For a smartphone introduced in 2009, the iPhone 3GS has had a remarkable lifespan. Instead of being put out to pasture this fall, It appears the handset could instead be headed for developing markets as a contract-free, prepaid device priced under $300.
AppleInsider is reporting that Apple's iPhone 3GS appears likely to evade the executioner yet again. After being given another lease on life after the introduction of the iPhone 4 in 2010 and the iPhone 4S last fall, analysts believe that Apple will keep the low-cost handset alive as part of their strategy to invade developing markets.
The report details how Jefferies analyst Peter Misek about an agreement between Apple and an unnamed "leading distribution and logistics company" which will push the iPhone 3GS into prepaid markets around the world which remain untapped by Cupertino.
The deal would require Apple to further discount the price of the handset, which currently sells for $375 without a contract. Misek anticipates a further price reduction "between $250 and $300," an amount the analyst feels would be necessary for "someone to buy it with no subsidy" from carriers.
Developing markets are a big source of revenue for manufacturers dabbling in low-cost Android smartphones, and one of the few bright spots even for BlackBerry maker Research in Motion and the once-mighty Nokia.
A relatively cheap, prepaid iPhone 3GS could have a devastating effect on the competition in these markets, which are said to have "14 times as many people between the smartphone friendly ages of 25 and 34 than Western Europe and North America," according to research conducted earlier this year.
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