Apple: Lower hanging fruit, but mind the worms

The tech blogs are atwitter (and a-Twitter) about today's announcement of Apple's new iPhone 3GS. Its built-in driving directions, voice activation, and video camera will be turning the Apple Store near you into a geek parking lot late next week. From a budget standpoint, though, the big news isn't about new features. It's about new prices.

Starting next week, the lowest-priced iPhone (an 8GB 3G model, which is the current iPhone without those embellishments) will be just $99 with a contract, which isn't much more than the basic cheapie units your cell phone company gives for free with new contracts. Computer prices were knocked down, too. MacBook and MacBook Air laptops will also be cheaper, by as much as $700.