It seems like the low cost iPhone rumor is one that will never truly go away. Each year around the time of a new iPhone launch, rumors surface about Apple launching a lower-cost iPhone.
BGR is reporting that Apple will have a low cost iPhone, to the tune of $350.00 without contract, but it may not even be a new phone. BGR states that the low cost pre-paid iPhone could be the iPhone 3GS. It is also being reported that Apple will continue to sell the iPhone 4 alongside the iPhone 5 and the new low-end/prepaid iPhone 3GS. If Apple does go this route, they will now have phones in all price categories from the low-end to the premium market.
The final bit of information that BGR still stands by is that there will be a redesigned iPhone coming in late August timeframe, but it is not sure if it will be the iPhone 5 or an iPhone 4 derivative. Either way, a new iPhone will be coming later this summer, but which path Apple will be taking it down is still uncertain.
If Apple does begin to sell an iPhone in all three pricing categories, it will be the final peg in their mobile phone strategy. Apple will employ the waterfall effect with each generation: The device will go from premium to mid-market to low end and allow Apple to play a card in each segment.