So why are these SMART PHONES so Expensive?

tjkamper · October 28th, 2010, 04:13 PM

I'm thinking about finally jumping into the modern world, but those SmartPhones are just too damn expensive. Not the phone itself, but the plan. Most carriers require a minimum plan and don't let you opt in/out on specific features.

Back in the day I had a TREO. One of the first ones. It was great, and the thing only cost me $15 a month on top of my CHEAP-O-$35 plan. Now providers require a $80-$100 plan plus $20-$60 a month per smartphone for DATA. (I'm looking at family plans, because both my wife and I need phones).

Everywhere I go I see people with IPHONE this, DROID that, PALM whatever, Blackberry Blah, and I just think to myself... How much money are these people making? Shoot the difference, in what I'm paying now and what I would be paying is enough that I could make payments on another bike or a small ski boat.

So what type of deals are you getting so you can have these cool phones?

Flashmonkey · October 28th, 2010, 04:24 PM

Most are on family plans where they practically give away free smartphones. Others are on corporate plans, where their company usually foots the phone bill. The rest of us sell our souls by signing up for contracts haha.

Havok · October 28th, 2010, 04:38 PM

I have an IPhone and I pay like 80 bucks a month for my mins and unlimited txt and data and it's worth every penny, if I used another phone I can save like 30 a month but with how much I use my phone for data and Internet and mail it is worth it for me. About the only thing I don't do on it is talk, I hate talking on the phone lol.

tjkamper · October 28th, 2010, 04:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Havok

I have an IPhone and I pay like 80 bucks a month for my mins and unlimited txt and data and it's worth every penny, if I used another phone I can save like 30 a month but with how much I use my phone for data and Internet and mail it is worth it for me. About the only thing I don't do on it is talk, I hate talking on the phone lol.

That is an individual plan right? how many minutes? Data, Unlimited? How much data (in MB) do you really uses to do what?

Havok · October 28th, 2010, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tjkamper

That is an individual plan right? how many minutes? Data, Unlimited? How much data (in MB) do you really uses to do what?

Yea individual plan, to add a phone it's 10 bucks more. 450 mins with roll over and I use just under 2 gigs of data a month, I se it for all of my email, forums and blogs, fb I read the LA times, NY times and a few tech mags as well.

Bleak21 · October 28th, 2010, 04:56 PM

Travis, I am 100% with you on this one as a BB owner. It seems the only way to justify the outrageous price of these plans is if you use your phone for business (manager level+) or excessively (iphone users...cgh). I actually remember reading in an article somewhere (WSJ-Late Aug?) that (don't quote me) the top 5% of users account for 90% of traffic. It was an imbalanced figure for sure.

With that said, what are we really paying for? The capacity to use our phones excessively? Or the amount we actually use it for? Are we footing the bill for other users' excessive use of the unlimited plan? The billing is definitely not rated for the average to conservative user that checks email, replies to urgent ones, or quickly googles something. If my BB wasn't a world edition (going to RUS/ME soon), I would put it in a drawer and dust it off when I'm in a position where dozens of people are depending on my communication. Oh yeah, and even if I do want to downgrade from the BB, another plan on another phone is only marginally cheaper.

I also miss the old plans with the Treo. Just give me a plan for voice and email only on my BB with int'l telecom capability (sim card), no interwebz browsing or applications and I'll be happy. Charge me for the data per MB please!!!

Alex · October 28th, 2010, 05:11 PM

I dunno, I think some carriers just have been able to shaft customers on outrageous pricing for so long, that it's become accepted.

Wife and I have blackberries with TMobile. Unlimited email, web, tethering, a few hundred txt msgs. We also have our home phone service with them, they used to sell a VOIP box for $10/mo. They've since discontinued it, but existing customers are still supported. Calls from any tmobile line to any other tmobile line are free/included, so that means all communications from wife to me no matter home or away is free. Also have the UMA unlimited plan meaning that whenever the blackberries can hook onto a wifi signal, calls are again free/included. This way we don't have to have plans with alot of minutes, as most of our minutes end up being free anyway (sure, nights/weekends are always free anyway). I think we only have 700 min on the plan total, but we rarely get close to that.

