A $99 iPhone before the New Year?

The nation's top retailer, Walmart, is officially tight-lipped about the buzz that its shelves could be hosting a $99 4GB iPhone by the end of the month. But mobile device experts have plenty to say, and it's all good.

Published reports in the New York Post and Mercury News quoted Walmart employees at various stores nationwide claiming that a 4GB iPhone will arrive before December 30th. One report said Walmart was attempting a pre-Christmas launch.

Spokesperson Ashley Hardi told InternetNews.com today that "at this time Walmart has no official announcement regarding an iPhone for sale." Apple, which did not comment on this story, sells the iPhone through exclusive carrier AT&T, its own retail site and electronics retailer Best Buy. AT&T did not respond to inquiries by press time.

The news reports hit as Apple's iPhone continues to take the smartphone and mobile device industry by storm, grabbing marketshare with each quarter, and pushing data revenue streams into AT&T's ledgers.

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