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You may be able to pick up one of those hip, trendy iPhones for a quick $99 soon. Needham Research analyst Charlie Wolf predicted the possible future price of the popular phone, stating that it could up sales by 2-3x the current amount. This move would also move Apple up the smartphone ranks, allowing them to pass other popular manufacturers in sales. The $100 drop in price can also be predicted from other mobile phone manufacturers. The BlackBerry Curve and Pearl now sell for $100 or less depending on contract, and the Motorola RAZR, which outsold the iPhone this summer, is nearly (or is) free with most contracts. However, this move would leave Apple selling the iPhone for less than what most Palm/Windows Mobile phones sell for, placing it in a perfect position for competition.

There is opposition, though. Jesus Diaz of Gizmodo opposes this positioning theory, saying that the iPhone is already beating most of the competition, and that the price drop won’t help pass the remaining competition ahead. Diaz also notes that Steve Jobs himself mentioned Apple being about “giving more while keeping the same prices.” If this is true, then a price drop isn’t much of a helpful move.

Via [Gizmodo] Product [iPhone]