text: Verizon Slashes Smartphone Costs to $99
  Posted: Aug 3 2009, 10:45am CDT | by Robert Evans , Updated: Aug 11 2010, 3:37pm CDT , in Mobile Phones
  Fall is new smartphone season. This means two things. First, that a whole slew of awesome new gadgets are about to hit the market, and second that carriers are going to need to reduce their stock of last-generation phones fast. That's one explanation for why Verizon is apparently dropping the prices of almost their entire smartphone line to $99 and under.
  Boy Genius has received a series of tips today warning them of the price cut. The BlackBerry Tour (see also our brand new BlackBerry Tour Review) and the Samsung Saga are the only two smartphones in VZW's inventory that still cost above $99. If you're looking to grab a new mobile, now is probably the best time you'll find for a while. A Touch Pro for $99 is nothing to scoff at.
  Let's all give some kudos to Apple for forcing the rest of the industry to cut down on their prices. Selling the iPhone 3G for $99 has really thrown a wrench into a lot of carrier's business models. The 3G is still a high-end smartphone, and by offering it for that price Apple forever changed consumer expectations for mobile prices. Apple isn't usually the company one expects to be the impetus behind a price cut, and yet here we are.