Asian suppliers to Applehave begun manufacturing a lower-priced version of its iPhone 4 with a smaller 8GB flash drive, reports “Reuters” (http://macte.ch/NDuWt), quoting two anonymous sources “with knowledge of the matter.”
The flash drive for the 8GB iPhone 4 is purportedly being manufactured by a Korean company. Currently, Apple currently sources its flash drives from Japan’s Toshiba and South Korea’s Samsung Electronics.
“Reuters” says the cheaper iPhone should arrive within weeks. And some analysts think a less expensive iPhone 4 could help Apple boost sales in emerging markets.
“Apple may want to push into the emerging market segment where customers want to switch to low- to mid-end smartphones from high-end feature phones, which usually cost $150-200,” Yuanta Securities analyst Bonnie Chang told “Reuters.” “But I think for an 8GB iPhone 4 the price is hard to go below $200, so Apple will still need a completely new phone with low specifications for the emerging markets.”