If he's got the money to buy something else, he's got the money to upgrade.
I do I'm consdering doing premium but they do have data plans that get u a smart phone for free as long as you get a 2 year contract which is around 20-30 a month.
Let's say it's $25 a month, for argument's sake.
$150 x 1 payment for a Pandora upgrade = $150 total
Throw in a 16GB SD card brings that up to just under $200, assuming you don't shop around for a decent price. Everything else is free.
$25 x 24 months (at one payment a month) = $600 total
That doesn't even factor in anything else you might get or other charges you might be hit with.
Do the math.