How the new iPhone costs more

Uh oh. The new "cheaper" iPhone actually costs more because of a higher monthly plan fee, according to a story by Yahoo. Here's their math:

"Old iPhone: $399 (for 8GB of storage), plus $60 per month for 450 voice minutes and unlimited data. Two-year total (since you'll be signing a two-year deal for either handset): $1,839.

New iPhone: $199 (for 8GB of storage), plus $70 per month for a basic voice plan (presumably the same 450 minutes) and unlimited data. Two-year total: $1,879."

Of course, the new iPhone is faster and probably looks different so everyone will know you are totally hip (until the next version comes out in about six minutes). That's gotta be worth the extra $40. Smirk smirk.

Despite the price increase Daily News blogger Steve Rosenberg predicts the iPhone 3G will "kill off what little is left of the Palm platform," start a war among cell carriers other than AT&T to offer plans compatible with the iPhone, and maybe even push Google to offer it's own branded-handset.

I'm just depressed that cell phone service costs so much. I did the math and the plan Hubby and I share costs $1,140 a year - and we got free phones!!