StraightTalk to Carry iPhone 5 Along with 4, Walmart to Offer Financing
Humberto SaabedraFollowing up on a report which revealed the existence of tutorials for the iPhone 4, more information has surfaced regarding StraightTalk’s plans to carry the iPhone, which are to be announced sometime this week. First, StraightTalk will expand its SIM card options to micro and nanoSIMs to accommodate those looking for a BYOD option with locked or unlocked iPhones and will carry those both online and in select Walmart locations.
Images via That’s It Guys
Second, new pictures taken of new endcap displays have confirmed that Walmart will be working with StraightTalk to sell the iPhone 4 and 5 in retail locations, culminating with Walmart offering financing options for customers carrying either a Walmart store credit card or the Walmart Discover cards, as the iPhone 4 will be priced at $449.99 and the iPhone 5 will be priced at $649.99.
Images via That’s It Guys
Walmart’s financing options will consist of a no interest option when charged on either aforementioned credit card with $25 minimum monthly payments spread out over 18 months for the iPhone 4, totaling $449 after the financing term is complete, though it’s assumed that customers can pay more than the minimum to keep the special no interest rate. The monthly rate is the same for the iPhone 5, only spread out over 26 months and totaling $649 after the financing term is complete.
Clearly, Walmart and StraightTalk have designed the sales method to encourage people to sign up for credit cards in order to encourage long-term financing of either device instead of relying on outright purchase volume as was done on Virgin Mobile when it launched the iPhone last Summer; it says more about both brands that it considers the typical StraightTalk customer to be so easily willing to sign up for a credit card just to take advantage of “special financing” for 4 and 36 month old devices respectively, especially when the iPhone 4 can now easily purchased for less than the standard list pricing.
Confirming the previous report, the iPhone 4 will operate on the Verizon Wireless network, while the iPhone 5 will operate on the AT&T network, providing current StraightTalk AT&T customers an upgrade path from older smartphones such as the Nokia series or an alternative if the current Android lineup isn’t appealing and the BYOD option isn’t easily available or desired.
More specific information on the devices isn’t known yet, but it’s expected that the Verizon version will be the 8GB iPhone 4, while the AT&T-powered iPhone 5 will be the 16GB model based on pricing. StraightTalk is currently teasing the news via its social media profiles and is expected to formally announce the offer later today or sometime later this week with more specific information, such as availability and purchase details.
As the financing offer has been technically valid since the first day of the new year according to the details printed on the display, the phones are expected to be available later this month.
