Price cuts for Apple’s iPhone have spread to Best Buy, where the retailer has slashed the iPhone 4′s price to $50.

The deal is available in stores only, but shoppers can check local availability at Best Buy’s Website. Best Buy is only offering a discount on the 8 GB iPhone 4, in both black and white on AT&T, Sprint and Verizon Wireless.

Other third-party retailers have also slashed prices on iPhones in recent weeks. Target and Radio Shack both took $50 off the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 4S, and like Best Buy, both retailers only offered those deals in stores. of course, all sale prices require a two-year contract.

It’s tempting to read into the sales as a sign of a new iPhone to come, but keep in mind that third-party retailers have offered these types of in-store deals around this time of year before. last June, Walmart dropped the iPhone 4′s price by $50 for over three weeks. The following August, Radio Shack cut iPhone 4 prices by $30. Apple didn’t launch the iPhone 4S until October.

Apple may launch its next iPhone in October as well–at least according to rumors and analyst speculation. The latest iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S in-store sales are, in all likelihood, exactly what they seem to be: good deals and nothing more.

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Best Buy Stores Cut iPhone 4 Price to $50

Sprint announced its quarterly earnings on Wednesday and the results were disappointing as expected. The carrier posted a net loss of US$863M and cash reserves are now at a razor thin $7.6 billion. In the midst of this doom and gloom, one bright spot for Sprint was the iPhone.

The carrier said in its earnings report that it sold 1.5 million iPhones in the opening quarter. It’s a slight drop from the 1.8 million it sold in Q4 2011, but this dip is expected after a holiday quarter. Sprint still trails Verizon Wireless which sold 3.2 million iPhones and AT&T which sold 4.3 million.

Of those buying an iPhone with Sprint, 44 percent were new customers. Sprint said in its earning conference call that 40% of those new Sprint iPhone users reportedly broke a contract to switch to the carrier. About 60% would not have switched if Sprint didn’t have the iPhone.

The iPhone is not only increasing sales, it’s helping Sprint keep customers, too. The carrier said that iPhone churn rate is low, with significantly less iPhone users asking for support or returning their phone when compared to other smartphone users.

Sprint didn’t come out and say it, but it’s becoming increasingly obvious that the cornerstone of Sprint’s smartphone business is the iPhone.

Sprint announced its quarterly earnings on Wednesday and its results were disappointing as expected. Revenues climber 7 percent year over year, but the carrier posted a net loss of US$863M. one bright spot for Sprint was the iPhone,

The carrier said in its earnings report that it sold 1.5 million iPhones in the opening quarter. Of those buying an iPhone, 44 percent were new customers. Sprint said in its earning conference call that 40% of those new Sprint iPhone users reportedly broke a contract to switch to Sprint and 60% would not have switched if Sprint didn’t have the iPhone.

The iPhone is not only popular, but its helping Sprint keep customers, too. The carrier said that iPhone churn rate is low. Significantly less iPhone users ask for support or return their phone when compared to other smartphone users.

Sprint didn’t come out and say it, but it’s becoming increasingly obvious that the cornerstone of Sprint’s smartphone business is the iPhone.

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Sprint sold 1.5 million iPhones to new customers in Q1

When Verizon Wireless started selling the iPhone, AT&T sounded a defiant note, saying that its customers would remain loyal. a year later, it’s clear that the Verizon iPhone has crimped AT&T’s stride.

Verizon, the country’s largest wireless carrier, had little problem attracting new customers before it started selling the iPhone. in fact, it was the only one that managed to keep up with AT&T’s iPhone-fueled growth.

But with the iPhone in its arsenal, the country’s biggest wireless company is getting bigger, while no. 2 AT&T’s growth has slowed precipitously.

On Tuesday, AT&T revealed that it essentially gained no phone subscribers on contract-based plans in the first quarter. That’s only happened once before: a year ago, when Verizon launched its version of the iPhone.

Contract-based plans are by far the most lucrative for a phone company, and the number of new customers is an important measure of growth.

AT&T gained a net 187,000 customers on contract-based plans in the January to March period, but these were almost all tablet users, brought in by the launch of the new iPad in March. Even on contract-based plans, tablet customers pay between $15 and $50 per month, whereas smartphone customers often pay more than $100.

Over the last five quarters, Verizon has added nearly three times as many contract subscribers as AT&T. Over the previous two years, the rivals split new subscribers nearly evenly.

AT&T gained a net 726,000 subscribers of all kinds in the first quarter, counting ones on no-contract plans and ones on non-phone devices like the Kindle. That was the lowest figure in eight years, and less than a third of the number of subscribers added in the same period last year.

