What is the cheapest smartphone on the market?

You may get a free one with certain plans.

Are you more concerned with the one-time cost of the phone, or the continual cost of the plan?

The difference between the least and most expensive smartphone is negligible (~$200). The real cost is the data plan, which will cost you $30 – $35 per month. So, a “free” phone will cost you $720 for the 2-year contract, assuming a $30/mo data plan. And this is also assuming you already have a voice plan with a non-smartphone.

If you can only afford $85 to buy the phone – and can’t afford a $200 phone – I suspect you probably can’t afford the monthly charges.

The ZTE blade, I have it myself and it’s good.

I think my friend got an iphone for $1 when she signed on with a contract with them. I don’t know if they still have those older phones available. They do have iphones for $50 though with a contract. The big question is how much do you want to spend monthly for the service. Here is the website.

The more you save now, the more it costs you later. I am with @tom_g here; if you cannot pony up $150 for a decent smartphone, you definitely can’t afford the monthly bill. My cell bill was more than $85/month before I got a smartphone, and I don’t even have texting; on that budget, forget smartphones.