Is the price of Mobile getting out of hand?

[anon(4698833)]

What's up NFLPlayBook, imagine seeing you here.....SMILE. I agree with you and I also feel that pricing has been inflated, but not only by the carriers , but also by the manufacturers. It's been a know fact that it's cheaper to make more of......anything, however that has not taken place in the current smartphone market.....it used to be that way "back in the day" and you would think with sooooooo many more smartphones in demand compared to a few years ago that prices would be less than what they are.....IMO anyway

In a world where profits are not the most important thing to a business, you'd be absolutely right. Here's the thing thought, people buy these smart devices in DROVES...they aren't just selling well, they are downright flying off the shelves, to a point where one could begin to argue that the pricing might actually be too LOW (and it is when you consider subsidized pricing, even with a 2 year contract signing, the pricing is lower than the actual production cost of the phone itself...and this is why carriers charge so much for FEATURES).

To be fully honest, pricing of these smart phones is actually a better deal (unsubsidized) than it was "back in the day" as you called it. What you get now for $600 is a substantially better product than what you got say 8 years ago, or even 5 years ago. These phones are so much more capable than they used to be...hell, I remember getting a Motorola PAGER back in the 90's and spending $350 for the thing, and it wouldn't even do alpha-numeric messages on the screen...it was strictly a numbers deal...for $350. If they had something with even half the features back then for $600, people would have gone ape sh*t over it.

Saying that a successful product should have a price lowering based on it's success is ridiculous. Businesses aren't in this game to make things easier for you to obtain, they are in it for ONE reason...money. Right now, Apple (and the other manufacturers of top tier devices) found the sweet spot between over priced/unsuccessful and underpriced/brand degrading. They've literally found a perfect target that makes retail pricing still attractive and subsidized pricing almost untouchable.

 

[NFLPLAYBOOK]

I'd personally like to see proof of this if you don't mind, because that makes zero sense.

And at any rate, just don't use the carrier if they are charging some arbitrary charge on top of the cost of the device. I don't see that with AT&T (which is what I use here in the states)...they charge either the subsidized contract price or the retail price which is unsubsidized...it's pretty black and white, you either get a discount with a contract or pay full retail...no fluff on the pricing. And even in your case, you said that Son is offering the phone CHEAPER in an unlocked state, so why on earth would you pay more to the carrier? It makes it very obvious that it is an erroneous pricing structure and just further defines the fact that the manufacturer names the proper retail price, and not the carrier (since the manufacturer was still offering the device at the cheaper unlocked rate).

Bottom line is this, device pricing hasn't really increased at all...the only thing that has increased is service charges, and that is something none of us can argue (or justify).

You're right it doesn't make sense to me either. You might have to scroll around the pages to find the information but here are the links.

Sony Xperia Z Ultra from Bell Mobility | Bell Canada

Mobile Phones - Sony Standard CA Sony Store - Sony CA

 

[NFLPLAYBOOK]

What's up NFLPlayBook, imagine seeing you here.....SMILE. I agree with you and I also feel that pricing has been inflated, but not only by the carriers , but also by the manufacturers. It's been a know fact that it's cheaper to make more of......anything, however that has not taken place in the current smartphone market.....it used to be that way "back in the day" and you would think with sooooooo many more smartphones in demand compared to a few years ago that prices would be less than what they are.....IMO anyway

It shouldn't shock you that much. I've had a few Apple products including the Mini. I'll be all ears on the 22nd just like everyone else. It's always good to see what they are coming out with next.

 

[GingerSnapsBack]

Who said you HAVE to have a tablet, bluetooth headset, and smart watch?

I only buy devices I want. I don't buy just because it's sitting on the shelf at Best Buy. Hence, I do not own a tablet, bluetooth headset, or smart watch. It's pretty easy.

It only gets out of hand if you allow it to get out of hand. The dollars flying out of your wallet are by your own choice.

This. I don't even have a computer at home for this reason. I don't need​ one so I don't buy one.

 

[anon(4698833)]

You're right it doesn't make sense to me either. You might have to scroll around the pages to find the information but here are the links.

Sony Xperia Z Ultra from Bell Mobility | Bell Canada

Mobile Phones - Sony Standard CA Sony Store - Sony CA

It appears that the difference in pricing is related to buying either an LTE model ($799) or the HSPA+ model ($749)...here in the states, the difference is around the same...$699 for the LTE model and $659 for the HSPA+ model. So that should clear up the differences there. Also, keep in mind that carriers in different parts of the world carry different pricing structures for their devices...the iPhone 5S is significantly cheaper (subsidized AND full retail) in the US market vs., say, the Australian market (where I think it carries a $200 premium over the US starting cost of $649).

