The much anticipated Palm Pre hits stores tomorrow (Saturday, June 6th)! Ever since I read the first Gizmodo post on the Pre I’ve been trying to decide if I’m going to get a Pre or a next gen iPhone this summer. I’ve been researching costs of comparable data plans from Sprint and AT&T and came across this great breakdown on CNET’s Crave Gadget Blog:
Palm Pre (Sprint)
• $200: cost of phone with $100 rebate
• $70 per month: 450 voice minutes with unlimited messaging and data
• $90 per month: 900 voice minutes, unlimited messaging and data
• $100 per month: Unlimited voice minutes, messaging and data
iPhone (AT&T)
• $200: cost of phone
• $90 per month: 450 voice minutes, unlimited messaging and data
• $110 per month: 900 voice minute, unlimited messaging and data
• $150 per month: Unlimited voice minutes, messaging and data
The iPhone and the Pre each require a two-year contract. This means a power user, who subscribes to an unlimited everything plan would pay $3,600 before taxes and fees for the iPhone on AT&T’s network. The same customer, getting a comparable service from Sprint, would pay $2,400 before taxes and fees. Over the two-year contract period, the Sprint Pre customer will save a total of $1,200.
As you can see the Pre is clearly the better value. But will value alone be enough to lure users away from their precious iPhones? I am still on the fence myself.
I can’t wait to see what Apple has up its sleeve for the next-gen iPhone!
