According to BillShrink, a start-up which offers free analysis of consumers’ cellphone bills and recommends cheaper plans based on calling patterns, that’s where the Palm Pre could have a leg up on the competition.
The company calculated the monthly bills for the Palm Pre (Sprint), iPhone 3G (AT&T), the Android-powered G1 (T-Mobile) and the BlackBerry Storm (Verizon).
Of the four, the Palm Pre incurred the lowest monthly cost. Assuming the handsets were operating under two-year contracts with unlimited data and voice plans, the Palm Pre cost just $100 each month. The G1 trailed the Pre with a monthly usage bill of $135 per month, but the BlackBerry Storm and iPhone were the biggest drains on the bank account, with each plan costing $150 per month.
In addition, BillShrink has set up a dedicated Web page to allow the Pre-curious to compare Sprint’s plan to AT&T’s for the iPhone.
The site asks users to type in usage habits — such as number of text messages sent each month and voice minutes used each month — before spitting out an estimation of cost savings. My own calculation came out to a savings of $30 per month, or close to the equivalent of my electric bill.
It remains to be seen whether the Pre is worth the hassles of swapping handsets, carriers and losing my current high score on Flight Control (78!), but it certainly raises an interesting question: In a down economy, how much does monthly cost factor in the decision-making of smartphone owners?
[Originally posted at gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com]
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