confirmed that the iPhone 5 is expected to feature a new “radical design,” the source is somewhat unsure if that will be the next iPhone. But apparently the iOS handset either be released or “at least announced by the end of Summer, late August-ish.”
So apparently if this is spot on and not just a wide speculation it could mean that the mobile space could possible see the iPhone 4S, iPhone 5 and the prepaid iPhone 3GS become available to purchase in the coming months.
The guys also say that Apple will also continue to offer the current iPhone 4 and this should give Apple a full range of devices covering the low, middle and high-end price range with the iPhone 5 being the top of the scale no doubt.
Previous rumours have had it that Sprint may gain the iPhone before the festive season, and we recently reported that AT&T were selling off their refurbished iPhone 3GS handsets for $9 presumably to make way for a new iPhone, so its not inconceivable that a new cheaper prepaid iPhone 3GS is on its way.
Having said that, word from even an “incredibly reliable” source does not make an official announcement from Apple and as such this is still firmly lying in the land of rumour for now until such time as hard evidence surfaces.
Does the possibility of an iPhone 3GS for $350 off contract appeal to any6 of our readers, or do you think that the iPhone 3GS has finally had its day and should be consigned to the mobile waste bin rather than being brought out as a prepaid handset?