How Much Your iPhone Really Costs

If you were asked how much you paid for your iPhone, I suspect the common answer, (contract free phones aside), would be either $200-300 plus tax, depending on the capacity you opted to purchase. After politely hanging up on Best Buy today after I was told I would have to pay $13 to have an already $30 InvisibleShield “installed”, I started thinking. About what you ask? I got to thinking how much cash has just my current iPhone 4 cost me, in the 6 weeks or so I’ve owned it.

I went with the 32GB model for the logic stemming from the “it’s better to have unused space than too little space” module. So let us take a quick tally type glance at how much my iPhone 4 has really cost me, so far:

  • iPhone 4 + tax+ upgrade fee – $330
  • Applications/Music since launch day – $125
  • Belkin Vue Grip Case – $25
  • 2 generic cases from Hong Kong – $8
  • Car charger + cable to plug into the Mazda 3 – $40
  • 2 months worth of data (petty, but real) – $60

Total: $588

Now, I didn’t include my monthly AT&T bill simply because I would have a phone of some sort, even if it wasn’t an iPhone. This comes to an average of $100 per week thus far! Don’t worry, I know there are readers here who paid more than just to walk out of the store with their current iPhone. However just like it is with them, it’s all personal choice. No one, (that I’m aware of) has ever been “forced” at gunpoint to buy an iPhone and its accessories. That would be a pretty far-out stick-up though.

So, how much as your current iPhone cost you since you bought it? Obviously if I went off the numbers of my 3GS, the number would be much steeper (& painful). Nevertheless, post your numbers in the comment box if you dare see what your precious piece of history has cost you.