4 ms·
I wonder if non-subsidized phones would cause the manufacturers to think harder about quality, as well. In the US, with Sprint, AT&T, & Verizon you pay the sam
by ben1040 16y ago
I wonder if non-subsidized phones would cause the manufacturers to think harder about quality, as well.
In the US, with Sprint, AT&T, & Verizon you pay the same price for service whether or not you bring your own phone, so you may as well take the subsidized device. To a person who buys a smartphone on subsidy for $200, as far as they're concerned that's the price and they expect an equivalent amount of value.
If the subsidy were out of the equation, and you had to pay $600 for that device, wouldn't you expect more from the phone than you would if it were perceived as a cheap throwaway? It seems like that would get the manufacturers to step up their game a bit, which is good for the consumer.
- CaptainMcCrank 16y agoNexus 1. Has it shaken the industry? No manufacturers are stepping up their game and google is crying uncle on the goitalone, unsubsidized model.
- ben1040 16y agoMy take is the N1 wasn't disruptive to the carrier controlled/subsidized model because in the US, you had two separate N1 models that effectively only worked on one carrier (unless you found EDGE data service to be acceptable). An unlocked N1 sold for the T-Mobile 3G band can't be used with full functionality on AT&T, and vice versa. You can't buy an N1 and still have the flexibility to choose a carrier who meets your needs at that particular time.