Actual cost of iPhone??

[scooter]

i found this on another forum, but i don't know how true it is since i don't use AT&T(Cingular)

anyone else know more?

What the iPhone actually costs: $1,936

Apple iPhone

Allen Stern at CenterNetworks has done some calculations on how much the Apple iPhone will cost. He figures (in US dollars) that customers are looking at $640 for the phone alone, including eight per cent sales tax, and $108 a month in plan and sundry fees.

Over a year, that's a grand total of $1,936. For that, you get 900 minutes of talk time a month, and 3,000 SMS text messages according to Stern. His comparison of what that money buys you is illuminating:

* 387 Starbucks grande drinks
* 2,129 McDonalds hamburgers
* 968 rides on the NYC Subway
* A round-trip ticket to Japan from the USA
* A new LCD 42" tv with enough money left over to buy all 5 seasons of 24 on DVD
* A Mac Powerbook
* 20% of a monthly ad on TechCrunch

It's worth noting that your total iPhone investment will be higher than that - you need to go on a two-year contract with Cingular, so assuming the prices stay the same, you need to add another $1,200-$1,300. In fact, the cost could be even higher, because a commenter on CenterNetworks says Cingular has a single, $49.95 data plan for the iPhone, and none of the cheaper alternatives are available for it.

On top of that, there will be the cost of media purchases. What happens if you lose your iPhone? How much is the replacement cost?

Ouch.

 

[KoDorSean]

$108 a month for "sundry frees" what does that mean exactly? $108 a month for the cell phone bill? that seems a bit high.

 

[trpnmonkey41]

well 40 for voice, and probably 40 for data, plus all of the government taxes and stuff will bring it near 100

 

[KoDorSean]

well 40 for voice, and probably 40 for data, plus all of the government taxes and stuff will bring it near 100

please define "well 40 for voice, and probably 40 for data"

 

[trpnmonkey41]

$40 for the cheapest voice plan/month
$40 for unlimited data/month

 

[scooter]

well, in my area voice plans start at $39.99 for 450 minutes. i would have to go with the next plan at $49.99 for 900 minutes.

data can either be a data plan or a smartphone plan.

smartphone start at $9.99 for 5mb and month and $19.99 unlimited. data starts at $19.99 for 5mb and goes to $44.99 for umlimited connection.

the other fee's are listed as such:

Other Monthly Charges

In addition to the monthly cost of the rate plan and any selected features, Cingular imposes the following charges: a Regulatory Cost Recovery Fee of up to $1.25 to help defray its cost incurred in complying with obligations and charges imposed by State and Federal telecom regulations, a gross receipts surcharge, and State and Federal Universal Service Charges. These fees are not taxes or government-required charges. Taxes and other fees also apply.

 

[KoDorSean]

where does roll over minutes play in?

 

[KoDorSean]

when you guys say "data" what do you mean exactly? excuse the stupid noob cell phone questions.. all I do with my cell is text and call people so all this other stuff is over my head.

 

[Jeff]

The data plan allows you to receive push e-mails, access wireless internet(through the cell providor) and I think that's it. Texts and calls not included.

 

[baggss]

He figures

In other works, he guessed.

Much has been made of this, but the fact is this is simply one guys guess. He doesn't know what sort of volume discounts Apple got from the manufacturer or what the terms of the seal with Cingular are. I would be hard pressed to believe that Apple, Cingular or the Manufacturer are losing ANY money on this thing.

 

[PowerBookG4]

when you guys say "data" what do you mean exactly? excuse the stupid noob cell phone questions.. all I do with my cell is text and call people so all this other stuff is over my head.

Data would be how many MB you can download in a given month, like e-mail, internet, and aim.

 

[farmcock]

The price seems fair to start out...

When you look at the price of the 8gb Nano or the 8gb (Product) Red at $249 (and these are not even Video-capable) , then add to that an innovative cell-phone with a full-fledged web browser,Google maps,email and a widescreen Video iPod, they have the other $249 to $349 to come off of.

