Carriers fiddle with handset prices till shoppers drop

OK, so online shoppers safely ensconced in their comfy chairs at home don’t actually drop to the ground so much as they maybe nod off after another frenzied session of online purchasing.
But wireless carriers continued to tinker with handset prices as the typically fruitful fourth quarter-er, the holiday season-draws to a close. Because carriers uniformly decline to discuss their handset pricing strategies, and handset vendors defer to carriers on the mysterious topic, one is left to ponder the logic one assumes is behind the latest moves.
The biggest single price drop between Dec. 11 and Dec. 18 was at Cingular Wireless L.L.C., which is selling the Palm Treo 650 for $100, down from last week’s $250. (As reported elsewhere in today’s e-newsletter, smart-phone sales have shown a sharp upswing since January and NPD Group partially credits pricing.)
T-Mobile USA Inc. lowered prices on three handsets. The Samsung t629 dropped to $50 from $100 and the Samsung t509 dropped to $20 from $50, while the Motorola Razr Dolce & Gabbana model sank from $300 to $200. (Affordable luxury, at long last!)
Sprint Nextel Corp. and Verizon Wireless made no notable changes to their portfolio pricing.
Leap Wireless, the flat-rate carrier in selected metropolitan markets across the country for budget-conscious callers, shaved $20 off six handsets and $10 off another; at the low end, a UTStarcom CDM7025 dropped to $100 from $120 last week, while at the higher end, the Nokia 6265i is priced at $280 (down from $300) and the Nokia 6165i is selling for $180 (down from $200). A Kyocera Xcursion will cost you $180 (down from $160).
Another possible feature of the 11th hour holiday frenzy: out of stock items. Verizon reports that the LG Chocolate (in cherry, at $100) is out of stock, as well as the Kyocera KX444 at $50. At T-Mobile, the Sidekick 3 by Diane Von Furstenberg is out of stock (the other Sidekick 3 at the carrier sells for $350).