People have no idea how much smartphones really cost

[Barpanda]

Does quality come cheap?

 

[pandemonium]

Some quality is overrated for brand-sake.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Historically, phone prices are flat.

The iPhone wasn't priced beyond other smart phones. It was just unsubsudized.

Correct, and they had a special iPhone plan right? It was $20 data only instead of $30 data to make up for the lack of 3G or something?

In some ways you could say AT&T offered a service discount because the phone was unsubsidized.

Ever since the $199 smartphone started by Apple/AT&T in 2008 with the iPhone 3G, service prices have gone through the roof to compensate. I've already said time and time again that someone has to pay for the fact that we got iPhones 3G, 3GS, 4 all within 1 year and users were allowed to early-upgrade on top of the subsidy price. AT&T shelled out money, and its network suffered, and to make it up, it's slapping fees left and right and trying to gouge consumers.

 

[bearxor]

You're looking back without considering the situation at the time.

In 2007, AT&T essentially offered iPhone users its MediaNet plan and 200SMS in one package. This was because the iPhone was still considered to be more of a "feature phone" and didn't really qualify as a "smart device" under AT&T's definition. It was assumed the MediaNet plan would be suitable for the iPhone because of tbe intended way Apple meant for users to adopt it. It wasn't to make up for a lack of 3G. It was essentially the $40/450 minute plan + $15 MediaNet + $5 200SMS plan. It was convenient, not special.

What you're forgetting is that along with the iPhone plan, AT&T sold its standard rate packages of $30 for unlimited data for device it considered a "smart device" if you were to go back in time and pick up a HTC Tilt, the cheapest you'd get out is $40/450 minutes and $30 for unlimited data.

So I wouldn't say that there was a "service discount because the phone was unsubsudized". It was really the standard rate plan for the intended usage of the device. Fast forward to a year later and there was a massive paradigm shift of what the industry considered a smart phone.

The iPhone destroyed and rebuilt the smart phone landscape. You can't really fault AT&T for underestimating the impact it would have. A lot of people and companies did.

 

[Flipmyphone]

That's a really good point made by bearxor, you know your stuff dude.

 

[Phanuel]

My cell phone bill hasn't gone up really in 5 years since I got my original iPhone 3G. It also doesn't go down when my contract ends. I haven't really seen any of these outrageous fees being slapped on by AT&T, but I also have a grandfathered in unlimited data plan which is what's really keeping me stuck with AT&T since nobody else offers unlimited data for $30/month anymore.

I'll keep subsidizing my phones because I don't upgrade every year and I don't have any reason to pay full phone price and then continue paying the same exact monthly fee regardless of phone subsidy pricing or not.

 

[Dumac]

I paid $190 for a new Dinc2 for my wife and $60 for a used Droid X2 for me. We each use the $80 card, which lasts about 7 months. So, we pay about $23/month for both our phones.

I also don't understand the number of people on a modest income that each have an iPhone with a $75/month/person plan. If you can afford it and that's what you want to spend your money on, then that's fine. But IMO when the monthly cell-phone bill is > 10% of the mortgage bill, that's quite excessive.

Less than $750 mortage? What did you buy, a shed outside?

I should probably move off of Verizon to something cheaper, but the unlimited data, fast LTE speeds, and coverage keep me hooked...

 

[kalrith]

Less than $750 mortage? What did you buy, a shed outside?

I should probably move off of Verizon to something cheaper, but the unlimited data, fast LTE speeds, and coverage keep me hooked...

I said $75/month/person, so $150 for 2 people, $300 for 4 people, etc. I don't know of too many families with only one person who has a smart phone.

 

[thecapsaicinkid]

This is what I'm getting at, the current carrier model causes massive overspending. People often complain about the lack of progress in say, laptops in comparison to smartphones; the difference being, people actually pay for laptops up front. I really think flagship smartphones would be considerably different now if people had to fund them in the normal way.

