Chances are that you still remember the Sprint Now Network TV add talking about how much you can save with the Palm Pre compared to an iPhone plan. Well now, the PC World folks have posted a study on how much you spend on a plan with 8 of the hottest smartphones on the market.

According to PCW, there isn’t a big difference in the total cost of ownership – device, service contract, and so on – over the first two years, they all come in at around $3,800. But if you really are concerned about the long-term expense of owning a smartphone, than you might consider a lower-priced newcomer such as the Palm Pre or the HTC G1, which end up costing hundreds less than the more popular BlackBerry and iPhone models at the end of the two years.

This study only compared the networks by looking at their unlimited everything plans, since the features in the lower-priced plans all vary in features by carrier. The good news – at least for those of us Pre owners – is that we have the best plans money wise. And lets take in consideration this study didn’t have the recent $50 drop on the price of the Palm Pre, and did not mention the recent Anytime Any Mobile either.

[Via PCWorld]