Sure, you are buying the device with cash up front, but it saves you in the long term by allowing you the freedom tojump carriers. (Jump toend of post if you are looking for the TechCrunch contest info).
For junk bonds, thejump is even more dramatic: 275 over Treasurys at theend of 2006 to 341 points as of Monday, according to Sanford Bernstein research.
The price jump is because natural saltwater pearls were common in the 1920s when high end jewelers would travel tothe Bahrain to pull them out of the Gulf.