Don't listen to these anti things nerds.
iPhones are AWESOME.
IT may have a few less features that aren't at all important to the majority of people that will benefit much more from a cleaner, simpler, more intuitive, and much better-looking operating system. Not only that but the hardware itself even looks and feels better than any phone out there.
No offense guys, but the type of people that care solely about features and specifications are a minority. More people are far more concerned with how well said features/specifications are interconnected, laid out and presented to the user.
Now if you're part of that minority that only cares for features and specifications, go for an N96 which looks decent and uses what in my opinion is the second best mobile operating system out there.
As for the fee's, you should check the specific Apple website to your country as they will have information about exactly how much you'll have to pay to buy and activate your phone in the rate plans themselves.
Hope this helps,
Johnny