Written just as the iPhone was introduced in 2007. Interesting what we thought was important.
Why am I talking about IPhone and what does it have to do with Financial Planning or me ranting about money related stuff? It might be that I secretly want one of these pieces of technology? Maybe I am being paid to advertise it? Maybe I am trying to suck search engines into this posting?
Some of that might be true, who knows, however, let’s think about the IPhone as a purchase for a family ( spouses who have loved ones thinking about this purchase read closely so you can argue with them).
In Canada Rogers wireless will be selling them at the end of June (once there is a CDMA version, Bell Mobility and Telus will most likely be selling them).
How much is this things going to cost really?:
- If it costs $499 US for the 4GB version and $599 for 8GB versions , that means up here my guess would be somewhere between $550 and $700 or so. That alone makes it a very expensive toy. My guess is if you sign a 3 year contract it may be cheaper (but maybe not initially due to the high GEEK factor involved).
- What kind of plan must you get with Rogers? The base Blackberry package is currently $25.00 per month with lots of limitations and can go all the way up to $100 per month with lots of bandwidth and such. The Iphone’s data usage should be maybe a little higher than a Crackberry, maybe close.
- On the cheaper plan, you pay a HUGE penalty if you overrun your data allotment for the month as well.
So, $1200.00 a year and an initial outlay of $500 at least for this piece of technology? I guess if you are really eager for the technology it is ok, but couldn’t you find something better to do with your money ($1700 in a year) than this? You could buy a really good digital camera and get an iPOD and a cheap cell phone for about that price at the end of it all (and you wouldn’t be bothered by e-mails wherever you are either).
Yes, if someone gave me one, I’d use it and play with it and act like a complete Geek, but as I have said, Do As I Say, NOT as I do!
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This is usually what stops me, is realizing how much money the whole thing is going to cost and how it is a pair of technological handcuffs!
Interesting post and comments.
I’ve been a gadget freak for ages but not when it comes to telephones because of the ongoing costs — especially for data — and the long term commitments.
Excellent point, thank you for reminding me.
The answer of course is YES and NO :-).
The Wi-Fi can be used for downloads and such (I hope) so that will cut down on cellular data usage, however, whether that is integrated into the phone is another good question too.
Wi-Fi could be used for Voice Over IP calls (if it is integrated into the phone as well).
Thank you for reminding me of my oversite. –C8j
But the iPhone has wifi too….won’t htat keep cellular-data usage lower?