Apple is anti-competitive

[Phantasee]

It is supposed to be "lavish" spending, so you're correct. I was thinking more on the reasons behind it, to show great wealth. It's conspicuous consumption to drive a Maserati when a Chevy would do, but why do you drive the Maserati? Part of it is to show how well off you are. People cover this up all the time with shit like, "Driver's car", "performance", and shit like that, but at the end of the day it's to show that your feathers are the nicest out of all the peacocks.

If you get your sweet new Dolce&Gabanna shoes at a steep discount, nobody else is going to know. Or if they're good knockoffs, even. As long as the name is visible, you get the same effect. Not everyone can afford (or need) the newest MacBook Pro or iMac, but getting an iPhone (when you're going to get a smart phone anyway) is an easy way to latch on to the status of the Apple brand.

[Losonti Tokash]

it's not 'a phone', it's a computer/PDA/media player/etc.

To expand on this: once I bought my Droid (with similar functionality) back in December, I basically stopped using my laptop and ipod. Damn near anything I used them for, my phone can also do, in more places and without needing to carry a bunch more crap around.

[andrewgpaul]

I admit, I bought mine partly because it was shiny, but since then, it's been incredibly handy, often for things I never thought I'd want to do - checking public transport timetables, internet browsing on long journeys, etc.

Now that I've found an app to stream the BBC radio stations, I don't think I need my old MP3 player any more.

[Ryan Thunder]

My phone cost me $80.

You people are insane. ( )

[Ace Pace]

My phone cost me $80.

You people are insane. ( )

Let us repeat ourselves. This is not a phone.

I'm personally happy with a basic phone(whatever the free cellphone of the year is), but it's quite appealing to look at higher end cellphones and integration of a bunch of devices together.

[General Zod]

My phone cost me $80.

You people are insane. ( )

And you're dumb. I can get a shitload of smartphones for free or under $100 with a contract.

[Beowulf]

My phone cost me $80.

You people are insane. ( )

You spent $80 on a non-smartphone? That's insane.

[Ryan Thunder]

My phone cost me $80.

You people are insane. ( )

You spent $80 on a non-smartphone? That's insane.

I did pay-as-you-go because I don't use it much and wanted to be able to simply cease payments if I so desired. I could've got the phone for "free" if it weren't for that.

But why the fuck were we talking about $500+ smartphones if you can supposedly get them for "free"? (ps its not free if you're contractually obligated to make monthly payments for three years, you know)

[Stark]

You mean, those payments you have to make anyway in order to get phone service?

[General Zod]

My phone cost me $80.

You people are insane. ( )

You spent $80 on a non-smartphone? That's insane.

I did pay-as-you-go because I don't use it much and wanted to be able to simply cease payments if I so desired. I could've got the phone for "free" if it weren't for that.

But why the fuck were we talking about $500+ smartphones if you can supposedly get them for "free"? (ps its not free if you're contractually obligated to make monthly payments for three years, you know)

You're obligated to make payments as long as you want service if you don't want just a fancy paperweight. So what?

[Ryan Thunder]

You mean, those payments you have to make anyway in order to get phone service?

Yeah, the ones I might want to stop paying if I find a better deal somewhere else.

[General Zod]

You mean, those payments you have to make anyway in order to get phone service?

Yeah, the ones I might want to stop paying if I find a better deal somewhere else.

Phone companies don't change their service plans all that often you know. Or do you not shop around and compare plans before buying a phone?

[Stark]

Yeah, the ones I might want to stop paying if I find a better deal somewhere else.

So you get a shit phone in exchange for being able to have a shit phone wherever you want. I get a killer do-nigh-everything device for less, and in the 18 months I've had it market plans have only become more expensive.

I can see how I lose here.

[Ryan Thunder]

Yeah, the ones I might want to stop paying if I find a better deal somewhere else.

So you get a shit phone in exchange for being able to have a shit phone wherever you want. I get a killer do-nigh-everything device for less

Nonsense. You're paying what, $80 a month for that plan? I pay maybe $3 a month, if I use my phone at all, that is. If I don't use it I owe them nothing.

[General Zod]

Yeah, the ones I might want to stop paying if I find a better deal somewhere else.

So you get a shit phone in exchange for being able to have a shit phone wherever you want. I get a killer do-nigh-everything device for less

Nonsense. You're paying what, $80 a month for that plan? I pay maybe $3 a month, if I use my phone at all, that is. If I don't use it I owe them nothing.

How much would you have to pay to use it for 450 minutes?

[Ryan Thunder]

On a plan; $35/month for 350 minutes or $50/mo for 600 minutes.

If I were to make a 450 minute phone call right now, however, it'd cost me... $144.

[Stark]

Itt I'm told my plan is £80 and that £3 plans are available in my country.

Amusingly I'm not on a cheap ass plan because I use my phone all the time for everything (a part of it not sucking) so there is no benefit at all of being on a cheap no-minutes situation and pre-paidis generally more expensive.

Turns out every phone user isn't Ryan Thunder?

[Sarevok]

Ryan may be stupid but for 80 dollars there are gazillions of phones with everything except gps and wifi.

[Ryan Thunder]

Itt I'm told my plan is £80 and that £3 plans are available in my country.

I'm not on a $3 plan, moron, I'm paying $3 because I don't use more than 10 minutes a month or so on average. Unless I'm dating someone, anyway, in which case I switch over to something cheaper per minute.

Don't fucking talk about $600 phones and then bitch because I got mine for less than a hundred bucks because you specifically didn't pay for it all up front.

Most cellphones cost hundreds of dollars. The Motorola RAZR, one of the most popular cellphones I've ever seen, was originally priced at around $900 (it was to be a high-end fashion phone).

The iPhone is about $800 for the 32GB model, it does a lot more than the original RAZR, and I can get it with a 3 year term for $299.

[General Zod]

On a plan; $35/month for 350 minutes or $50/mo for 600 minutes.

If I were to make a 450 minute phone call right now, however, it'd cost me... $144.

In other words you're not saving as much money as you like to pretend you are. Turns out contracts aren't that big of a deal for those of us with steady income?

Don't fucking talk about $600 phones and then bitch because I got mine for less than a hundred bucks because you specifically didn't pay for it all up front.

Then don't pretend your "plan" is some kind of fantastic bundle of savings when there's plenty of people that actually need more than ten minutes of talk time.

[Sarevok]

Cant you guys buy a phone at standard market price, pop in a sim card and be good to go ? Why bother with this plan nonsense ?

[Ace Pace]

Cant you guys buy a phone at standard market price, pop in a sim card and be good to go ? Why bother with this plan nonsense ?

Because with a decent plan, you pay far less per month, and the only problem is the contractual obligation to stay with the carrier X months.

[General Zod]

Cant you guys buy a phone at standard market price, pop in a sim card and be good to go ? Why bother with this plan nonsense ?

What is this "standard market price" you speak of?

[Sarevok]

Buying just the phone set from a shop. You know like how buy a computer and then get an internet line. Instead of getting an internet line with a computer attached.

[General Zod]

Buying just the phone set from a shop. You know like how buy a computer and then get an internet line. Instead of getting an internet line with a computer attached.

Buying a phone without a plan that you can put a sim card into generally cost several hundred more than just getting a phone with a plan. You have contract-free phones that you can get for cheap but you pay a higher rate per minute and usually get less or crippled features. It's really just a matter of figuring out what's more important when you get one than anything; a contract really isn't that big of a deal.