iPhone Failure Imminent?

I just got through watching the Apple's Macworld keynote address introducing the groundbreaking iPhone and it is quite impressive. I mentioned in a previous post some of the features and the price point at which it will be sold, $499 (4GB) and $599 (8GB) with a 2-year agreement. It has me very excited and I certainly want to pick one up, the internet capabilities alone has me salivating as well as all the other cool features.

What doesn't have me salivating is the price. Yes, the handset alone is expensive but for what it can potentially do, I think your getting a good deal. And that's sort of the problem here. The amount of services one would have to subscribe to in order to take full advantage of the iPhone could leave you wondering why you made the "investment" in the first place. This is coming from an average consumer, not a business professional.

This is exactly what Apple wasn't thinking about when developing this phone; they weren't concerned about the average consumer. I decided that I would go onto the Cingular site and price the services that would allow you to use the iPhone as it was intended. Since there are no details about the pricing plan for the iPhone's services, this is just a rough estimate of what you could conceivably spend a month.

Plan
Nation 450 /Rollover: $39.99 - You would need to start with a calling plan. I chose the Nation 450 with Rollover. This plan gives you 450 anytime minutes, 5000 nights and weekends and unlimited Mobile to Mobile minutes. This was the cheapest plan they had for the handset that I picked, a comparably priced Treo 750.

Services
PDA Connect Unlimited: $39.99 - This service gives you unlimited Internet and e-mail access. The iPhone relies heavily on the Internet through it's e-mail client and Safari browser as well as Google Maps and it's variety of Widgets; I actually think the $39.99 price point is on the cheap side considering the amount of data you would need to push through.

Message Starter 200 Messages: $4.99 - You will likely have to sign up for a text message service in order to use the iPhone's SMS function. Because of the iPhone's attractive and robust SMS application, upgrading to the more expensive 3000 Message Extreme service for $19.99 would be necessary.

Final Cost
$84.97 - $99.97 a month to use Apple's newest breakthrough technology. This doesn't account for other features like the Visual Voicemail that allows you to choose which voicemail you want to listen to.

Again, these are based on current Smart Phone service pricing, which do not include MEdia Bundle plans, which would bring the cost down a little. On the other hand, Cingular could have special plan packages for iPhones, to make owning an iPhone more affordable.

Could you buy the iPhone just to have the next generation iPod? Probably, but why would anyone want to spend $599 for a 8GB iPod? I sure wouldn't.