 

[Jaguarr40]

My take - I think every post has made good and valid points. I ride a Harley because I am in the motorcycle business and they are way over priced and then we continue to add chrome and other accessories that it to them being too much but they look good and fun to show off to your buds. Here is the bottom line....As long as people are willing to pay the price no matter who sets the price and continues to buy at the set price, That price will maintain or go up but never go down only free or half price when a new model to replace the old one comes out ex. 4S or 5 because of the 5S and 5C. Look at the prices of those old one bit give credit to Apple for at least keeping the same price points as all of the phones. They don't need to raise them because they sell themselves much like Harley. You build them and they will come - Phones or Motorcycles. You get my point?

 

[YorkieRay]

I think that you should watch this video, it lasts an hour, but is worth watching. Xiaomi Mi3 and MiTV Launch Keynote 2013 (with English & Chinese subtitles) - YouTube

I have been looking at the Chinese smartphone scene and I am now convinced that the next revolutions in mobile tech will come from there, with more affordable technology.

It has been reported that Apple's sales of the 5c in China may have been lower than expected. The phone in the video by Xiaomi Mi3 has also just been launched. It has a 5" full 1080p screen and crushes the iPhone 5c in just about every department. It also retails for about $200 less, the 64GB model is less than half the price of the 64GB iPhone 5s, this is because Xiaomi, like the other Chinese manufacturers, seem to be prepared to push phones out at cost. If the iPhone 6 expands out to 5" too, the price differences will be even greater. Why would anyone in China want an iPhone 5c when they can have this phone with much higher specs, a better look for much less money?
Other manufacturers in China are mainly producing clones of Samsung and HTC models at a third of the price, but I'm sure that they too will start producing quality originals soon.
After all, if China is good enough to be assembling for Apple then I think that we will see some high quality, but much cheaper devices from there in the near future.
The Nvidia version of the Mi3 is for the Chinese market and the Snapdragon version is for the international market.
Also, the 47" tv they launched at the end will cost just under $500 in China, I wonder how much Apple's proposed iTV will cost?

 

[Alex_Hong]

I think that you should watch this video, it lasts an hour, but is worth watching. Xiaomi Mi3 and MiTV Launch Keynote 2013 (with English & Chinese subtitles) - YouTube

I have been looking at the Chinese smartphone scene and I am now convinced that the next revolutions in mobile tech will come from there, with more affordable technology.

It has been reported that Apple's sales of the 5c in China may have been lower than expected. The phone in the video by Xiaomi Mi3 has also just been launched. It has a 5" full 1080p screen and crushes the iPhone 5c in just about every department. It also retails for about $200 less, the 64GB model is less than half the price of the 64GB iPhone 5s, this is because Xiaomi, like the other Chinese manufacturers, seem to be prepared to push phones out at cost. If the iPhone 6 expands out to 5" too, the price differences will be even greater. Why would anyone in China want an iPhone 5c when they can have this phone with much higher specs, a better look for much less money?
Other manufacturers in China are mainly producing clones of Samsung and HTC models at a third of the price, but I'm sure that they too will start producing quality originals soon.
After all, if China is good enough to be assembling for Apple then I think that we will see some high quality, but much cheaper devices from there in the near future.
The Nvidia version of the Mi3 is for the Chinese market and the Snapdragon version is for the international market.
Also, the 47" tv they launched at the end will cost just under $500 in China, I wonder how much Apple's proposed iTV will cost?

I watched that keynote a while back and I have to say I'm impressed with what Xiaomi has achieved. Not just in the price of their hardware, but the comprehensiveness of their software/cloud services as well.

Xiaomi is definitely a company to look out for. Especially with Hugo Barra on board.

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[Trees]

Smartphones, now, have at least as much power as a laptop computer. Higher-end smartphones have even more power than that. With all these capabilities, $600 for a device is definitely more than reasonable. The only reason we see so many people with smartphones in the west is because of contract subsidies. If contracts didn't exist, there would be far fewer smartphone users. I also think the contracts have trained people to think that their phone is "worth" the $200 or so they paid for it when, in actuality, it's much more than that.

I think you're intending to say that smartphones are as capable as a laptop (minus the screen)? Don't believe that smartphones have power => laptops.

 

[NFLPLAYBOOK]

I think that you should watch this video, it lasts an hour, but is worth watching. Xiaomi Mi3 and MiTV Launch Keynote 2013 (with English & Chinese subtitles) - YouTube

I have been looking at the Chinese smartphone scene and I am now convinced that the next revolutions in mobile tech will come from there, with more affordable technology.

