Why regular iPhones are really, really cheap

If there's been one complaint about Apple's iPhone, it's been the cost. Even after the cost came down, people complained that the purchase price, coupled with the service commitment, was just too steep.

I am going to argue that Apple's iPhones are really, really cheap.

Relatively.

CNET:

[T]he undoubtedly enterprising Austrian jewelry designer Peter Aloisson [makes] gadgets that might remind lesser beings of trinkets from the artist formerly known as Saddam Hussein.

The latest of Mr. Aloisson's creations is a $2.5 million iPhone. May I quote some of the forbiddingly florid language from Mr. Aloisson's alluring Web site: "Made of solid 18-carat yellow gold, white gold, and rose gold. A fabulous combination. The white gold line is encrusted with a total of 138 brilliant cut diamonds of the best quality."

But wait, this touching work of art has a unique feature. No, it does not polish your shoes while you talk on the phone. And no, it doesn't have a built-in vibrator to massage your ear. It does, however, have a "home button" that carries a rare 6.6-carat diamond.

More here, or go to Peter Aloisson's web site here.