Apple's (APPL) iPhone 5 already marked down at Best Buy: Here's why

Well, this has never happened before.    

Just three months after Apple unveiled the new iPhone 5, retailers are already beginning to offer discounts on it.

$50 off at Best Buy

Normally, an Apple product has to be on the shelves six months or more before Apple allows discounts.

For instance, stores can now mark down the older iPad 2, but not the new iPad or iPad Mini. They can also mark down the older iPhone 4 and 4S.

But Best Buy is now offering $50 off the new iPhone 5, through Jan. 5, not even four months after it went on sale. Other retailers may soon follow Best Buy's lead.

What this may mean

According to Apple analysts, this may mean two things:

1. The iPhone 5 is not selling as well as Apple expected, after the initial rush the first two weeks. (Critics refer to these people as "Apple fan boys"). Apple is not yet releasing full sales figures.

2. An upgraded iPhone 5S may already be in the works, with longer battery life and NFC technology, now standard on some Android phones.

NFC means "Near Field Communication," which lets you pay in stores by just swiping your smartphone. It does not currently come with iPhones.

The Wall Street investment firm Jeffries and Company claims Apple may launch the 5S by next June, well before its typical September upgrade time.

If so, it means the smartphone competition is so fierce from Google, Samsung and others, Apple can no longer wait a year to upgrade.

As always, don't waste your money.
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