This piece of PR came over the transom today:

With the Apple iPhone 3G recently announced for a mere $199, many are considering the purchase. But how each person uses their phone will affect how much they pay, since certain features are now premium priced…and that’s before verifying the signal strength of AT&T’s coverage at their home, office, and along the commute.

So the key questions on everyone’s mind: What is it going to cost me? Can I really afford the switch? Is the new iPhone right for me?

Enter BillShrink (www.billshrink.com).

BillShrink is a free service that saves consumers money when they select everyday services like cell phones — and its revolutionary technology collects and processes millions of data points for all cell phone plans, with a special page dedicated to the iPhone/AT&T combos at: www.billshrink.com/iphone.

By simply entering a few pieces of information about your own cell phone usage, you see which iPhone plan and add-ons make the most sense. By importing a recent cell phone bill, BillShrink will include analysis of who you call, how frequently, in what network, during which hours, etc.

Using this information, BillShrink can find the right combination of iPhone plan and add-ons that you should use, and exactly how much more (or sometimes less) you’ll pay.

The technology examines early termination fees, coverage in your area, sign up fees, one-time costs, family plans, and all the other ways services providers confuse consumers, and the end result is the best plan package.

Gizmodo explains over two years, the iPhone 3G will cost $160 more than the original iPhone ($1975 vrs $1815). This includes the unlimited data plan plus the additional $5 SMS plan you need to get to match the original’s 200 included messages.

Bill Shrink says they do not take advertising, and don’t sell anything. They get paid by retailer partners if you decide to sign up for new service.

Posted by Sam Churchill on Tuesday, July 8th, 2008 at 10:25 am.