A quick search on eBay turned this up:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...sPageName=WDVW
Not much cheaper than what you found, but a cable will definitely give you less hassle over the long run, so if you're thinking of hanging on to the phone for a while, I'd say it's worth it. IR is notoriously temperamental and certainly isn't the best method of synchronizing or transferring data. Good luck on buttering up the Missus.
