Are smartphones a ripoff?

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sdchris said:
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.
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Skype is coming!!! its in beta now . will see probably the APP around TANGO .. and integrated with Apollo ( in September iish )

Skype is an Other GREAT way to show value as well. that can allow you to get a MINIMUM talk plan and use skype to chat instead. ( if u don't use the full 6G of data LOL )



right before BELL discontinued the HD7 and the LG optimums quantum they where selling them on 1 year contracts NO DATA for 0$$ .. just need to find the good deals ;)

i had actually posted it on the forum when they did that. i hope some of you took advantage :P i got one just to have a extra one.. LOL.
 
I have to have a phone (no landline) but the "smart" part of it is 100% a toy. If I got a smartphone for work, it would have to be issued by my employer so there is no opportunity to use it for work.

One of the many reasons I like Windows Phone is because I was hoping to be less inclined to be sucked into the Android world of constant obsolescence (among many, many other things).

My previous phone was an HTC Touch Pro that I had for 3 years and DID use for work (prior employer).

Smartphones are just another consumer electronics industry bubble that will burst someday until the next thing comes along. Plenty of people to convince that they "need" a smartphone before that happens, though.

You can tell it's a ridiculous industry because carriers are subsidizing the native cost of the devices (as much as a decent laptop) that drives people to continuously re-up at these inflated service prices every 2 years or even more frequently. If people realized what they were really paying (and paying for) I think it would be sobering. We're talking $2000 through the 2 year contract period, or much more in some cases. Yet, people look at a "$100" phone vs a "$200" phone and go "wow, I can save $100!"
 
Do some of you really believe that smartphones are necessities? Sure, they are a major convenience, but a necessity? I am pretty sure I could get along just fine with a tablet/laptop and a dumbphone, since WiFi has saturated the airwaves around here.
 
Judge_Daniel said:
Do some of you really believe that smartphones are necessities? Sure, they are a major convenience, but a necessity? I am pretty sure I could get along just fine with a tablet/laptop and a dumbphone, since WiFi has saturated the airwaves around here.
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if i dint have a smartphone , i could lose 1000 of $$ a day.

manege a team that sends you 200+ e-mails concerning sales.. and replying to them when im out of the office is a MUST ... from approving deals , to helping out colleagues.. to do exception....

i could lose dozens of sales a day. with amounts to 1000$ of dollars every day.

hows that for productivity. and that's JUST E-MAILS!! doesn't count all the other stuff i save cash on from using a cell phone


you say your fine with just a tablet? tablets and smart phones = EXACTLY the same thing... except for the RADIO part (phone)

im fine with a Smartphone . so now i DONT need a laptop/tablet that is 100% bigger.
 
To be fair, we could keep breaking down our necessities until we're back to this,

Pony_Express1.jpg
 
I wish data (and even more so, voice) plans weren't so expensive, but I absolutely love smartphones - I have an HTC Trophy, Motorola Droid 2, and Palm Pre 2, and have a strong itch to also buy an Apple iPhone 4 and RIM Blackberry 9930. (I like spreading the mobile OS love around, though WP OS is my favorite. :) ) I had essentially NO interest in cell phones (though my LG VZ8350 was a good, simple, reliable phone for the nearly 3 years I used it) until I bought my Droid 2 in December 2010; now I'm posting on sites like Mobile Nations and reading sites like CNet, PCWorld, Engadget, BGR, and others on a daily or near-daily basis.

I guess I'd say that although my right front pocket is a little lighter, I don't think smartphones are a ripoff.
 
I love smartphones and.wouldn't want to use any non-smartphone. But no, they are not a necessity.
They cost more, but you get what you pay for.
Sent from my Galaxy S II
 
I'm just getting to the point where I can afford a smartphone and no I dont need one so I see them as luxury; hence I view smart phones similarly too sports cars, higher end computers, expensive cloths. Your not paying for the good or service you are paying for the luxury of style, convenience, and social elitism. Boom!

On the other hand I understand that different jobs and life styles require different things. So for a lawyer or a businessman I would say that a few nice suits are a necessity where for me it would be a luxury.

Right now I think smart-phones are a luxury item for the vast majority of people and they provide services that people are willing to pay for. So no, I do not think they are a scam.

If anything anything should be labeled as a scam it should be the social trend of trendiness. I.E. People buying smart-phones(as well as other things) without any real knowledge of their device because they were fooled into thinking it would make them happy or popular or whatever.

:lol: haha and even thought I know this, part of me wants my smartphone just because of the fact that WP7.5 IS THE COOLEST! :lol:
 
Data charges aside, I'm not sure I could get by without one anymore. I am constantly on the move communicating with employers via email and a smartphone allows me to do that in real time without having to be chained to an access point, so it has allowed me to be far more productive than I was several years ago.
 
Having a smartphone means my customers (and potential customers) can get in touch with me 24/7 via any medium of their choice (call, text, IM, Facebook, etc). To me, that's priceless.

Paying $80 a month so I can flip through a bazillion channels and still find nothing good to watch on TV: Now THAT'S a rip off!
 
Well if it's for work (or allows you to increase your revenue for having one) then of course the smartphone is a necessity. For everyone else it's just a "nice to have." Thing is some people tend to equate "nice to have" to "necessity."
 
They shouldn't be allowed to force a data plan on you. Since they can there should at least be easier movement between carriers. It all feels very unregulated and im favor of big business no the people. I hope my new company supports windows phones tho ha.

Sent from my T8788 using Board Express
 
I don't think the cost is a rip off. Its mighty expensive engineering all that power into a tiny device.

I also don't think data plans are a rip off. $30-$50 for unlimited data is pretty good deal considering I pay more than that for a cable TV "package", and around that for home internet that doesn't move with me.

However, the carriers DO rip you off for voice, and text/mms. My voice plan is $90 a month. Thats obsurd. Text messages cost them nothing, yet if you calculate what they charge you out, you find its thousands of dollars per MB of data. Tell me thats not messed up.

I can't wait until there is no more "voice" package. Its just simply a data package, and all calls are voip, and all messaging is done over data. 3 different data types on a phone line? go eff yourself!

I would gladly pay $80+ for "data" if that was for everything my phone did. Oh, and if AT&T ends up charging for visual voicemail on windows phones, add that to the list of ripoffs.
 
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Smartphone's aren't a rip off, it is the carrier plans that are a rip off. A smart phone makes it much easier to check things such as email and that without having to lug around a laptop or tablet and rely on hoping there is wifi somewhere.
 
It certainly means a bigger phone bill every month. Truthfully though, I find a smartphone to be a useful device to keep my life organized.
What it comes down to though, is whether or not its a rip off.
Once you have your first smartphone, and you see its potential. It can be difficult to go back to a simple messaging phone.
 
New smartphones are a ripoff. Last years model can do everything pretty much as well as new one, but a little slower. That said, I like having a new phone every few years, and I can justify paying that amount for the functionality it gives me.
 
All smartphones either lousy software or lousy hardware...

and then the cell phone service providers over charge for lousy service.
 
boss.king said:
New smartphones are a ripoff. Last years model can do everything pretty much as well as new one, but a little slower. That said, I like having a new phone every few years, and I can justify paying that amount for the functionality it gives me.
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Or a lot slower in the case of Android.
 
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