Entering a distribution deal with Wal-Mart to sell its precious gadget is surely a great thing for Apple. In these rough economic times having the advantage to work with one of the biggest retailers in the United States will mean millions of iPhones sold.

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, known for his analysis regarding Apple products, has predicted that Apple might sell as many as 4.5 million iPhones through Wal-Mart’s 3500 stores.

However, while everyone agrees that the Wal-Mart deal will mean more iPhones sold, there are a few issues that are open to debate.

The first is the famous and much-rumored $99 iPhone. For the moment, despite the rumor mill, Apple and Wal-Mart have stayed mum about this possibility.

On the other hand, a cheaper iPhone will be definitely an opportunity for Apple to extend its reach and market share.

But the analysts have failed to reach a common conclusion. While there are some voices which claim that the $99 iPhone is a sure thing, others are saying that it could affect iPhone’s image as a high end smartphone.

Last month Gartner ranked Apple as third world wide -largest smart phone seller in the months of August, September, and October of 2008, bringing home an impressive 13% of all sales. Nokia Corp. was ranked number one and Research In Motion Ltd. ranked second with 42% and 16%, respectively, of the market during this past June, July and August.

A cheaper, easy-to-find iPhone will mean that Apple could increase its lead over RIM and maybe even eye Nokia’s place sometime later next year.

However, as MacWorld is set to take place in January, we will probably have to wait until then to get a glimpse of Apple’s strategy regarding iPhone.