The high costs of buying an iPhone

My friend recently bought an iPhone and I asked him how much it cost him. He replied that it cost him $199. Then I asked him again, "How much did it really cost you?" What he told me was a surprise and made me not want to get an iPhone.

Here is a list of the REAL costs of owning an Apple iPhone.

1. Cancellation Fees
This fee can be worked out with your service provider and if you have a good service provider the cost can be prorated for the time left on your contract. If you're like me, your service provider won't prorate the rest of your contract and will charge you $100 to break your contract.

2. Service Charges
I currently pay $89 a month for unlimited texting, calls to in network people, calls to my favorite people, taxes & fees, etc. For me to accomplish the same on my iPhone it would cost me 99.99 a month without internet. Add the text messaging at $20/month and I'm up to $119.99/month without taxes. Internet is included in most of the plans. Without the internet there is no point in having the iPhone. Currently I do not have internet with my current service provider (I can wait to get home to check my Facebook or Myspace). For those of you Myspace Junkies or Facebookers that can't stay away, there is no choice. So in total my bill will probably be around $135 a month for all of the functionality. This is about 50% higher than my current plan.

3. Add in the applications
Most of the best applications on the iPhone are free. However there are a few great applications that cost anywhere from $.99 to as much as $3.99 depending on who is selling it. Not too often will you see an application over $3.99. So if you're like me and tech savvy, you will most likely download a few applications to make your life easier.

4. Activation Fees
How could I forget the $35.00 activation fee. Just another way to say thank you for picking AT&T as your service provider. I've never really gotten the idea of an activation fee because I'm choosing to pay them for their service. Isn't that enough?

So all in total I would be looking at anywhere from $335-$435 (8G or 16G) worth of costs right up front to switch to an iPhone. Add in my current service provider cancellation fee and AT&T service plan and all the new fun applications I will download and I'm right around $475-$575 (8G or 16G) to switch over. Before you take the jump from your current service provider to AT&T to get the iPhone find out what it will cost you first.

My tips are:
1. Call your current service provider to find out your cancellation fee
2. Pick a comparable service plan
3. Find out how much those new services will cost (text messaging)
4. See if AT&T will drop the activation fee to switch
5. Pick out whether you want a 8G iPhone or 16G iPhone

To avoid switching service providers and saving yourself the activation fees, service plan fees, and headache go to Unlock the iPhone. This way you can buy the iPhone, unlock it, and continue on with your life without the 50% increase in service plan costs and fees.