U.S. consumers who want the new iPhone but cannot or do not want to sign up for a two-year contract with AT&T (NYSE: T) will eventually be able to buy it for an extra $400.
Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) has said the new iPhone 3G will go on sale July 11 at $199 for the model with 8 gigabytes of storage and $299 for the 16-gigabyte version. These prices apply to customers signing up for a two-year AT&T contract.
Investment company Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) said recently it expects the company’s iPhone unit sales to double in 2009 at the new $199 price point.
Those who don’t want to be locked into such a contract, or do not have adequate credit, can buy the iPhone for $599 or $699 as long as they sign up for some kind of AT&T wireless subscription, AT&T said on Tuesday.
An AT&T spokesman could not yet say when that option would become available.
At Apple’s developer conference last month, CEO Steve Jobs highlighted the enterprise capabilities for the 3G model.
The company says the unit will support Microsoft’s Exchange server. Apple’s Apps Store will also go live at that time, offering programs for the device.