Before I purchased my iPhone, I thought gaming on a mobile phone was dumb. Prior to the iPhone, I used a Motorola Razr and the graphics and control system were so bad, you can’t really consider the handset to be a mobile gaming device.

After getting my iPhone, I think about mobile gaming much differently. According to a recent report from comScore, the rapid growth of the smartphone market is giving the mobile gaming market a significant push.

In anticipation of a new iPhone model coming to Germany, T-Mobile has drastically slashed the price of the existing 8GB model from €399 to just €99 for German customers. This lower price equates to approximately $155 USD, where the 8GB iPhone is currently going for $399 with a 2 year contract in the United States.

The €99 iPhone is being offered for a limited time from April 7 through June 30 and comes with a 2 year plan for 89 euros a month. The 16GB model price appears to remain untouched with a price of €499. Apple has been rumored to have a new, faster 3G version of the iPhone in the works and this promotion may be a way to unload some of the older models prior to the launch. Alternatively it could also just be a promotion for Apple and T-Mobile to unload some of their inventory due to poor sales of the iPhone in the area due to the heavy competition of mobile handsets that are 3G enabled.

Amidst announcements of a number of new iPod products and product upgrades, Apple made a surprising move today by cutting the price of its iPhone, likely much to the dismay of early adopters. Apple is now selling the larger 8GB version of its iPhone for $399 which is down $200 from the original $599 price only a couple months after the products initial launch.

Apple also said it is going to discontinue the 4GB model of the iPhone altogether, now selling it at $299 until the supplies run out.

A preliminary analysis from iSuppli states that they estimate the iPhone from Apple has over a 50 percent gross margin which all comes back to Apple since they do not allow carriers to subsidize or discount the phones.

“With a 50 percent gross margin, Apple is setting itself up for aggressive price declines going forward,” said Jagdish Rebello with iSuppli.

According to iSuppli, the total expense to manufacture the 8GB iPhone is estimated to be about $280, leaving $319 in profit $599 price tag. The firm did not have an actual iPhone device available to them to take apart, so this estimate was made from the knowledge and experience with similar parts from other products.

The firm estimated that the cost for the flash memory was the most expensive component of both the 4GB and the 8GB iPhones, which …