Huzzah! Verizon knows what’s up. The prices of its smartphones have been slashed, cut, and discounted down to iPhone 3G levels. Every single smartphone – expect for the new BlackBerry Tour and Samsung Saga – can be had for $99 or less on-contract. This means that the HTC Touch Diamond, HTC Touch Pro, and Samsung Omnia are now only $99 straight up. It’s like Verizon is talking right to those feed up with AT&T’s shenanigans.
There was one question that constantly popped up after Apple dropped the price of the iPhone 3G down to $99: Why would anyone buy a different phone? The answer of course has to do with the monthly service plan and that AT&T is notoriously a terrible wireless provider, but the question is sort of valid. The iPhone 3G is a heck of a phone for $99.
Before this price cut, the iPhone 3G ruled the $99 price point and it may still, but at least it now has competition. Both of the HTC smartphones from VZW are solid Winmo devices. The Samsung Omnia has a killer display and a 5.0MP camera. To be honest, the BlackBerry Storm isn’t half bad after the latest update. (I use one daily)
Hopefully the $99 price point isn’t just for these somewhat older phones and VZW introduces new smartphones at the same price.