Total cost per month for those 3 phones is around $110, and we're quite happy with it. Comparable data plans with decent phones elsewhere, plus an unlimited VOIP phone at home, would be about double that cost, from what I can tell.

Flashmonkey · October 28th, 2010, 05:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alex

I dunno, I think some carriers just have been able to shaft customers on outrageous pricing for so long, that it's become accepted.

Oh absolutely! I mean, how do you charge people on data plans that essentially don't have any type of physical manifestation? Prior business models revolved around supply and demand, but data? One could argue that the costs are used to offset any overhead produced by the servers/antennae/general infrastracture required to provide such a service....but more than likely this is nothing more than a product of artificial scarcity; where they arbitrarily set a price to a non-existent good that may or may not be infinite in it's nature.

Coles notes: we're getting screwed! With imagination, no less!!

Reswob · October 28th, 2010, 05:37 PM

You can usually get a 15-20% discount on the main part of your monthly bill (minutes) through your employer or school. For the data part, companies should be starting to offer non-unlimited data plans for less than $30 soon.

Rayme · October 28th, 2010, 07:12 PM

Smart phones are artificially expensive (see the price difference between an ipod touch and iphone, a gps/radio/camera is definitly not several hundred dollars more expensive).

So are the plans.. we are getting SCREWED for something we don't really need..so who's to blame? LOL

PS: I regret signing for a 3 year contract. with a BB Bold. Will opt out when it's financially do-able.

Flashmonkey · October 28th, 2010, 07:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rayme

PS: I regret signing for a 3 year contract. with a BB Bold. Will opt out when it's financially do-able.

Haha I did this too. Every time I do this I'm like "I'm never signing a contract again"...but every time the contract ends I somehow end up signing another one. They got me by the curly hairs...and they didn't even do me the service of waving boobies in front of my face first.

GeneJunkie · October 28th, 2010, 08:12 PM

Ryan and I are both on a corporate AT&T plan through my Mom's work. I use my iPhone for absolutely everything, I honestly don't know I functioned before it.

backinthesaddleagain · October 28th, 2010, 09:00 PM

Work phone for me, and corporate plan for my daughter.

backinthesaddleagain · October 28th, 2010, 09:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Havok

I have an IPhone and I pay like 80 bucks a month for my mins and unlimited txt and data and it's worth every penny, if I used another phone I can save like 30 a month but with how much I use my phone for data and Internet and mail it is worth it for me. About the only thing I don't do on it is talk, I hate talking on the phone lol.

funny how we like our phone for everything it does: text, gps, email, web, camera - but don't want to talk on the phone. wife asked once why i need voice on the BB as I never talk on it. lol

Blackwidow · October 29th, 2010, 10:29 AM

i don't know about what deal i'm getting, cuz my company pays my cell phone every month.

2WheelGuy · October 29th, 2010, 11:36 AM

The new smart phones do a lot of neat things but my budget doesn't allow for what they are charging for data plans. Once the novelty wore off I'd probably only use it once or twice a month.

I picked up a Sony Ericson C905a from AT&T earlier this year. It is a pretty smart phone with one of the best cameras out there. Best of all it didn't require a data plan! The phone has built in WIFI (conveniently disabled by AT&T). A little hacking to replace the AT&T software with the original Sony OS and I can now access the internet anywhere there is an open WIFI hotspot for free. No data plan needed.

00NissanNinja · October 29th, 2010, 09:48 PM

I just have a regular phone. I certainly wasn't going to pay an additional 30-50 dollars a month for a data plan. I only really use my phone for talking and texting. They are good multifunctional devices, but these data plans all the phone carriers have are ridiculous in every way. I remember wanting a behold II but it required me to buy a data plan so i couldn't buy it. They seem like wastes of money to me sometimes anyways

