Making ad-friendly smartphones accessible to far more consumers, Apple is reportedly working on a line of less-expensive iPhones. With the move, Apple is "moving to accelerate sales of its smartphones
amid growing competition," reports The Wall Street Journal. Indeed, Google's Android has emerged as a top mobile operating system thanks to its wide availability on a range of cheaper devices. Because
of the lower price, carries including AT&T and now Verizon will likely be able to subsidize most or all of the phone's retail price -- thus "putting the iPhone in the same mass-market price range as
rival smartphones," sources tell the paper.
Apple currently sells iPhones to carriers for $625 each on average, but with carrier subsidies, consumers can buy iPhones for as little as
$199 with a two-year contract. Now critical to Apple's business, iPhones represented 39% of the company's over revenue in the latest quarter.
Read the whole story at The Wall Street Journal »
