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It was a high-end device for businesses. The price range made it almost completely out of the question for regular consumers, and it was never meant as a consu
by antris 5y ago
It was a high-end device for businesses. The price range made it almost completely out of the question for regular consumers, and it was never meant as a consumer device. But when it was introduced in 1996, sending e-mail and fax and being able to browse the web on mobile was definitely a huge thing for businesses. Mind you, the dial-up internet just had started booming a couple of years earlier. The communicator predated Blackberries, but continued as a product line until 2007. So while the products coexisted in the market, we're still talking about different eras here.
- ollifi 5y agoI find it interesting that phones never got cheaper but now they are more useful so large number of people actually consider 1000$ to be ok price to pay for one.
- sofixa 5y agoThey did, there are completely usable phones in the 100-200euros segment, which do at least 2/3 of what the 1k ones do, albeit more slowly.
- Pyramus 5y agoYes, it's a great example of a Pareto distribution where 20% of the price gives you 80% of the features.
- ollifi 5y agoSure there are decent smart phones that only costs 100 euros, but I was referring to the fact that in 1996 communicator was deemed too expensive for consumer market, but now top of the line iphones sell huge volumes.
- antris 5y agoPhones have become so important in our lives. In 1996, you never needed the internet to do anything, as our society was based on other technologies. People could live their lives without the internet, or even without a mobile phone and it would be no problem at all. Now the internet, and increasingly mobile internet is becoming the default way of accessing almost any service, so having a phone that works for you is something that people are ready to pay for. You end up using it so much, that people feel like it's not a waste of money.