How much does it really cost to own a smartphone? - PC World

Concerned about the long-term expense of owning a smartphone? You should be. But we found that, among the most popular smartphones on the market today, there isn't a big difference in the total cost of ownership (device, service contract, and so on) over two years--they all come in at around $3,800.

If you're looking for a less expensive smartphone, however, you might consider a lower-priced newcomer such as the Palm Pre or the HTC G1, which end up costing hundreds less than the more popular BlackBerry and iPhone models at the end of two years...