If you are with at&t, sprint, or Verizon don't get your hopes up on purchasing the latest and greatest Iphone 4s. I contact my carrier (sprint) and they said that because I am not able to upgrade my phone yet that to purchase the iphone 4s it would cost 759.99. Now thats a big number for a phone. My ipad didn't cost that much. Im kind of pissed but, Im getting the phone next month and not for 759.99. Nice try apple.

All phones out of contract are astronomically expensive - on purpose. That's just the way carriers are. When you aren't eligible for an upgrade on your particular carrier, phones are that much. The 16 will be $200 with contract/when one is eligible. Fairly priced.

Sent from my iPad using iPF

The cost of any top smart phone unlocked is in that price range not over the top at all. You are paying that price when you go on contract however it is buried in the monthly fees.

Originally Posted by col.bris

The cost of any top smart phone unlocked is in that price range not over the top at all. You are paying that price when you go on contract however it is buried in the monthly fees.

Actually, you're paying far more in the long run with a subsidized phone purchase since it means carriers lock you into a contract for two years, thus limiting competition among carriers. (Capitalists generally don't like free markets.)

When the iPhone first came to Verizon a lot of people canceled their service and paid the cancel fee (at most $175). They then signed up for a new service contract and got the phone for $200. Some of them had to give up their number but they got the phone for $375 instead of $700+.

That price sounds right. I paid around that for an iPhone 4 in Asia, where most people buy phones unsubsidized, without contracts. My no-contract unlimited plans in Asia also usually run about 20 to 25 bucks a month.

In the U.S., I'm eligible for an iPhone 4S for $199 now, but the unlimited plans (if you can get them), run much higher than overseas.

I'd rather pay outright for a phone than do it the U.S. way, with very little competition for data plans.