pr1nce
Moderator
All how you look at it. IMHO smartphones are not a ridiculous amount, not even remotely close. A smartphone, to many, is an everything device. It's how I directly communicate to friends and family, conduct business and interact with coworkers, personal and private businesses and more. It guides me to where I want to go and tells me what's there/around it when I get there. It's how I pay for most things at a physical store checkout. It's how I control my lights, HVAC, even performance and leaks to my hot water heater, a number of more things. It's how I deposit my checks and perform most banking, it's how I review and execute stock trades as well as monitor my 401k and more. It's part of my health monitoring(now a very important part). It's the main device I need/would need in numerous emergencies. It's what I use to photo/record daily things and special moment/events. It's the majority of my entertainment content. It's frequently what I use to shop for my needs from groceries to other necessities (and not so necessary). It's how I keep alert of weather and any emergencies. It's my needed distraction for (my preference of) word and puzzle games. It will even auto notify emergency services from an accidents/fall.
I'm not listing everything and I'm sure others can add to it too. Regardless, the amount of things that a smartphone provides in this one small device brings an almost absurd level of efficiency to this ever more complicated and interconnected world. I could go on.
If you see a device that performs all that and believe it should be 99 dollars or 199 dollars, that is obviously in your own experience and opinion. IME a smartphone is arguably one of the best deals in all of history when you stack up with what it does. And for me, and I suspect many, a smartphone is absolutely not a moment for 'I want it as absolutely cheap cheap as possible'. No! this is one device you want to go buy the very best you can afford (pardon to Rene for stealing part of his tag line). Finding cheap as possible is ok if buying a spatula or dust mope -- not a smartphone.
Expect a call from Tim Cook!