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Target and BestBuy join Apple in cutting iPhone prices ahead of new models

A handful of Apple's authorized iPhone resellers have joined the company's brick-and-mortar retail stores in offering discounts on existing iPhone models ahead of a media event next month that's expected to serve as a launchpad for the so-called iPhone 5.

All things D's points out that Target is now selling the 16GB versions of the AT&T and Verizon iPhone 4S for $179 with contract, while Best Buy has dropped the price of the 8GB iPhone 4 for both carriers from $99 to $49.99.

The reductions come just days after it was reported that Apple retail stores were

">willing to match

iPhone discounts offered by other authorized iPhone resellers.

Sprint was the first iPhone affiliate to provide incentives for consumers to consider purchasing an existing iPhone amid rumors of new models when it cut the price of its 16GB iPhone 4S models to $149 while waiving activation fees for the handset.

The sales are designed to buoy sales of existing iPhones in the weeks leading up to Apple's September 12th media event, which is all but certain to deliver the first official details on the sixth-generation iPhone (or so-called iPhone 5) ahead of its launch later that month.