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It was £99 iirc in the UK but you had to get it activated in-store for a seriously pricy contract. Until somebody worked out how to jailbreak it, at which point it was the bargain of the year.

I think that's when I bought it, which still felt like shortly after launch even though I wasn't in line on day one.

I only started paying more for iphones later (off contract, unlocked, from China, etc...).

I bought mine in october 2007 for $300 with the unlockable AT&T sim card.