Investment bank Piper Jaffray, believes this year's Macworld Expo will be, needles to say, a bit drab. But what we can look forward to, other than new iMac and Mac minis, is the possibility of a new, cheaper, iPhone.

Piper analyst and all around Apple cheerleader, Gene Munster, believes that it will be "... unlikely that a new iPhone will be released at Macworld, we continue to expect a new model by the end of the March quarter," Munster wrote. "Specifically, we believe Apple could introduce a lower-end model that is slightly thicker due to the inclusion of a slider keyboard for students (texting) and business use (email) between $99 and $149."

Some other cost cutting options would be to change the casing materials in to other cost-effective plastics... meaning that you better look into getting some insurance on your cheap-o iPhone because a gust of wind could break it, where as the current iPhone requires the Hammer of Thor to inflict damage. Of course, like the hammer of Thor, this is all hearsay, but some of use here at Mac|Life aren't repulsed by a slide out keyboard. Okay, we kind of are.

Via AppleInsider.com