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>though how did they get an iOS device? This is, incidentally, kind of a silly question. It's like assuming that owning a car means you can afford to eat a $20

by scythe 15y ago

>though how did they get an iOS device? This is, incidentally, kind of a silly question. It's like assuming that owning a car means you can afford to eat a $20 restaurant meal every night. Sure, cars cost way more than food, but that's not the point.

eropple 15y ago
An LG VX8300 or whatever is also "a car". An iPhone is a midrange Acura or something--not the most expensive car out there, but if you can buy one, you can afford the seat covers (which is a tortured analogy to apps, but work with me here).
Total_Meltdown 15y ago
> It's like assuming that owning a Ferrari means you can afford to eat at a $20 restaurant meal every night. Fixed that for you. iPhones are a luxury item. Cellphones are arguably necessary, but nobody's forcing you to drop $400 on a smartphone when there are perfectly free (subsidized) feature phones on every single carrier. So yeah, I agree with the assumption that iPhone users have a little extra cash to burn. Edit: Ok, maybe Ferrari wasn't quite a fair comparison, but certainly a car that's a little more than just getting from point A to point B.
- scythe 15y ago
  ...did you just equate an iPhone with a Ferrari, or am I missing some fundamental point of comparison here? iPhones and other Apple products are not very expensive. They're not the cheapest products on the market, but that isn't really the point; Homo economicus ( http://www.smbc-comics.com/?id=2095 http://www.smbc-comics.com/?id=2095 ) might consider it a luxury item, but that just doesn't describe the purchasing decisions and ethos of the vast majority of today's consumers. Consequently, it's kind of a ridiculous assumption.
  - eropple 15y ago
    A Ferrari is certainly not a fair comparison, but if you can afford an iPhone, you can afford a $0.99 application if you actually want it. And if you can't? Do without. Don't pirate it. This is really not a hard concept: give those who create what you enjoy their due, or do without.
    - scythe 15y ago
      People spend money in different ways when you're looking at a once-every-few-years purchase as opposed to an everyday purchase. Someone's perception of whether they can afford an application vs a phone is not evaluated solely on price. This isn't about morals, it's about economics. I'm not saying you should pirate things you can't afford, I'm saying that buying an iPhone is not a guarantee of being well-off, even absent the 'gift' factor.
      - Total_Meltdown 15y ago
        But an app isn't an everyday purchase either. An iPhone, with the required data plan, is an everyday purchase. The hardware is more expensive once, and the plan is more expensive every month. Apps are purchased once.
        scythe 15y ago
        >But an app isn't an everyday purchase either. Not for you, not for me; can you say that for everyone? Data plans are irrelevant. I could well point out car insurance in the ancestor analogy. EDIT: Allow me to clarify. A phone is a decision made once. The data plan, the price of the phone, these are all taken into account at the time the purchasing decision is made. Applications are a long chain of decisions which are each approached individually.
        robtoo 15y ago
        An iPhone, with the required data plan, is an everyday purchase. You need to rethink and reword this.
        15y ago

by scythe 15y ago

eropple 15y ago

An LG VX8300 or whatever is also "a car". An iPhone is a midrange Acura or something--not the most expensive car out there, but if you can buy one, you can afford the seat covers (which is a tortured analogy to apps, but work with me here).

Total_Meltdown 15y ago

> It's like assuming that owning a Ferrari means you can afford to eat at a $20 restaurant meal every night. Fixed that for you. iPhones are a luxury item. Cellphones are arguably necessary, but nobody's forcing you to drop $400 on a smartphone when there are perfectly free (subsidized) feature phones on every single carrier. So yeah, I agree with the assumption that iPhone users have a little extra cash to burn. Edit: Ok, maybe Ferrari wasn't quite a fair comparison, but certainly a car that's a little more than just getting from point A to point B.

scythe 15y ago
...did you just equate an iPhone with a Ferrari, or am I missing some fundamental point of comparison here? iPhones and other Apple products are not very expensive. They're not the cheapest products on the market, but that isn't really the point; Homo economicus ( http://www.smbc-comics.com/?id=2095 http://www.smbc-comics.com/?id=2095 ) might consider it a luxury item, but that just doesn't describe the purchasing decisions and ethos of the vast majority of today's consumers. Consequently, it's kind of a ridiculous assumption.
- eropple 15y ago
  A Ferrari is certainly not a fair comparison, but if you can afford an iPhone, you can afford a $0.99 application if you actually want it. And if you can't? Do without. Don't pirate it. This is really not a hard concept: give those who create what you enjoy their due, or do without.
  - scythe 15y ago
    People spend money in different ways when you're looking at a once-every-few-years purchase as opposed to an everyday purchase. Someone's perception of whether they can afford an application vs a phone is not evaluated solely on price. This isn't about morals, it's about economics. I'm not saying you should pirate things you can't afford, I'm saying that buying an iPhone is not a guarantee of being well-off, even absent the 'gift' factor.
    - Total_Meltdown 15y ago
      But an app isn't an everyday purchase either. An iPhone, with the required data plan, is an everyday purchase. The hardware is more expensive once, and the plan is more expensive every month. Apps are purchased once.
      - scythe 15y ago
        >But an app isn't an everyday purchase either. Not for you, not for me; can you say that for everyone? Data plans are irrelevant. I could well point out car insurance in the ancestor analogy. EDIT: Allow me to clarify. A phone is a decision made once. The data plan, the price of the phone, these are all taken into account at the time the purchasing decision is made. Applications are a long chain of decisions which are each approached individually.
      - robtoo 15y ago
        An iPhone, with the required data plan, is an everyday purchase. You need to rethink and reword this.
        15y ago