It has been reported that Apple's sales of the 5c in China may have been lower than expected. The phone in the video by Xiaomi Mi3 has also just been launched. It has a 5" full 1080p screen and crushes the iPhone 5c in just about every department. It also retails for about $200 less, the 64GB model is less than half the price of the 64GB iPhone 5s, this is because Xiaomi, like the other Chinese manufacturers, seem to be prepared to push phones out at cost. If the iPhone 6 expands out to 5" too, the price differences will be even greater. Why would anyone in China want an iPhone 5c when they can have this phone with much higher specs, a better look for much less money?
Other manufacturers in China are mainly producing clones of Samsung and HTC models at a third of the price, but I'm sure that they too will start producing quality originals soon.
After all, if China is good enough to be assembling for Apple then I think that we will see some high quality, but much cheaper devices from there in the near future.
The Nvidia version of the Mi3 is for the Chinese market and the Snapdragon version is for the international market.
Also, the 47" tv they launched at the end will cost just under $500 in China, I wonder how much Apple's proposed iTV will cost?

I watched that video a while ago as well. Very impressive indeed. They seem very focused and dedicated. I have my eye on that that's for sure.

 

[EmceeGeek]

It's very ridiculous considering how much it really costs to make these electronics.


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[anon(4698833)]

You really can't base smart phone futures on Chinese development...as history has shown us, Chinese developers are not held under the same manufacturing and development regulations that you find in other parts of the world, and you often see products that are near mirrors of others on the market because there is no direct legal consequence to such, leaving the products on the market (since most are only distributed within China itself) until one of the companies goes after them legally in international court. This is not an easy feat either...check out what happened with BMW in this effort...

BMW loses court battle to chinese X5 clone ? Economics 244

...that's what happens when they DIRECTLY copy a product. In the case of these smart phones, the plagiarism may lie beneath the surface, thus making research into it for future suits quite difficult. And the beauty of it FOR China is that they can do this, develop the product for next to nothing because they are already manufacturing and assembling the source objects IN HOUSE, so they can produce a smart phone for less than $100, knock a few hundred off the consumer premium and thus make it seem like they have this really great offering to the entire world market, when in reality, they are taking advantage of the cheap manufacturing process in their country and taking privilege of other companies development processes for their own wealth.

China is a freakin' scandalous country. I'd never base my opinions on future development with anything that comes out of that place, because there is an extremely high likelihood that what you're getting invested in fall under their typical infringing processes.

 

[svfd757]

I think mobile is becoming a slippery slope. It wasn't long ago that smartphones were the minority in stores. Now they are all you see. Obviously the prices for these now standard phones hasn't gone down. A feature phone is almost like a cd or cassette. Still there but only for the elderly. I think that the prices are going up because smartphones are the only game on town.


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[josens]

Who said you HAVE to have a tablet, bluetooth headset, and smart watch?

I only buy devices I want. I don't buy just because it's sitting on the shelf at Best Buy. Hence, I do not own a tablet, bluetooth headset, or smart watch. It's pretty easy.

It only gets out of hand if you allow it to get out of hand. The dollars flying out of your wallet are by your own choice.

Totally agree, it is your call. Smart phone has higher price but obvious much more features. Anyways, if you don't need them, you can still use a flip phone or any other old style phone. You don't have to be a person carrying all expensive gadgets but don't even need them. BTW, i don't like any carrier contract either.

 

[Speedygi]

I think mobile is becoming a slippery slope. It wasn't long ago that smartphones were the minority in stores. Now they are all you see. Obviously the prices for these now standard phones hasn't gone down. A feature phone is almost like a cd or cassette. Still there but only for the elderly. I think that the prices are going up because smartphones are the only game on town.


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But at the same time, you see smartphones getting far more features and capabilities, and apps to maximise the overall value of a smartphone. Prices have to go up at some point because simply these smartphones do more things than say a game console can these days, and a game console like an Xbox One typically would go for over 500 hundred dollars at launch. Computers are getting more compact and far more capable than they were a decade ago.

Furthermore they are getting far more ubiquitous (because why would people bother with hefty, troublesome laptops when you can have a computer in your pocket that does just as much or almost as much?), so the demand is going up, and when demand goes up so will the price. This is a fundamental economic rule of many product markets.

 

[kataran]

I've been a cellphone junkie going back to the car phone and bag phone and pricing around a grand I don't see the current prices to be that expensive at all for all the features you get and contract pricing is fair in my opinion as well

Going back to the early 90ths I had a beeper plus bill a car phone plus bill and a house phone plus bill now it's just one phone


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