I think we could see further subsidising from AT&T and maybe even Google and Yahoo before it's over and the price end up being dropped a little before launch - maybe - depending on what Apple and AT&T get out of this six months of Market feedback. It just seems there must be some sound reasoning behind Apple announcing this far in advance, the hype would have been enough anyway without a pre-release announcement and for that matter, isn't their other big developer conference in the summer? They could have held off until then to announce a release.

But then again, the Apple TV and Leopard features were also announced six months or so in advance and Apple TV remained at $299.

 

[ToddG]

My cell bill (paid by my employer, thankfully) is about $115 a month. That gives me about 1,000 minutes of free long distance; free evenings & weekends; and free in-network calling. It includes essentially an unlimited number of text messages (something like 800 per month ... I usually use about three) and unlimited data (meaning email and web browsing). Then of course you add all the taxes and stuff.

Phone is a Blackberry 7250; service is Verizon.

Including the cost of service in the cost of the iPhone is a red herring. Most of the people who are looking at the iPhone already use some kind of smartphone which means they're already paying both voice and data fees.

Heck, why not add the cost of all the stuff people will download from iTunes, too. :blind: edit: oh wait, he did ...

 

[RNDdave]

My basic rental is £25/month for that I get 300 minutes and 150 text messages, 25 multimedia messages, 25 minutes of video calls and £5 of 'free' downloads each month. I have free 'wap' access (basic mobile internet service offered by Three).

I need to pay extra for data downloads (excluding items downloaded from mobile internet) - not sure what that rate is as I don't really do much more than download the occasional email. As such my data costs are usually less than £5/month. Occasionally I use more than my contracted free minutes and free texts my average bill (including the £25/month service charge) is about £35.

As such I spend around £420 a years paying for my mobile service - the phone was free and I am only tied to a 12 month contract - I guess thats getting close to US$900/year. Add the cost of the phone at $4-500 and you're looking at a figure around $1300/year

Personally I'd never consider paying $400 for a phone - I expect it to be free or extremely cheap (subsidised) for people that sign up to a contract as the cellular company will be making enough throughout the course of the year to bare most of the handset cost themselves.

I don't know if it's different in the US - but the iPhone in the UK with monthly contract fees of around £30/month (12 month contract - maybe they'll push for 18 month contract as that seems to be the way mobile providers are going at the minute) will be no more than £60 upfront - of course this is only a guess.

 

[mynameis]

smartphone start at $9.99 for 5mb and month and $19.99 unlimited. data starts at $19.99 for 5mb and goes to $44.99 for umlimited connection.

Cingular won't let you get get the $19.99 plan on just any phone. Pretty much any phone with a touch screen requires the more expensive data plan.

I don't think $100 a month for service for an iPhone is an overstatement.

I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of people bought them without data plans.

 

[cheesybanana]

Including the cost of service in the cost of the iPhone is a red herring. Most of the people who are looking at the iPhone already use some kind of smartphone which means they're already paying both voice and data fees.
[/i]

Agreed. Calculating that way, the 'actual cost' of my 2 year old LG VX5200 is about $1000. And thats only for one year.

 

[MWolverine]

If you have any smart phone, you will pay for this stuff. So this is really about whether any of those kind of devices is worth it with Cingular. I have a Treo, and I pay $35/month for my service (Sprint). That includes Internet, Text Messages (up to 400), 300 anytime minutes, and some other stuff. I get a lot of discounts for my plan, but Cingular seems REALLY overpriced.

 

[fleurya]

I have no comment other than that guy is paying too much for his airline tickets!

 

[nat]

I hardly use my phone for calls, so I hope I'd be able to use Pay-as-you-go on the iPhone. I just want it for very quick calls, txting, iPod, photos, movies. So I wouldn't use the internet and keep my bills at £10/month!

 

[fleurya]

I seriously doubt any services will allow the iPhone to be used on a pay as you go plan. Plus, you usually can't get any data, especially unlimited data, on a PAYG plan. But that's just over here in the state, maybe it's different on your side on the pond.

If you can, let me know. Just naother reason for me to pack my bags.