Palm Pre beats Apple iPhone on running costs

The Pre may be cheaper to run than the iPhone

A breakdown of the ownership costs for a Palm Pre and an Apple iPhone suggests that Pre users could be left with fatter wallets.

The analysis, carried out by price comparison site Billshrink.com, finds that, while the purchase cost of the two devices is the same, the monthly billing will give a significant advantage to the Pre, which is officially launched on Sunday.

The cost breakdown is as follows:

Palm Pre (Sprint)

$199: cost of phone with $100 rebate
$100/month: Sprint Unlimited data + voice
$69.99/month: 450 voice minutes and unlimited data
$89.99/month: 900 voice minutes
$129.99/month: Family plan fortwo Pre phones ($19.99 for additional lines to family plan)
$169.99: 3,000 minutes shared plan
$189.99: Unlimited family plan ($89.99 for additional lines to unlimited everything family plan)

iPhone (AT&T)

$199+: cost of phone
$150/month: AT&T unlimited data + voice + text
$69.99/month: 450 voice minutes and unlimited data
$109.99/month: 900 voice minutes + unlimited data and text
$129.99 (for 700 minutes and unlimited everything else) Family plan for two iPhones ($39.99 for additional lines to family plan)
$209.99 3,000 minutes shared plan
$259.99 Unlimited Family plan ($129.99 for additional lines to unlimited everything family plan)

The analysis compares the 8GB version of the iPhone with the Pre. As such, the figures may soon be changed as Apple is expected to announce new versions of its iPhone next week and these are rumoured to include dropping the 8GB model.