Are smartphones a ripoff?

[sdchris]

I've had a smart phone for years and its finally starting to sink into my brain that smartphones are a giant global scam. What do you think?

 

[ninjaap]

I can't live without it. The prices are getting out of control, though.

 

[Judge_Daniel]

The prices for data is a ripoff, but having a smartphone is pretty useful. I am starting to wish I could go back to Wifi only, since both my apartment and university are covered with it.

 

[aubreyq]

The carrier data plan prices are a rip-off for sure.

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[aubreyq]

LOL, Judge Daniel. Great minds think alike ;-)

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[Shark87]

Yeah, I place a lot of blame at the foot of carriers. And now with OSes moving towards a greater emphasis of cloud services it becomes even worse.

 

[Duvi]

Not at all... they serve a purpose and they do it well.

 

[5tephen]

Would the purpose be to take all our money?

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[btbam91]

Carriers are a rip off.

 

[aubreyq]

How sweet would it be if a carrier couldn't force a data plan on us?

 

[Inka]

They've become a necessity, just like gas. It's a useful tool that has bailed me out on many occassions from many situations.

We may think these data plans are expensive now but I'd hate to think how expensive they're going to be when my kids are old enough for cell phones, and then in high school and college. I better start saving up!

Alas, it's the nature of the beast. I miss paying .99 cents a gallon, and $9.99 for unlimited data but I can't live without them!

 

[HeyCori]

 

[Winterfang]

Are Smartphones a rip-off? YES.
Are smartphones freaking awesome? YES YES YES!.

 

[jimski]

But an absolute necessity in today's world.

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[speedtouch]

Are Smartphones a rip-off? YES.
Are smartphones freaking awesome? YES YES YES!.

Same here, brother.

 

[Old_Cus]

Given all that they can do for the price I don't think smartphones are a ripoff but the price for services are a total ripoff given what they actually cost the carriers.

 

[the_tyrant]

In the past few years, I have had a: blackberry 7290, palm treo 680, nokia N95, motorola q9, blackberry 8800, HP Veer, and now a LG quantum

I loved all of them

 

[trickym81]

Data plans are a ridiculous rip off in Canada.

 

[selfcreation]

i don't think its a rip off FAR from it actually. , you pay for what you have. i think they should actually be MORE expensive.. lol

- Pocket PC/mac ( 200$+ )
- Internet access ( like on a PC . desktop mode) (good value$$ )
- MP3 player (200+$+ )
- Video /movie/net flex player ( good value$$ )
- game console ( good value here$$ )
- TV ( monthly value$$ )
- GPS! ( 200$+)
- its a phone ( at lease 100$ ) ( dont need a home phone account ( 20+$ a month)
- time saver ( for work on personal ) depending how much you use it $$$$ time is $$$
- Camera ( prevents buying a 100$+ camera) ( obviously doesn't replace high end cameras but for the regular client its perfect!!)


DATA PLANS:

at 30$ for 6G!!( use to be 30$ for unlimited) for data in Canada ..
95% of users average 500-700MB ,.. so data plan are FINE! ... people assume they need unlimited . only 1% of them actually do. 99% will never go over 6G. and i doubt you guys are all in the 1% ... you guys probably dont even need the data u think you do.


bottom line , its NOT a rip off , people just like to complain.
smartphones are worth what you pay .. all u have to do is simple math to see it.
like i said they are actually worth more then what you pay.

as for prices in different country, that's all related to the market. and the people you sale too. here in Canada just changing province can change your monthly bills from 0-30$ a month...

 

[sdchris]

Great responses. I wish I could just get wifi only and not have to pay $25 for 400 mb of data per month.

I'm seriously thinking about crippling an old blackberry and just using it for text and phone. I find most of the apps lacking or totally useless. I think the only thing I would use in the future is skype and we haven't gotten that functionality yet.