Take on the 'real cost' of the IPhone5

When I read a tweet quoting a mashable.com report (http://mashable.com/2012/10/01/iphone-5-true-cost/) which stated that the new IPhone5 would cost consumers $1800 I felt right away that there was something funky

I click on the link and as predicted they come to their conclusion by taking quite some liberties.  

First they take the cost of the actual phone ($199 for the middle memory one) add to tax etc and tell you that this is what most people see as the sticker price but that behind the scenes there are hidden costs and charges

The first $200 is obvious, the remaining $1500 a bit disingenuous

They add to it the cost of a voice and data plan, an unlimited text plan and few other things.  Call that. $1400

They then theorize that you'll buy some apps  maybe $50

Plus new chargers, cases and a new stereo dock and an armband and before you know it they got the lowest cost IPhone costing you $1800

What I find most misleading portiom is that they write the article as if somebody will buy this phone without it being an upgrade from another

everybody today has a phone so the the fact they include both the voice and texting plan to the calculation is ridiculous.  Even if you aren't coming from a smartphone you'd have to hope your old phone could at minimum......make calls and every phone made in the last 15 years has the capability of texting and there is no reason to suspect somebody who has never texted before will all of a sudden become an avid texter is LOL

Even the data plan seems disingenuine because it would assume that the person buying it is still using the old Nokia brick while truthfully most people buying an IPhone are upgrading from another smart phone so a huge portion the $1800 cost (data plan) is something they are already spending today.  The cost of apps is also not something that will increase when somebody upgrades from the 4 to the 5 either

I realize the goal of this article is to show the real cost of owning an IPhone but like anything if you don't put it into some context it's ridiculously misleading

My guess is the added cost for the average person is something like $250. ($200 for the phone, $50 for extra accessories) because i would bet there isn't a huge majority of people going to the AT&T and buying the IPhone5 as their first phone and if they are upgrading from something it is very likely from another smartphone and probably a previous generation of IPhone

And even if you think i'm full of crap honestly how many people are really buying the armband?   So call it $1798 and be done with it

Sent from my iPhone