We are on the cusp of total smart phone commodification

[vi edit]

I'm not a heavy data user. I can easily get by most months on 1gb of data. I really can't complain about my $50 a month 1 gig, unlimited talk + text, plus full subsidy upgrades with Verizon. Every two years I can essentially upgrade for next to free after selling my current device. And only pay $50 a month for that.

I understand that I could get into a pre-paid plan for a couple bucks less a month and get more data that way, but I don't use it and I'm not paying for phones out of pocket. I can't really complain. It's not for everyone due to the low data, but it works for me.

 

[Ramses]

Yeah, but what happens when a $200 off contract phone becomes "good enough?" Then that money can go either way.

As long as they are easy to buy and establish service, absolutely.
Consumers take the path of least resistance and most warm fuzzies most times.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I'm not a heavy data user. I can easily get by most months on 1gb of data. I really can't complain about my $50 a month 1 gig, unlimited talk + text, plus full subsidy upgrades with Verizon. Every two years I can essentially upgrade for next to free after selling my current device. And only pay $50 a month for that.

I understand that I could get into a pre-paid plan for a couple bucks less a month and get more data that way, but I don't use it and I'm not paying for phones out of pocket. I can't really complain. It's not for everyone due to the low data, but it works for me.

I'm on a T-Mobile pre-paid, $50/mo for 1GB high-speed data (unlimited, but throttled after that amount), and unlimited minutes/texts. I was on this plan on a feature-phone (flip-phone), for a while, then I decided to get a "real" (Android) smartphone, for like $140. I don't use much data at all (I'm not into "apps"), but being able to occasionally web-browse is nice. (Like looking up Staples' in-store coupons to show the cashier.)

 

[Raduque]

It's already there. For a year now, I been using a ZTE supreme, which is a $150 phone that has a 5" display, 4G, and a 3200 mah battery. It has everything I want and none of the superfluous crap that no one needs (ie 4 /8 cores and 1080p+ resolution) And it only costs $10 month for 100 minutes and 100MB of data.

Yous trollin.