Same here. That was just a rumor by GI, which like any publication has been inaccurate. They'd already stated they don't want to do multiple SKUs.
That's not to say they weren't thinking about it. It's likely the $500 price drop was a kind of test SCE, so they can use that sales data to convince Sony corporate to allow them to make a cheaper version, or keep it at $500.
I think it's still possible to see multiple SKUs though, especially since they do have the 80gb version. If the sales warrant, and manufacturing costs go low enough, it's certainly possible we'll see a $400 model, maybe even in time for the holidays. No wifi, no PS2 hardware, smaller HD, heck I wonder if it'd be cheaper for them just to put some sort of memory drive on there like a memory stick instead of HD. Not sure what else they could cut.