iPhones for less than $200?

I got an E-mail from BusinessWeek this morning titled, “An iPhone for $199″ and, of course, I was very interested. Times are financially tight for my wife and me right now and the $499 or $399 iPhones were just too expensive. And the question was always: Do we really need them? I’m now paying half the monthly rate for two cell phones that AT&T charges for one iPhone. The iPhones are still something of a luxury and the utility for me isn’t quite clear. Paying $50 per month for two cell phones while AT&T is charging $90 per iPhone is something a budget-minded person should think about.

One big question my wife and I have is about the coverage in the NYC area. We drool as we see Verizon users chatting away as we go through the train tunnels under the Hudson River to and from NYC from New Jersey. We don’t get that with our service, which seems to be most popular in Europe (at least judging from European soccer game ads). We can call each other from certain train stations, but those Verizon users seem to talk everywhere without a hitch. I’m not sure why this is. Does anyone know how well the iPhone coverage works in the NYC area? Please tell me!

But my wife and I really want iPhones, these fairly complete little computers that fit in your breast pocket. It’s a phone, of course, it sounds great, the video screen size is impressive and, well, I really do not know everything it does except one can send and receive E-mail, browse the Internet, get stock market info, and lots more. The popularity of the thing is driving third-party developers to create new apps — that can only mean the iPhone is going to get smarter and more useful.

OK, I may sell my 1985 Volvo 240 DL Wagon (Burgundy) to fund this tech-maniacal iPhone scheme of mine. Should I? Want the Volvo? It’s more than reasonably priced and it’ll run forever. I’ll give you a good deal … OK?