4 ms·

I think the most fascinating trend here is that people are not purchasing anything but a smartphone nowadays.

by xutopia 14y ago

MatthewPhillips 14y ago
Fascinating considering data costs. It's hard to buy a dumb phone from a carrier nowadays though.
- coob 14y ago
  Which is why a higher percentage of Android phones are not used as smartphones as compared to iOS.
  - MatthewPhillips 14y ago
    Source? At least in the States, you can't (easily) buy a smartphone of any kind without signing up for a data contract.
    - manmal 14y ago
      Browser usage has always been low for Android vs. iOS: http://mobilesyrup.com/2012/06/04/android-trails-ios-in-mobile-browser-usage-despite-market-share-growth/ http://mobilesyrup.com/2012/06/04/android-trails-ios-in-mobi...
      - MatthewPhillips 14y ago
        What does that have to do with the grandparents comment?
        manmal 14y ago
        Browser usage is an indicator of "using a phone as smartphone", no? It even says so in the article.
    - deleted 14y ago
      [deleted]
    - lesterbuck 14y ago
      Yes, the forced data plans are irritating. I bought a used unlocked phone from another carrier and activated it on the target carrier. Their database has no a priori knowledge that my IMEI is a smartphone, so no data plan is forced on me. WiFi data works great, though, and I disable all the other data connections to avoid accidental data charges.
    - enjo 14y ago
      http://www.virginmobileusa.com/ http://www.virginmobileusa.com/ Hell you can buy an iPhone through them.
- w1ntermute 14y ago
  The last time I checked the local Verizon retail store, they didn't even have any dumbphones in stock - the only way to get one was to order online.
  - Shivetya 14y ago
    Based on contract costs I really think the names are reversed. I know I did not obtain a smartphone until work agreed to pick up the monthly costs. The number of people who have them sometimes boggles my mind. I have friends and relatives for whom it is a major expense. People are paying quarter to half what they would pay on a car not for these phones.
    - scottkduncan 14y ago
      I pay about as much per month to insure my car as I do for smartphone service and personally feel that I get more value out of my smartphone than I do out of my car. In fact I frequently find myself weighing the pros and cons of eliminating my car in order to save on recurring costs - this never enters my mind for the smartphone.
      - clarky07 14y ago
        Agreed. While I have no plans on getting rid of my car, my phone is easily a more valuable and useful tool. Of course, I work from home as an iPhone dev, so you can take that with a grain of salt :-)
      - awakeasleep 14y ago
        Hahah I never thought how weird this was. I live in a city, split the car with some loved ones, and almost resent the cost. I can't pay enough to upgrade my instant effortless global communicator and sudoku machine though.
Retric 14y ago
Nahh, there just ignoring non smartphone sales they still make up 1/3 of the ~419.1 million global quarterly cellphone sales. http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=2017015 http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=2017015

I think the most fascinating trend here is that people are not purchasing anything but a smartphone nowadays.

by xutopia 14y ago

I think the most fascinating trend here is that people are not purchasing anything but a smartphone nowadays.

MatthewPhillips 14y ago

Fascinating considering data costs. It's hard to buy a dumb phone from a carrier nowadays though.

coob 14y ago
Which is why a higher percentage of Android phones are not used as smartphones as compared to iOS.
- MatthewPhillips 14y ago
  Source? At least in the States, you can't (easily) buy a smartphone of any kind without signing up for a data contract.
  - manmal 14y ago
    Browser usage has always been low for Android vs. iOS: http://mobilesyrup.com/2012/06/04/android-trails-ios-in-mobile-browser-usage-despite-market-share-growth/ http://mobilesyrup.com/2012/06/04/android-trails-ios-in-mobi...
    - MatthewPhillips 14y ago
      What does that have to do with the grandparents comment?
      - manmal 14y ago
        Browser usage is an indicator of "using a phone as smartphone", no? It even says so in the article.
  - deleted 14y ago
    [deleted]
  - lesterbuck 14y ago
    Yes, the forced data plans are irritating. I bought a used unlocked phone from another carrier and activated it on the target carrier. Their database has no a priori knowledge that my IMEI is a smartphone, so no data plan is forced on me. WiFi data works great, though, and I disable all the other data connections to avoid accidental data charges.
  - enjo 14y ago
    http://www.virginmobileusa.com/ http://www.virginmobileusa.com/ Hell you can buy an iPhone through them.
w1ntermute 14y ago
The last time I checked the local Verizon retail store, they didn't even have any dumbphones in stock - the only way to get one was to order online.
- Shivetya 14y ago
  Based on contract costs I really think the names are reversed. I know I did not obtain a smartphone until work agreed to pick up the monthly costs. The number of people who have them sometimes boggles my mind. I have friends and relatives for whom it is a major expense. People are paying quarter to half what they would pay on a car not for these phones.
  - scottkduncan 14y ago
    I pay about as much per month to insure my car as I do for smartphone service and personally feel that I get more value out of my smartphone than I do out of my car. In fact I frequently find myself weighing the pros and cons of eliminating my car in order to save on recurring costs - this never enters my mind for the smartphone.
    - clarky07 14y ago
      Agreed. While I have no plans on getting rid of my car, my phone is easily a more valuable and useful tool. Of course, I work from home as an iPhone dev, so you can take that with a grain of salt :-)
    - awakeasleep 14y ago
      Hahah I never thought how weird this was. I live in a city, split the car with some loved ones, and almost resent the cost. I can't pay enough to upgrade my instant effortless global communicator and sudoku machine though.

Retric 14y ago

Nahh, there just ignoring non smartphone sales they still make up 1/3 of the ~419.1 million global quarterly cellphone sales. http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=2017015 http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=2017015