Weak subscriber figures are usually good for a phone company’s earnings in the short term, since it doesn’t have to subsidize new devices.

The Dallas-based company’s net income for the January to March period was $3.6 billion, or 60 cents per share, up 5 percent from $3.4 billion, or 57 cents per share, a year earlier.

Analysts polled by FactSet were on average expecting earnings of 57 cents per share for the latest quarter

Revenue was $31.8 billion, up 2 percent from a year earlier. It matched analyst expectations.

AT&T shares rose $1.11, or 3.6 percent, to $31.71 in morning trading. The shares are close to a four-year high of $31.97 hit a month ago.

–The associated Press

AT&T loses phone contract race to Verizon in first three months of 2012

Holiday sales of the iPhone 4S started to boost revenue at Verizon Communications inc. in the latest quarter, as subscribers settled in to paying their new monthly bills.

That meant that wireless service revenues grew at their fastest pace in three years at Verizon Wireless. the country’s largest cellphone company started selling the iPhone 4 a bit more than a year ago, but sales got a big boost when the 4S model was released in October.

Sales of iPhones don’t boost the results of a cellphone company immediately, because the companies subsidize them by hundreds of dollars to be able to sell the phone for $99 or $199. They then count on making the money back in service fees over a two-year contract.

At Verizon Wireless, the iPhone effect was clear in Thursday’s first-quarter report: the average monthly bill for subscribers on contract-based plans was $55.43, up 3.6 percent from a year ago. A few years ago, monthly fees were stagnant at Verizon.

However, the high price of the iPhone means phone companies are struggling to make it pay — most of the profit from the iPhone is flowing to Apple inc., not the phone companies. Verizon Wireless recently introduced a $30 “upgrade fee” for existing customers trading up to a new phone.

Verizon Wireless gained 501,000 new subscribers under contract-based plans in the quarter, slightly above analyst expectations. It’s a closely watched figure because contract-based plans are the most lucrative. Verizon is expected to lead the industry this quarter, attracting twice as many new customers as chief rival AT&T inc., which reports on Tuesday.

Verizon’s overall net income was $1.69 billion, or 59 cents per share, in the first three months of 2012, beating the average forecast of analysts by a penny per share. It was up from $1.44 billion, or 51 cents per share, a year ago.

Revenue rose 4.6 percent to $28.2 billion from $27 billion a year ago, matching expectations.

Verizon shares rose 39 cents, or 1 percent, to $38.05 in morning trading. That is near the upper end of their 52-week range of $32.28 to $40.48 per share.

New York-based Verizon Communications owns 55 percent of Verizon Wireless, and the corresponding share of the wireless earnings flow to Verizon’s bottom line. the rest goes to joint venture partner Vodafone Group PLC, a British phone company.

On the landline side, revenue continued to decline slowly as customers continue to cancel their phone and DSL lines. Verizon’s cable-like FiOS service continued to attract customers, and Chief Financial Officer Fran Shammo said the company would stop selling DSL Internet service in areas where FiOS is available. DSL is slightly cheaper than FiOS Internet service, but much slower.

With the latest report, Verizon stopped reporting how many wireless devices connect to its network through resellers. instead, it reported only the number of Verizon-branded devices: 93 million.

Three months ago, the number of devices connecting through resellers like Straight Talk, a cellphone service sold at Wal-Mart stores, was 16.5 million.

Companies often stop reporting operational statistics when the trends turn negative. In the latest quarter, Verizon lost a record 490,000 reseller devices. AT&T is a close second in terms of total devices on its network, and Verizon’s change in reporting could mean that it will be hard to figure out when AT&T overtakes Verizon as the largest cellphone company in the U.S.

Verizon would not say why it had changed its reporting policy.

–The associated Press

Verizon Wireless made 59 cents per share in first quarter, boosted by iPhone 4S

Sprint Nextel has sued several cable providers over what it claims is the illegal use of its digital phone technology, further fraying an already strained relationship between the carrier and the cable industry.

In separate lawsuits filed yesterday, Sprint alleged that Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications, and the Washington Post’s Cable one all infringed on 12 patents related to digital phone technology it secured in the ’90s.

The lawsuits represent just the latest development in an increasingly rocky relationship. Sprint and the cable providers were once strong allies, partnering up to buy spectrum and resell wireless service, and taking part in an investment in 4G wholesaler Clearwire. The cable companies were also significant customers of Sprint’s wireline business.

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