Alright, i apologize if this has been posted before, but I have come up with a theory to explain the iPhone's pricing.

Alright, so the phone was announced and everybody bitched about the price, and why shouldn't they? I would love to see the iPhone subsidized as much as the next guy because it helps out my bottom line.

I believe the iPhone is being subsidized, just not in a way that we are used to. As well all know, Apple is all about the user experience, it "just works", right?

How many people would go spend $500-600 on the iPhone but then skip out on the $30/month unlimited data plan?

A lot.

And that is where I believe our money is going. Apple and Cingular will charge the higher price for the phone, but then give you a year or two of unlimited data for "free". Apple doesn't want any iPhones out in the wild with no data connection, because they lose a lot of their functionality. This way, they ensure that everyone gets to use the device to its full potential weather or not they would pay the $30/month for the data plan.

Any thoughts?