[citation][nom]whatup[/nom]you guys are forgetting, the reason iphones (or most smartphones) are only US$200 is because it is locked to a carrier. The carrier splits the bill with us to pay for these phones.[/citation]
That still only applies in the US and the real question remains, how much does the phone actually end up costing?
If I buy a high-end smartphone on contract here in Sweden I pay nothing up front and a monthly fee for the phone, in addition to the regular plan fees, based on what the phone costs.
For example, a 16Gbyte iPhone 4 costs ~7800 SEK in retail off-contract ($1160).
By signing up for a two year contract, 49 SEK ($7.30) a month voice and 49 SEK a month data, i get the same phone for an additional 200 SEK a month for two years. Which means I end up paying 4800 SEK ($710) for the phone instead of 7800 SEK and I don't have to pay it all up front.
By choosing a more expensive base plan (say, free voice and text) I get an even lower montly cost on the phone.
By comparison the US carrier-locked phones don't seem anywhere near as good a deal, which means buying phones off contract should really a far more attractive option in the US than it is.
*shrug* I admit the US phone industry makes little sense to me anyway, it seems you guys are getting raped and plundered by the carriers in general.