hi babs depends on what network you want but 3 network have the cheapest handsets if you get a contract. Both me and my son have the iphone 4 and i highly recommend it - neither of us had had an iphone b4 but you can do so much with them. On a 3 contract you pay only £99 for the handset and for £30 per month you get unlimited internet - i have been with 3 for a few yrs now and NEVER gone over my unlimited. Most networks unlimited is capped at less than 1gb per month - 3 is 1 gb but as said never go over it, plus with the iphone you can connect to wifi - which means your not using your contract 3g so can use the internet more freely - places like MacDonald have cloud which is free and you can pick up lots of free wifi depending on your area. cant remember how many minutes and texts you get think its like 5000 of each - i just know that neither of us have gone over and if you have other people on the same network calls are all FREE and do not come out of your minutes.
Sorry Cant make much comment on any other network as i dont know but i know 3 show you a comparison so check out there site three.co.uk
With the iphone its a phone a games machine a music player internet toy, watch youtube vids upload pictures and vids to youtube facebook etc etc and lots of the apps are free, music just load up to your itunes,
in dublin your handset and contract may be a different price than it is in the UK - but worth doing a comparison.
Sorry not sure of the price if you get a sim only or PAYG handset
Hope all this helps
Linny :)