Wow, I didn't realize Angry Birds is really 99 cents. I was thinking they cost U$ 15 or something (even Plants vs Zombies, which is U$ 19 on the PC and I was considering buying, is only 3 dollars for the iPhone).

My father bought a Samsung Galaxy last week, and it's carrier subsidized so he pays 20 dollars/month for a year.

My own Nokia N86 was also carrier subsidized at U$ 30/month for a year (and that included 300 minutes' worth of calls).

Even the iPhone is carrier subsidized at about U$ 50/month for 2 years.

In those cases, paying an extra U$ 15 would make a difference, but U$ 0.99.. you're absolutely right.