Some pundits have suggested the iPhone is the Swiss Army knife of mobile phones. Having spent a month with it, including taking it on vacation to Vermont, I’ve come to see it more as the Mini Cooper of communicators. As with that status car, the package is small while the cost of ownership is high. The initial, $199 come-on price is attractive for the new iPhone 3G. But the larger-capacity 16 GB model is $299. With activation fees and taxes, our bill for two iPhones came to $700 before my wife and I made our first calls.
