Best Buy offers iPhone 4 for $50 with 2-year contract

If you're looking for an iPhone 4 on the cheap for the kids, for your elderly parents, or for yourself, head on over to your local Best Buy store. They're now offering the 8 GB iPhone 4 for US$49.99 with a new two-year contract.

The discount, which appears to be permanent and not just a temporary sale, is available for the GSM model (AT&T) and the CDMA version (Verizon and Sprint) in both black and white. The new pricing comes on the heels of Apple's report during the 3Q 2012 earnings call that it had sold 26 million iPhones in that quarter ending June 30. While that was a 28 percent growth in sales over the same quarter a year ago, investment analysts were disappointed with the numbers and Apple's stock dropped about $30 a share as a result.

The price drop may stimulate sales of the older handset for Verizon and Sprint, which do not offer the "free" iPhone 3GS available from AT&T. Then again, anticipation for the next-generation iPhone -- which is rumored to have a larger display -- may keep consumers from opening their wallets until later this year.