I'd say no, totally unrelated, since:

a) it wasn't today b) that phone is now dated and was only $99 before; $50 less isn't a big deal considering that the real price includes a 2-yr contract

Yes, but smart phone buyers are going to enter a contract regardless. The iPhone contract is no more expensive than competing smart phones' contracts. When carriers compete on price, they're almost always competing on the price of the device itself.

I mean, really, did anyone expect the iPhone to drop from $499 to $49 in three years?!

$50 for the 3gs doesn't seem like a big deal when some carriers provide the iphone 4 for free:

http://mb.softbank.jp/mb/iphone_en/price_plan/value_program/