 

[MotionMan]

This is what I'm getting at, the current carrier model causes massive overspending.

Again, I just don't see that.

People often complain about the lack of progress in say, laptops in comparison to smartphones;

Who? Where? Links?

the difference being, people actually pay for laptops up front. I really think flagship smartphones would be considerably different now if people had to fund them in the normal way.

I agree. I think they would be much less popular and probably not as advanced.

MotionMan

 

[TheStu]

Again, I just don't see that.



Who? Where? Links?



I agree. I think they would be much less popular and probably not as advanced.

MotionMan

He might be referring to displays in particular. Basically ever since the iPhone and other devices started getting high DPI IPS displays and the like, laptops and especially desktop monitors have not kept pace. How long after the iPhone 4 came out was it until the rMBP came out? 2.5 years or so?

The HTC One and Galaxy S4 both have 1080p displays at 5", and yet there are only a handful of laptops with that kind of DPI. That's really the only place that I see computers lagging behind mobile devices.

 

[pandemonium]

That doesn't quite translate comparatively; having a higher PPI on a bigger screen. A monitor is typically viewed at a greater distance than a smartphone/tablet/phablet. I'm not saying a higher PPI on a monitor/TV isn't welcomed, it just doesn't have as high of a necessity.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

This is what I'm getting at, the current carrier model causes massive overspending. People often complain about the lack of progress in say, laptops in comparison to smartphones; the difference being, people actually pay for laptops up front. I really think flagship smartphones would be considerably different now if people had to fund them in the normal way.

Why would smartphones be considerably different if we funded them the normal way? The manufacturers get paid either way? The consumers spend either way. It's just that they're tricked into spending more through plans.

 

[TheStu]

That doesn't quite translate comparatively; having a higher PPI on a bigger screen. A monitor is typically viewed at a greater distance than a smartphone/tablet/phablet. I'm not saying a higher PPI on a monitor/TV isn't welcomed, it just doesn't have as high of a necessity.

Ok, forget DPI. How about just display quality in general? How many 15" laptops are there still (and especially a couple years ago) that had 1366*768 displays, or 1280*800 before the 16:9 switch. Crummy TN panels with crap viewing angles and low resolution. Meanwhile our cell phones were getting SAMOLED+ and IPS.

 

[thecapsaicinkid]

Why would smartphones be considerably different if we funded them the normal way? The manufacturers get paid either way? The consumers spend either way. It's just that they're tricked into spending more through plans.

Because I think the majority can't afford/not willing to spend the amount of their current device if asked to pay in full. There is no way iPhones would sell like they do now if stuck with a $600 sticker price.

 

[TheStu]

Because I think the majority can't afford/not willing to spend the amount of their current device if asked to pay in full. There is no way iPhones would sell like they do now if stuck with a $600 sticker price.

Look at the RAZR, people were rushing out in droves to get it on a subsidy as well, and it was something like $450 or $500 to buy it outright IIRC.

I like what T-Mobile is doing, which is that you aren't subsidizing the device, but rather buying it on a payment plan. So you get an upfront lower price, pay it off with a higher monthly cost, and then once paid off, your monthly cost goes down to what it would be if you had either bought the phone outright, or brought one with you to the table.

 

[bearxor]

I think that works for a lot of people, but for most of us here, we're going to be upgrading devices at least every two years and some of us every year. I decided not to go TMobile because I know I'd upgrade every year and pay the phone off early to do so. So of really be dropping $1200 every two years for devices and $1920 every two years in service for a total of $3120. With AT&T right now, I'm only paying $1860 per year in service and $400 for a new device every year ($200 subsidized, alternate my device upgrade between me and my wife's phone she gets the hand me down).

I believe a lot of people don't care about their device as long as its working though. And in that case, if you live in a great coverage area, and don't plan on upgrading your device but once every 3-4 years, TMobile's plan is a great deal.