[amazing]

Here's a really interesting total-cost-of-ownership (TCO) comparison. I have no idea how accurate the figures are, but if true, this really shoots large holes in a whole bunch of arguments, such as "expensive", "exclusionary", "profiteering"...

Ten Fake Apple Scandals: 1 - Phony Rage About iPhone Price and Profits.

And you'd have to say that if you took ease of use into account, the iPhone "rules them all."

[mitchell_pgh]

If I remember correctly, so other (more balanced) sources found that the iPhone was about average regarding TCO. It wasn't the most expensive, it wasn't the least expensive... but rather, middle of the pack.

The thing I feel most people are missing is the iTunes connection. It's a wonderful piece of software.

[-Q-]

Plus, it's really hard to quantify how much fun the device is to use. You can't assign a dollar value to it, but it certainly has made a dramatic impact on how people interact with their phones.