Some big news recently came in the form of a supposed leak about Cingular considering a reduction in the price of the iPhone. According to Apple iPhone Review, a mockup ad was made advertising Cingular and the iPhone, but with prices reduced $200 on each model, to $299 and $399, with the goal being to see if consumers responded significantly more positively when shown lower prices.

Many people immediately called out the advertising image as a fake, noting much of it seems rather haphazardly put together in an amateurish fashion, while the defenders of the story have said it’s because it was simply a mockup for use in research gathering, explaining why it’s not of the same quality as finished promotional material.

Considering the initial price has been the largest complaint leveled at the iPhone so far, and that Apple is taking a cut of every monthly subscription payment by iPhone subscribers (according to a great, in-depth iPhone story from the Wall Street Journal), perhaps considering a price reduction is true. It also seems plausible that Apple will fill in the lower price range with other iPhone models (or let forthcoming models push the initial models into lower prices). One interesting possibility to consider, though, is that if Apple and Cingular see enough positive feedback at the rumor of a lower price, even a fake image could prove influential. I’m guessing few people will complain if the lower price becomes a reality.

Filed under: iPhone News, Rumor