Apple's Tim Cook: iPhone is not "just for the rich"

It looks like different variants of the Apple iPhone are on the way. Apple COO Tim Cook recently told Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi that Apple will not cede in any market. Having said that, the executive hinted that a lower priced Apple iPhone is more than just a rumor when he said that the iPhone is not "just for the rich". Cook also said that his company is coming up with some "clever things" that would allow Apple to compete in the pre-paid market.

As we reported, the Cupertino based firm is allegedly working on a cheaper version of the iPhone that would cost less than $200 off-contract. The phone would be built using leftover components from the iPhone 4.

Cook also stressed that Apple wants to increase the number of carriers that the manufacturer works with. According to Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer, 175 carriers are partners with Apple compared with 550 carriers that work with RIM. While the comments most likely were aimed at overseas mobile operators, did we just see the ears of Sprint and T-Mobile customers perk up?