We know the iPhone isn't cheap, but Billshrink shows the numbers

It's no secret that in addition to the initial price for the iPhone, that there's also months upon months of service plans to pay as well. BillShrink.com gave us some perspective yesterday, showing just how much of an Apple tax we really do pay for the iPhone.

In a very easy-to-read infographic, the site pits the entry level iPhone 3G S against the Palm Pre and Android G1 to see what you exactly get and how much you're paying for it when you sign up with the exclusive US carrier for each device (AT&T, Sprint or T-Mobile respectively).

The winner, when it comes to storage space and features, is the iPhone 3G S. But, it's also showing that the Android G1 isn't that bad of a deal either. Its 3.2MP camera just squeaks by the iPhone and it has both a lower subsidized cost and price without contract.

But where Apple really loses is the overall cost of ownership. By far, the cheapest phone to own over a two-year period is the Palm Pre, which clocks in at $2,400. The cost calculated is based off of a service plan with two years of unlimited voice, data, and messaging services. The Android G1 follows with $3,240 and finally the iPhone 3G S at $3,600 -- not including tax for any of them.

Edit: There was some confusion on the back-end of TUAW about whether or not those numbers are for the service plans alone, or if they include the initial cost of the handset. As originally stated, the final totals in the graphic DO NOT include the cost of the headset. For example, the iPhone plan is $99.99+$30+$20 x 24 months = $3599.96 -- rounds to $3600, that matches what's in the graphic. The same holds true for the Android G1 and Palm Pre as well.

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Source: http://www.billshrink.com/blog/iphone-versus-palm-pre-versus…

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It's no secret that in addition to the initial price for the iPhone, that there's also months upon months of service plans to pay as well....

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Balrob

My neighbor has the Pre and the battery drains before your eyes - he hasn't gone 1 day without a mid-day charge!
So, yeah it is a bike - or a ferrari with a one gallon tank.

June 11 2009 at 5:57 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Paul Sorensen

The "update" in the article seems to suggest that the cost of an iphone is "$99.99 + $30 + $20 * 24 months" which they say adds up to $3600. Rounding $99.99 to $100, I agree that (100 + 30 + 20) * 24 == 3600 but that implies that a lot of people are paying $150 per month for their iphone plans.

My question is how many people are paying anywhere near that much? My wife and I have two iPhones with the AT&T family plan, and we pay $129/month in total for two plans...

June 10 2009 at 9:35 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

robogobo

oh god, must we do this again? there's PLENTY of new Apple news to write about and you have to dig up this shit? This was debunked a long time ago- the diff in prices has nothing to do with the iPhone. OMG, it's the nokia tax!

June 10 2009 at 7:12 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Tim Herrick

Who really pays for these unlimited plans that they show? These statistics lead to largely exaggerated costs for all 3 devices. Most people won't even need a texting plan once 3.0 adds push notifications to AIM and with the mobile to mobile and family talk plans that AT&T offers, it can actually cost a lot less for an iPhone than this leads people to believe. The iPhone may still be more expensive in other plans too, but none of these devices actually cost average people this much money. Also how is this an Apple Tax? AT&T is the carrier and they set the pricing for these plans.

June 10 2009 at 6:13 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Aaron

with my plan I calculated that my iPhone 3G costs about $1950 but I do have a company discount of 18% with At&t

June 10 2009 at 6:10 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

philasan

TUAW is in an anti-AT&T, hate-rage lately... i wish they would just go back to talking about mac/iphone apps

June 10 2009 at 6:01 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

1 reply to philasan's comment

alex

they probably upgraded to the iPhone 3G and now they can't upgrade to the iPhone 3G S because it'll cost them more than the 199/299 price point for new or contract about to end customers. Imagine how us iPhone 2g owners felt cheated out of first the price drop and the iPhone 3G.

June 10 2009 at 7:44 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Glenn Rempe

Another example of TUAW recent weak reportage and sensationalistic headlines. Are you guys chasing techcrunch and gizmodo to the bottom?

"showing just how much of an Apple tax we really do pay for the iPhone"

This evaluation has nothing to do with Apple's pricing which for the hardware is essentially identical.

This billshrink analysis merely points out that AT&T is the more expensive carrier to own a smartphone on.

June 10 2009 at 5:45 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

macthegoalie31

In this case, shouldn't it be an "AT&T Tax" since we're paying AT&T the monthly fee.... not Apple?

Huh.

June 10 2009 at 5:32 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

jcat

@virgil - No kidding. Pay-as-I-go at $72.72/month.
There is no way I would give up the iPhone. It's by far the best device I've ever purchased, on all fronts.
@Splappy - You got that right, kid. No question where the big moneymaker is in any of these schemes. It's called "recurring revenue stream," and the rates are pretty outrageous.

June 10 2009 at 5:31 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

The Palm is $299.

June 10 2009 at 5:29 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply