Best Buy is now selling the older Apple iPhone 4 for $49.99, apparently to clear out the two-year-old phone models before new versions are released later this year.

Normally, Best Buy sells the iPhone 4 for about $99.99. The iPhone 4 discounts apply to all carriers, as well as the black and white models, although only the 8GB model has received the discount.

Third-party reports claim that Best Buy sells as many iPhones as Apple itself.

Best Buy may simply be looking to clear out inventory, based on Apple's pricing expectations. During the iPhone 4S launch, Apple also said that the iPhone 4 would be priced at $99 and the iPhone 3GS will be free with a two-year contract. If that logic chain holds, then Apple will make the Apple 4 free after contract, and discount the iPhone 4S to about $99.

If recent reports are true, Apple has ordered screens from its Asian suppliers that are "at least" a half-inch bigger than the current 3.5-inch screens used on every other model of the iPhone thus far. Both the Wall Street Journal and Reuters have claimed production for the new 4-inch screens is set to begin next month. Reuters' sources estimated the suppliers will receive production orders next month and start the assembly line in August.

If true, that would mean that the next iPhone would launch sometime in the fall, far after the traditional June launch date, but the same timeframe as the iPhone 4S launch last year. In any case, Best Buy's discounts give the retailer a decent amount of time to clear out inventory, even if Apple returns to a June launch time.

If history holds, however, interested buyers may want to gamble: Best Buy has offered older iPhones for free, although the timing varies.

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This article is writen by  By Mark Hachman  and copyrights reserved by Ziff Davis, Inc