T-Mobile To Offer iPhone 3G For $1.55 In GermanyT-Mobile To Offer iPhone 3G For $1.55 In Germany

Last week, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said the iPhone needs to be more affordable, and it looks like wireless carriers are taking that message to heart.

Germany's T-Mobile is offering the 8-GB iPhone 3G for as little as 1 euro, or about $1.55. In order to get this price, subscribers have to sign up for a monthly service plan of nearly $107 a month. With the company's minimal service plan, the smartphone will cost about $263.

The 16-GB version will cost about $31 with the all-inclusive data plan that costs nearly $138 a month. With T-Mobile's cheapest plan, it will cost about $387.

Users of iPhones tend to use more data than other Internet-enabled cell phone users, and that should continue now that the latest version is capable of faster mobile Internet access. Carriers are willing to eat some of the handset's cost to get these heavy data users in long-term contracts.

O2, which will carry the phone in the United Kingdom, said last week it would offer a free iPhone 3G for subscribers who sign up for service plans costing either $88 or $146.50 a month.

In the U.S. market, AT&T will be the exclusive carrier of the iPhone 3G. With a two-year contract, the 8-GB version will cost $199, and the 16-GB version will cost $299. In addition to voice services, mandatory monthly data fees cost $30, and business users will have to pay $45 a month.

The iPhone 3G will be released July 11 in 22 countries and Apple said it will eventually be sold in 70 countries. Since its release last year, the iPhone has sold 6 million units in six countries.