October 28th, 2010, 04:13 PM	#1
tjkamper ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: Travis Location: Warwick, RI Join Date: Apr 2009 Motorcycle(s): 2009 Ninja 250R Posts: A lot.	So why are these SMART PHONES so Expensive? I'm thinking about finally jumping into the modern world, but those SmartPhones are just too damn expensive. Not the phone itself, but the plan. Most carriers require a minimum plan and don't let you opt in/out on specific features. Back in the day I had a TREO. One of the first ones. It was great, and the thing only cost me $15 a month on top of my CHEAP-O-$35 plan. Now providers require a $80-$100 plan plus $20-$60 a month per smartphone for DATA. (I'm looking at family plans, because both my wife and I need phones). Everywhere I go I see people with IPHONE this, DROID that, PALM whatever, Blackberry Blah, and I just think to myself... How much money are these people making? Shoot the difference, in what I'm paying now and what I would be paying is enough that I could make payments on another bike or a small ski boat. So what type of deals are you getting so you can have these cool phones? __________________________________________________ Addicted to anything that has an engine and rolls.

October 28th, 2010, 05:11 PM	#7
Alex ninjette.org dude Name: 1 guess :-) Location: SF Bay Area Join Date: Jun 2008 Motorcycle(s): '13 Ninja 300 (white, the fastest color!), '13 R1200RT, '14 CRF250L, '12 TT-R125LE Posts: Too much. Blog Entries: 7	I dunno, I think some carriers just have been able to shaft customers on outrageous pricing for so long, that it's become accepted. Wife and I have blackberries with TMobile. Unlimited email, web, tethering, a few hundred txt msgs. We also have our home phone service with them, they used to sell a VOIP box for $10/mo. They've since discontinued it, but existing customers are still supported. Calls from any tmobile line to any other tmobile line are free/included, so that means all communications from wife to me no matter home or away is free. Also have the UMA unlimited plan meaning that whenever the blackberries can hook onto a wifi signal, calls are again free/included. This way we don't have to have plans with alot of minutes, as most of our minutes end up being free anyway (sure, nights/weekends are always free anyway). I think we only have 700 min on the plan total, but we rarely get close to that. Total cost per month for those 3 phones is around $110, and we're quite happy with it. Comparable data plans with decent phones elsewhere, plus an unlimited VOIP phone at home, would be about double that cost, from what I can tell. __________________________________________________ Montgomery Street Motorcycle Club / cal24.com / crf250l.org / ninjette.org ninjette.org Terms of Service Shopping for motorcycle parts or equipment? Come here first. The friendliest Ninja 250R/300/400 forum on the internet! (especially Unregistered)

October 28th, 2010, 05:37 PM	#9
Reswob ninjette.org sage Name: Josh Location: Richmond VA Join Date: Oct 2009 Motorcycle(s): 2008 Triumph Bonneville Black Posts: 627	You can usually get a 15-20% discount on the main part of your monthly bill (minutes) through your employer or school. For the data part, companies should be starting to offer non-unlimited data plans for less than $30 soon. __________________________________________________ '08 Bonneville Black sold->'08 Ninja 250R \| OES Swingarm Spools \| EBC HH brake pads \| reflector delete \| no-cut brake light modulator \| DIY fender eliminator

October 28th, 2010, 07:12 PM	#10
Rayme ninjette.org guru Name: Remy Location: Moncton Join Date: Apr 2009 Motorcycle(s): '04 sv650s Posts: 438	Smart phones are artificially expensive (see the price difference between an ipod touch and iphone, a gps/radio/camera is definitly not several hundred dollars more expensive). So are the plans.. we are getting SCREWED for something we don't really need..so who's to blame? LOL PS: I regret signing for a 3 year contract. with a BB Bold. Will opt out when it's financially do-able. __________________________________________________ There's 2 types of people in this world, those who complain and those who act.

October 29th, 2010, 10:29 AM	#15
Blackwidow ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: Paulette Location: . Join Date: Jun 2010 Motorcycle(s): 2010 Ninja 250R Posts: A lot.	i don't know about what deal i'm getting, cuz my company pays my cell phone every month. __________________________________________________ sometimes I aim to please, but mostly I shoot to kill

October 28th, 2010, 04:24 PM	#2
Flashmonkey Professional belly dancer Name: James Location: Toronto Join Date: Apr 2009 Motorcycle(s): 1992 GSX-R 750 Posts: A lot.	Most are on family plans where they practically give away free smartphones. Others are on corporate plans, where their company usually foots the phone bill. The rest of us sell our souls by signing up for contracts haha.

