Although the $99 iPhone does sounds great, unfortunately you cannot purchase the iPhone without the expensive monthly plan offered exclusively through AT&T. I’m sure you’ll discover this when you examine your pricing options.

I have been searching the web for information on this and found these interesting quotes pertaining to iPhone pricing plans:

From the AT&T iPhone FAQs page “iPhones sold in the United States are configured to work only with the wireless services provided by AT&T.”

Cnet’s Rick Broida blogs about the $99 iPhone and points out that his wife wouldn’t approve of an iPhone purchase because “AT&T still charges a minimum of $70 per month for minutes and data.”
(http://news.cnet.com/8301-13845_3-10259804-58.html)

Also, FierceWireless’ Phil Goldstein writes “According to AT&T, the average monthly bill for an iPhone user is in the mid-$90 range.”
(http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/t-not-changing-iphone-data-plan-rates/2009-06-12)

I agree that the $99 iPhone price is enticing but the reality is the monthly plan costs could be too steep for those on a budget. I know it is for me!