So now that AT&T has
announced definitive pricing for the iPhone 3G we can take another look at what the new iPhone is going to cost you. Of course Apple is making a big deal about "Twice the speed, half the price", but the reality is a bit different. Let's start by comparing the iPhone 3G to the original iPhone.
|
Handset Cost
|
450 Minutes
|
Unlimited Data
|
200 Text Messages
|
Total over 2-year contract
|
8GB iPhone 3G
|
$199.99
|
$39.99
|
$30.00
|
$5.00
|
$1999.75
|
8GB iPhone
|
$399.99
|
$39.99
|
$20.00
|
included
|
$1838.76
|
16GB iPhone 3G
|
$299.99
|
$39.99 |
$30.00 |
$5.00 |
$2099.75
|
16GB iPhone
|
$499.99
|
$39.99 |
$20.00 |
included |
1938.76
|
So you can see that the new iPhone 3G, despite it's lower initial price, will actually cost you about $161 more over two years for the same service you would get with the first one except the support for AT&T's 3G network. Now this may sound ok, after all it works out to $6.70 per month and you're getting 3G service. The problem is that not everyone is going to get 3G coverage. If you look at AT&T's
coverage map you can see that there are vast swaths of the country that don't have 3G data. In these areas you will fall back on the same EDGE network that the current iPhone uses.
The other thing to consider is the
impact that 3G has on your battery life. The new iPhone 3G is supposed to have a bigger battery, but with 3G Apple is still only claiming five hours of talk time. In our
tests of the original iPhone we were able to manage slightly over seven hours of talk time. If this difference is enough that it will keep you from using the phone for a whole day you may want to turn off 3G to conserve battery power, with the result that you're paying more for nothing, once again.
To be fair the new iPhone will also include GPS functionality, and that might be worth the extra price for many. It's also now in line with AT&T's other smart phone products. Don't be fooled by the lower entry-level price, however, you're going to pay more for the new iPhone, so you may want to think about whether it's worth it before you stand in line for twelve hours next Friday.
