iPhone 3Gs price drop heralds 4G arrival

Wal Mart shifting old inventory at $97

American retail giant Wal Mart has announced that it will start flogging off the old iPhone 3Gs for less than $100 from today, further fuelling rumours that the next-generation handset is imminent.

The stack-'em-high, sell-'em cheap outfit which owns Asda in the UK is flogging the 16GB version of the iPhone 3Gs with a two-year contract for $97 - £102 cheaper than Apple itself - presumably anticipating that the Cupertino company will soon follow suit.

Slashing prices to clear inventory is a well-known Apple tactic, and the company did exactly the same last year, just a few weeks before the release of the 3Gs.

Reports indicate that Apple has stopped shipping the previous 8GB 3G models completely and that orders can no longer be placed for the phone.

There's now very little doubt that Steve Jobs will stride onto the stage at this year's WWDC clutching the new, and much-leaked iPhone 4G.