Every review I read about the iPhone whines that the price is high. So let’s see how high it really is.
An iPhone can be thought of as an iPod Nano plus a phone. Except it’s not quite the same as a Nano. It’s got that screen that’s even bigger than the disk based iPods. And it’s got that cool visual voice mail.
A 4 GB iPod Nano is $199.
A 8 GB iPod Nano is $250.
The 4GB iPhone is $499.
The 8GB iPhone is $599.
A Palm Treo is $99 to $199, an old (refurb) model for $49.
W/ 4GB Nano: $298 to $398, old (refurb) model $248.
W/ 8GB Nano: $349 to $449, old (refurb) model $299.
A Blackberry is $199 to $299, an old model for $49.
W/ 4GB Nano: $398 to $498, old (refurb) model for $248.
W/ 8GB Nano: $449 to $549, old (refurb) model for $299.
All the phone prices are from ATT’s site and are for a 2 year contract, just like the iPhone. The cost per month with data plans is the same regardless of what phone you have so there’s no point worrying about it.
So, depending on what model you buy, you end up paying between $1 and $200 extra for the iPhone. A refurb phone and iPod Nano bundle is between $200 and $300 cheaper than the iPhone. But lets be real here. The iPod is the top of the line right now so it’s not really comparable to an old refurbished phone.
Right now you’re looking at an average of $150 more for an 4GB iPhone and $200 more for an 8GB iPhone. That effectively is the price for the convenience of having both your iPod Nano and smart phone in the same device. And considering the nice screen and some of the cool features of the phone not found anywhere else, that doesn’t seem that expensive to me.