Comments on: The Problem With Mobile Devices, The Price Tag [Opinion]

By: Bluemillion

Bluemillion — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 23:23:00 +0000

I love responses like these. It almost seems like you were a planted seed to help steer the conversationn one way, or you are trying to make a haphazard validation for spending an absurd amount of coin. It has already been proven that cellphone manufacturers sell phones and tablets through carriers because they are able to unload the product at an inflated retail price on the carrier, who then absorbs the risk of selling it to the consumer, because they know that they will make the money back in contract fees. But rest assured that change is coming. It seems that Big Red is growing tired of assuming that risk becbause of phones like the Thunderbolt, which don’t sell as well as hoped. As a result, -one day the hardware will be offered through a standard retail outlet, and you will then go to the carrier for the service only. That is theblue next big change coming down the pipline. Big Red will do it first, the other carriers will follow. And guess what? That is inside info heard in a meeting, so you can pretty much count on it. The manufacturers are going to have to offer the hardware at a more attractive price to consumers at that point, although I am sure they will try to go with 500 dollars or more at first until they find that it is unsuccessful.

By: Edaking

Edaking — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 20:40:00 +0000

thats freaking retarted, NEVER would i pay $300 for a smartphone. In my opinion it is not worth 300 on a 2 year contract. what do you think will come out in the middle of those 2 years, something better right? maybe even the same price or at the rate these guys are going more expensive, im sorry but no cell phone is worth $300 thats just crazy, they need to price them at a fair price! im starting to think that the manufacturers that use android are starting to be a lot like apple and over price everything!! honestly i would rather wait till someone makes a ROM thats based off of ice cream sandwitch, and use it on my p.o.s thunderbolt and save myself 300 and buy something thats worth that price.

By: Kevin Kim

Kevin Kim — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 00:41:00 +0000

>A majority of these smartphones cost anywhere from $150-$200 to produce,

source or did not happen

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 23:52:00 +0000

Totally agree. There is no advantage to getting a contract free device. I have zero ambition or desire to change carriers so I have no problem signing a two year deal.
Sent from my ASUS Eee Pad

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 23:31:00 +0000

It doesn’t matter what it costs to make. It’s about how much they can sell it for. People buy phones every year or two for $200 with a contract extension. They are making money off of it, therefore it is right. That is the proof that it is what consumers want.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 23:22:00 +0000

Yep, Verizon does have some “global” phones that you can plug a GSM card into and use. The thing about Sprint and Verizon, from what I understand (and I don’t know much about the situation–I’m just a normal guy, no Sprint rep or anything) you theoretically could run a Verizon phone on Sprint, if you update the firmware AND get Sprint to put the phone on a registered list. So in this case, yes, it is the carrier. That being said, I have heard stories of people being successful at getting their VZW phone added to Sprint’s authorized serial number list…

By: RW-1

RW-1 — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 20:46:00 +0000

You must be kidding, of course it’s passed on. It’s that you have method for having them take it off when you purchase.

Couple of years ago a car dealership actually had the stupidity to place an “Advertising” fee on my invoice, had them remove it because I clearly don’t pay for your overhead.

But you have no such option here as the MRP is that, and it is factored in.

By: Cb2000a

Cb2000a — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 19:37:00 +0000

I would not mind buying one at retail if Verizon gave a discount (like T Mobile) on the plans. Buying one at full retail and then getting screwed at full rates is what I object to.

By: Mikes

Mikes — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 19:37:00 +0000

Absolutely, cell phones are getting cheaper after you factor in function. My first handheld cell phone, an NEC P300 (circa 1991), was $800 and another $800 for the 3 watt car kit to make it work well when not in an urban area. The battery didn’t even last a full day.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 18:58:00 +0000

Wow, you brought me baaaack with that one… It was my first PDA, because I hated palm pilots!

By: andy smith

andy smith — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 18:34:00 +0000

I remember when getting a camera on your cell phone was hot sh!t. Smartphone prices (BB, etc) at the time were obscene – $600 and up as I recall (VZW). I’m not even sure if that was before or after a 2-year agreement.

If anything I think the prices have trended down when adjusted for inflation. When you consider miniaturization and the quality of the handsets – even the “crappy” ones – it’s pretty amazing what you can get these days.

My wife and I bought OG Droids in July of last year on a BOGO deal, and leveraged a big box member’s only chain deal: $50 gift card to big box store for each phone purchased, so that was $100 back in our pockets to spend on groceries. Total cost of the upgrade? $70. You can’t beat that with a stick, especially considering all the extra non-phone functionality that’s built in.

So, I disagree. While they aren’t quite ‘free’ yet (cough iPhone 3GS cough Best Buy Fascinate giveaway over the summer cough), prices aren’t really that bad, as long as you’re not chasing after the latest and greatest hardware. You can get a heap o’ functionality if you have your eyes open for a bargain.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 18:29:00 +0000

If the G-Nex was really what I wanted it to be I would have paid more. I was wondering what happened to premium products, actually paying for everything that I wanted. The tech seems to be there.

I think these companies are getting distracted trying to figure out what they can leave out of the current phones to put it out in 6 months as an upgrade rather than putting out a real top of the line phone.

By: Tom

Tom — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 18:15:00 +0000

It’s called free market. As long as people say “I plan on pre-ordering the Galaxy Nexus the moment it is available – even with that $299 price tag”, companies will continue to raise prices till they find the breaking point of the customers.

By: clive

clive — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 18:15:00 +0000

” A phone from one network will simply not work on the other” Yes, thanks, but thats my big complaint…..Im buying a $600+phone/piece of technology, I should be able to use it anywhere just like a tablet, laptop or desktop which essentially what these things are now

By: Mikes

Mikes — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 18:04:00 +0000

LOL. Where do you naively think the money for marketing comes from? That it grows on trees?