October 28th, 2010, 04:38 PM	#3
Havok Internet Slut Name: Jeff Location: L.A. Join Date: Sep 2010 Motorcycle(s): 04 FZ1, 07 FZ6 Posts: A lot.	I have an IPhone and I pay like 80 bucks a month for my mins and unlimited txt and data and it's worth every penny, if I used another phone I can save like 30 a month but with how much I use my phone for data and Internet and mail it is worth it for me. About the only thing I don't do on it is talk, I hate talking on the phone lol.

October 28th, 2010, 04:56 PM	#6
Bleak21 ninjette.org member Name: Dan Location: JerZ Join Date: Sep 2010 Motorcycle(s): 05 Ninjette Posts: 131	Travis, I am 100% with you on this one as a BB owner. It seems the only way to justify the outrageous price of these plans is if you use your phone for business (manager level+) or excessively (iphone users...cgh). I actually remember reading in an article somewhere (WSJ-Late Aug?) that (don't quote me) the top 5% of users account for 90% of traffic. It was an imbalanced figure for sure. With that said, what are we really paying for? The capacity to use our phones excessively? Or the amount we actually use it for? Are we footing the bill for other users' excessive use of the unlimited plan? The billing is definitely not rated for the average to conservative user that checks email, replies to urgent ones, or quickly googles something. If my BB wasn't a world edition (going to RUS/ME soon), I would put it in a drawer and dust it off when I'm in a position where dozens of people are depending on my communication. Oh yeah, and even if I do want to downgrade from the BB, another plan on another phone is only marginally cheaper. I also miss the old plans with the Treo. Just give me a plan for voice and email only on my BB with int'l telecom capability (sim card), no interwebz browsing or applications and I'll be happy. Charge me for the data per MB please!!!

October 28th, 2010, 08:12 PM	#12
GeneJunkie ninjette.org sage Name: Cindy Location: Wethersfield, CT Join Date: Apr 2010 Motorcycle(s): 2010 Ninja 250R Posts: 691	Ryan and I are both on a corporate AT&T plan through my Mom's work. I use my iPhone for absolutely everything, I honestly don't know I functioned before it.

October 28th, 2010, 09:00 PM	#13
backinthesaddleagain ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: Greg Location: Rhode Island Join Date: Apr 2009 Motorcycle(s): 2013 ZX6R 636 Posts: A lot.	Work phone for me, and corporate plan for my daughter.

October 29th, 2010, 11:36 AM	#16
2WheelGuy ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: Craig Location: Silicon Valley, CA USA Join Date: May 2009 Motorcycle(s): '98 EX250, '02 EX250, '08 250r, '03 SV650, '98 GSXR750 '03 Hayabusa, '87 YSR50, '84 ZX900, +MORE Posts: A lot.	The new smart phones do a lot of neat things but my budget doesn't allow for what they are charging for data plans. Once the novelty wore off I'd probably only use it once or twice a month. I picked up a Sony Ericson C905a from AT&T earlier this year. It is a pretty smart phone with one of the best cameras out there. Best of all it didn't require a data plan! The phone has built in WIFI (conveniently disabled by AT&T). A little hacking to replace the AT&T software with the original Sony OS and I can now access the internet anywhere there is an open WIFI hotspot for free. No data plan needed. __________________________________________________ CraigHarris.org Pacific Track Time CraigsWeb See you at 2014 MotoGP Laguna Seca! We'll be camping on Fox Hill. AFM #278

October 29th, 2010, 09:48 PM	#17
00NissanNinja I hate driving... Name: S Location: SW Ohio Join Date: Jul 2010 Motorcycle(s): 13 Triumph Street Triple R, 09 Ninja 250r (Sold 4/20/12) Posts: A lot.	I just have a regular phone. I certainly wasn't going to pay an additional 30-50 dollars a month for a data plan. I only really use my phone for talking and texting. They are good multifunctional devices, but these data plans all the phone carriers have are ridiculous in every way. I remember wanting a behold II but it required me to buy a data plan so i couldn't buy it. They seem like wastes of money to me sometimes anyways __________________________________________________ 09 ninja 2fiddy SE Driving slow things fast Last futzed with by 00NissanNinja; October 29th, 2010 at 11:17 PM.

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