Your right, data is pricey and a lot of consumers opt not to pay those premiums, however, that trend is changing. Every mobile phone eventually will be smart and as we move towards that end you might be surprised what consumers “claim they need” and might be willing to pay for.

“And finally, because no matter what RIM does, Apple will eventually sell millions and millions of iPhones to consumers at a rate unlike anything the BlackBerry has ever done and probably will ever do.”

Hrmm, ok. It’s strange that many typically claim they don’t need data on their mobiles and don’t look into data + voice devices since it’s too pricey. Yet here’s a device that will probably run up a bill of $70 each month. Some adults can’t justify spending that much on their own devices, yet they will for their kids? Last year, there were 80 million smartphones sold compared to a billion cell phones. And I suspect a large portion of that 80 million are business users. People typically get cellphones for free or at a nominal price. Apple hopes to draw normal users to the smartphone world – let’s see if price is a barrier. I think techies, non-business people considering a smartphone, and mac loyalists will be early adopters. We’ll see whether this adds up to “millions and millions” of sales.

The device looks fantastic, but I’m trying to stay level headed admist the reality distortion field. If millions of _regular_ folk all of a sudden switch carriers (if needed) and rush to buy this device with it’s usage fees, my full congratulations go out to Apple.

Like everyone else, I’m waiting in anticipation to see how this goes. I especially like how AT&T likes to speak of “a million inquires”. But level headed people no doubtedly realize that this doesn’t imply a million sales.