We can't live without them; we can't have enough of them. We constantly try to figure out the latest features on them. Like it or not, the smartphone has revolutionized the way we communicate and has become a significant consumer of our monthly budget. So just how much does your smartphone cost you?

A study by Youth Dynamix, Africa’s leading authority on youth matters, revealed that Kenyan youth consume airtime worth KES 23.6 billion. We ran a quick survey in our office and found that the highest smartphone user spends between KES 7,000 to KES 10,000 per month on airtime while the "dumb"phone user spends about KES 1,500.

Owning a smartphone is not primarily about making calls and sending texts, it’s about the internet. Statistics from the Communication Commission of Kenya (CCK) revealed that as of 31^st May 2012, the internet/data market segment had increased to 6.4 million users. Mobile data/internet subscriptions dominated the internet market with 98.8 percent of the total internet/data subscriptions being from mobile internet/data sub-market.

If you hardly make calls or send texts, chances are you'll spend most of your airtime on internet/data.

BlackBerry, for instance, has the BlackBerry Internet Service which gives you access to three most used internet applications: Email  web access and instant messaging. This is a service you apply for and you can choose to pay of it on a daily, weekly or monthly basis depending on the mobile service provider you are on.

If you are on Safaricom and choose to take the take the BlackBerry Absolute Plan, it will cost you KES 999 to enjoy comprehensive BlackBerry internet Service. This is a service purely for internet, though Orange Mobiles’ BlackBerry Monthly Magic plan gives you free calls from 10am to 5pm every day, with the other mobile service providers you'll have to pay separately for calls and SMS.

In a year you could spend up to KES 11,988 with Safaricoms’ BlackBerry Absolute Plan, this is purely internet/data alone, for calls and SMS you could spend more.

For other mobile devices you can subscribe to the various mobile data plans offered by the different mobile service providers.

If you are a heavy mobile internet user i.e. you are always connected to your circle of friends through Facebook, Twitter or E-Mail, you endlessly search for information through your phone or you work revolves around your phone, you could spend more on mobile data/internet alone. Calls and SMS will be a separate expense.

Battery power is another issue in regard to smartphones. Most smartphone batteries run out very fast forcing users to charge them every few hours. Inasmuch as charging your phone won’t exorbitantly increase your electricity bill, it is nonetheless a consumer of electricity, meaning, the more often you change your phone, the more electricity you consume, ultimately increasing your electricity bill.

If you don't want to walk around with your charger, you have the option of buying an external backup battery charger for mobile phone. You simply plug it into your phone and charge it while you are on the move. Such a device could cost you up to KES 6,000 or even more.

Slightly more than you thought isn't it?