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For most Americans, that is full cost for an iPhone. Even though it's technically the cost with a contract, I'd wager that 98% of all people who purchase iPhone

For most Americans, that is full cost for an iPhone. Even though it's technically the cost with a contract, I'd wager that 98% of all people who purchase iPhones purchase them subsidized by carriers with contracts.

mikeryan 14y ago
For most Americans, that is full cost for an iPhone. Not really, thats the full price of a phone and a plan, its still a subsidized price, and Apple is still providing a discount by offering replacements for $199. Try losing a phone while 1 year into a plan and its going to cost you $300-500 to replace it.
runjake 14y ago
So? What's your point? The alternative is you buy a Samsung android phone or whatever and break it and end up paying the actual cost, which is normally $499 on the low end to $649 for the latest flagship phones. A $199 replacement cost for a mistake I made sounds like a heck of a deal.
- chc 14y ago
  No, the alternative is you buy a $20 case so your phone doesn't get damaged by a four-foot drop. If you look four posts up, that was the topic of this thread.
  - enraged_camel 14y ago
    Doesn't sound like a very good alternative. You're paying 10% of the cost of the phone to protect it against (some) accidents, but in the process set it back a generation, by making it thicker and heavier. That's pretty costly as far as insurance goes.
    - mikeash 14y ago
      Only if you place a high priority on thickness. I personally don't, and am actually fairly annoyed that cell phone makers don't have the option to e.g. double the thickness of their phones in exchange for a 2-3x increase in battery life.
      - TylerE 14y ago
        The thickness of a case doesn't bother me. The ridge around the edge of the screen does.
      - enraged_camel 14y ago
        >>Only if you place a high priority on thickness. Most people do. This is why smartphones have been getting thinner with each iteration.
        mikeash 14y ago
        Of course. My point is only that people don't all have the same priorities. If you strongly value thickness, a case is not a good choice. If you don't care, then a case is a good choice. Making a blanket declaration that a case is "pretty costly as far as insurance goes" regardless of personal preferences is stupid.
      - Dobbs 14y ago
        They have this, it is called a Mophie Juice Pack[1]. They have two sizes with different battery extensions. I miss the thinness of my phone without the case but greatly prefer being able to get through a day in the data center or traveling without constantly charging my phone. 1: http://www.mophie.com/mophie-juice-pack-air-iPhone-4-4s-battery-case-p/1145_jpa-ip4-blk.htm http://www.mophie.com/mophie-juice-pack-air-iPhone-4-4s-batt...
        chc 14y ago
        You can get keychain fob chargers to charge your phone in your pocket when you need it and keep the thinness the rest of the time.
- vlisivka 14y ago
  I fall from bike with phone near to my ear on concrete road, so I smashed it with acceleration, but it is hard to see the dent on it case, despite that it is very heavy phone with hardware keyboard. I use Motorola Cliq with Cyanogen. My previous Motorola A1200 survived lot of drops too, still working perfectly. My next phone will be Motorola. :-)
tobylane 14y ago
That's annoying blindness. I'm considering a contract that (for the 4S as the latest) is £900 in total, I'd happily go without a case and be prepared to pay £200 for a break.
mhenr18 14y ago
Wow, there's actually an upfront cost in the US? I never paid a cent for mine - it was 100% subsidised (and you could have gotten the same plan for the same cost but without the phone, so this really was 100%).

mikeryan 14y ago

For most Americans, that is full cost for an iPhone. Not really, thats the full price of a phone and a plan, its still a subsidized price, and Apple is still providing a discount by offering replacements for $199. Try losing a phone while 1 year into a plan and its going to cost you $300-500 to replace it.

runjake 14y ago

So? What's your point? The alternative is you buy a Samsung android phone or whatever and break it and end up paying the actual cost, which is normally $499 on the low end to $649 for the latest flagship phones. A $199 replacement cost for a mistake I made sounds like a heck of a deal.

chc 14y ago
No, the alternative is you buy a $20 case so your phone doesn't get damaged by a four-foot drop. If you look four posts up, that was the topic of this thread.
- enraged_camel 14y ago
  Doesn't sound like a very good alternative. You're paying 10% of the cost of the phone to protect it against (some) accidents, but in the process set it back a generation, by making it thicker and heavier. That's pretty costly as far as insurance goes.
  - mikeash 14y ago
    Only if you place a high priority on thickness. I personally don't, and am actually fairly annoyed that cell phone makers don't have the option to e.g. double the thickness of their phones in exchange for a 2-3x increase in battery life.
    - TylerE 14y ago
      The thickness of a case doesn't bother me. The ridge around the edge of the screen does.
    - enraged_camel 14y ago
      >>Only if you place a high priority on thickness. Most people do. This is why smartphones have been getting thinner with each iteration.
      - mikeash 14y ago
        Of course. My point is only that people don't all have the same priorities. If you strongly value thickness, a case is not a good choice. If you don't care, then a case is a good choice. Making a blanket declaration that a case is "pretty costly as far as insurance goes" regardless of personal preferences is stupid.
    - Dobbs 14y ago
      They have this, it is called a Mophie Juice Pack[1]. They have two sizes with different battery extensions. I miss the thinness of my phone without the case but greatly prefer being able to get through a day in the data center or traveling without constantly charging my phone. 1: http://www.mophie.com/mophie-juice-pack-air-iPhone-4-4s-battery-case-p/1145_jpa-ip4-blk.htm http://www.mophie.com/mophie-juice-pack-air-iPhone-4-4s-batt...
      - chc 14y ago
        You can get keychain fob chargers to charge your phone in your pocket when you need it and keep the thinness the rest of the time.
vlisivka 14y ago
I fall from bike with phone near to my ear on concrete road, so I smashed it with acceleration, but it is hard to see the dent on it case, despite that it is very heavy phone with hardware keyboard. I use Motorola Cliq with Cyanogen. My previous Motorola A1200 survived lot of drops too, still working perfectly. My next phone will be Motorola. :-)

tobylane 14y ago

That's annoying blindness. I'm considering a contract that (for the 4S as the latest) is £900 in total, I'd happily go without a case and be prepared to pay £200 for a break.

mhenr18 14y ago

Wow, there's actually an upfront cost in the US? I never paid a cent for mine - it was 100% subsidised (and you could have gotten the same plan for the same cost but without the phone, so this really was 100%).