Retail Giant Wal-Mart Drops 16GB iPhone Price to $97

Beginning today, retail juggernaut Wal-Mart is slashing the price of Apple’s 16GB 3GS iPhone to just $97 with a standard two-year contract. The new lower price will save consumers just over $100 off the normal $199 price-point.

Apple is widely expected to launch a brand-new iPhone model next month, and this new lower price-point could indicate they are working with retailers to clear out any remaining inventory of the soon-to-be-outdated model. Interestingly, other retailers have not yet followed suit. The 16GB 3GS is still priced for $199 on Apple’s Web site and that of its partners, including electronics retailer Best Buy.

Apple has reportedly sold 8.3 million iPhones during last quarter, more than twice the amount sold during the same period in 2009. A recent furor erupted when an Apple engineer reportedly left Apple’s newest iPhone model in a local bar near the company’s Silicon Valley headquarters. Popular gadget site, Gizmodo managed to acquire the iPhone, running dozens of pictures and performing a full tear-down and review of the upcoming model’s features.

According to Gizmodo’s extensive coverage on the subject, some of the new iPhone features may include a front-facing video chat camera, improved regular back-camera with a larger lens and flash, a micro-SIM instead of standard SIM, an improved display that seems to run at 960×640 resolution,  a secondary mic for noise cancellation, along with numerous other minor refinements and enhancements.

Wal-Mart is selling both white and black 16GB models and they are only available for sale in-store, not online.