3 ms·

The plan is the price. $100 is the deposit. That's why you are locked in to paying top dollar for access to a mediocre network.

by dejb 17y ago

colinplamondon 17y ago
Sure, but the big cost is generally consistent across phones. A $30/month difference definitely adds up over two years, but not enough that someone deciding which contract they're going into is going to make a different decision. The costs are put off over a long enough time that people with ok incomes will go for the best phone instead of the $30 saving. It just isn't enough of a difference to elicit a gut level "let's look at alternatives" reflex. Margin whoring killed the Macintosh, not openness. All this leads to where I think Android can actually get a beachhead outside of the geekier open source crowd- price conscious teenagers.
- dejb 17y ago
  30 * 24 = $720. People may not fully realise this the first time they sign up to a plan but after that they do.
  - colinplamondon 17y ago
    Even then, I don't think it really registers as being important. The increased costs are spread over a long enough time that most people will make their decision based solely based on 'iPhone vs iPhone clone' and the sticker price. As long as there's a $30/month difference, it won't fundamentally change the market. Further, pricing differences are generally carrier based, not device based- once iPhone is on Verizon, the monthly cost for unlimited data will be the same as getting a Droid, negating any advantage. Third rate carriers like T-Mobile and Sprint will offer lower cost plans, but they too will eventually get iPhones. I just don't see how there are 'openness' advantages this time around- I think last time, 'openness' was really 'pricing'.
    - dejb 17y ago
      > I think last time, 'openness' was really 'pricing'. You must have missed that whole 'The Cathedral and the Bazaar' phase of the internet. Were you an adult during this phase or did you just not agree with (or notice) the whole idea? The whole move towards more open technologies is widely recognised as being a continuing trend. On the scale of things a closed product such as the iPhone is a fairly minor aberration. Anyway to direct address your conclusion - pricing is always relative to quality/performance. Delivering clearly superior hardware at the same cost is also 'pricing'. Out of all the the android phones being released some will certainly achieve this, if you don't believe they have already.

The plan is the price. $100 is the deposit. That's why you are locked in to paying top dollar for access to a mediocre network.

by dejb 17y ago

The plan is the price. $100 is the deposit. That's why you are locked in to paying top dollar for access to a mediocre network.

colinplamondon 17y ago

Sure, but the big cost is generally consistent across phones. A $30/month difference definitely adds up over two years, but not enough that someone deciding which contract they're going into is going to make a different decision. The costs are put off over a long enough time that people with ok incomes will go for the best phone instead of the $30 saving. It just isn't enough of a difference to elicit a gut level "let's look at alternatives" reflex. Margin whoring killed the Macintosh, not openness. All this leads to where I think Android can actually get a beachhead outside of the geekier open source crowd- price conscious teenagers.

dejb 17y ago
30 * 24 = $720. People may not fully realise this the first time they sign up to a plan but after that they do.
- colinplamondon 17y ago
  Even then, I don't think it really registers as being important. The increased costs are spread over a long enough time that most people will make their decision based solely based on 'iPhone vs iPhone clone' and the sticker price. As long as there's a $30/month difference, it won't fundamentally change the market. Further, pricing differences are generally carrier based, not device based- once iPhone is on Verizon, the monthly cost for unlimited data will be the same as getting a Droid, negating any advantage. Third rate carriers like T-Mobile and Sprint will offer lower cost plans, but they too will eventually get iPhones. I just don't see how there are 'openness' advantages this time around- I think last time, 'openness' was really 'pricing'.
  - dejb 17y ago
    > I think last time, 'openness' was really 'pricing'. You must have missed that whole 'The Cathedral and the Bazaar' phase of the internet. Were you an adult during this phase or did you just not agree with (or notice) the whole idea? The whole move towards more open technologies is widely recognised as being a continuing trend. On the scale of things a closed product such as the iPhone is a fairly minor aberration. Anyway to direct address your conclusion - pricing is always relative to quality/performance. Delivering clearly superior hardware at the same cost is also 'pricing'. Out of all the the android phones being released some will certainly achieve this, if you don't believe they have already.