When did phones get so expensive

"HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute" (hondoyota) 05/13/2018 at 15:33 • Filed to: None

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jimz > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute 05/13/2018 at 15:39

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this was a $600 phone when it was first released:

HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute > jimz 05/13/2018 at 15:40

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Dear god

Spanfeller is a twat > jimz 05/13/2018 at 15:41

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Is that adjusted for inflation?

Spanfeller is a twat > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute 05/13/2018 at 15:42

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Have you asked Siri?

djmt1 > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute 05/13/2018 at 15:42

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When you entered the walled garden. £500(or your regional equivalent)lyfe.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > jimz 05/13/2018 at 15:51

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https://gizmodo.com/270353/the-razr-taught-us-that-the-iphone-is-priced-juuust-right

HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute > Spanfeller is a twat 05/13/2018 at 15:51

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Never (shudders)

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > Spanfeller is a twat 05/13/2018 at 15:51

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nope

Tekamul > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute 05/13/2018 at 15:51

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Cocaine’s pretty expensive, too. Both are addictive, and have legitimately good applications, but in the end are abused to the point of self detriment.

My as well get the X and make a weekend of it.

HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute > Tekamul 05/13/2018 at 15:53

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I could buy a car that runs and drives for $849

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute 05/13/2018 at 16:06

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When they have more processing power than some laptop computers. Says the person with an S9+

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute 05/13/2018 at 16:18

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Most of my cars have cost less than that and lasted me longer.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute 05/13/2018 at 16:23

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That’s what payment plans are for. I bought my kid a 5SE, I was not springing for a 7 or 8.

Mustafaluigi > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute 05/13/2018 at 16:40

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People forget that the 200 you used to spend on a phone required a 2 year plan that subsidized the rest of the 5-600 price over the 2 years. Hence the reason for early cancelation fees. Phones have always cost this much. If anything even more due to inflation. Add on the fact that these are smart phones and basic flip phones cost that much back in the day.

OmerCarrothers333 > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute 05/13/2018 at 16:42

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I think it has to do with the cell providers not discounting the phones anymore.

duurtlang > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute 05/13/2018 at 16:48

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Over 2 years ago I didn’t even spend $200 for the phone I’m writing this on. It’s still quick (3 GB RAM) and I have no intent to replace it soon. Those pricey phones, Apple ones in particular, are overrated.

Tekamul > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute 05/13/2018 at 16:51

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Hmm....my cheapest running car was a grand flat, but that was in the 90s. I’ve bought three different motorcycles for under $849 though.

HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute > Mustafaluigi 05/13/2018 at 16:52

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I just see bigger numbers so my dumbass thinks that it’s more.

loki03xlh > Mustafaluigi 05/13/2018 at 17:03

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If that’s the case, why isn’t my monthly bill $25 dollars cheaper now that they aren’t subsidizing my phone purchase anymore?

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute 05/13/2018 at 17:10

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I spend $300ish and I get phones that are just as good as the $800 ones. With those flagship models you’re paying for the branding more than any sort of quality.

haveacarortwoorthree2 > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute 05/13/2018 at 17:44

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Since at least September 2017. Lol

https://oppositelock.kinja.com/an-iphone-x-costs-how-much-in-us-dollars-1804490346

Kar Wai Wong > gmporschenut also a fan of hondas 05/13/2018 at 17:57

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Wow, that 11 year later reply.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > loki03xlh 05/13/2018 at 18:00

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Data plans that weren’t a thing 12 years ago and phones that lock you to a network.

jimz > Spanfeller is a twat 05/13/2018 at 18:00

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nope, that was its price tag when it first came out. It was the phone to have back then.

facw > loki03xlh 05/13/2018 at 18:33

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hahahahaha!

facw > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute 05/13/2018 at 18:41

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I paid somewhere around $700 for this in 2009:

That would be a bit over $800 in today’s money. Most of that cost was hidden by plans that subsidized the phone, and prices for flagships have started to creep up as companies test the limit of the market, (and because most phones are “good enough”, so you need to do more to make your phone worth upgrading to), but your fancy pocket computer has never been cheap. What’s really amazing is how little cheap phones sacrifice. 

Spanfeller is a twat > jimz 05/13/2018 at 18:42

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So... 800 usd from 2017

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute 05/13/2018 at 18:44

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Considering I don’t have a land line or a computer at home I’m pretty okay with the price. But it’s a hard bullet to bite.

I mean a 850 dollar lap top would be nice but I can’t keep it in my pocket.

Wuelling > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute 05/13/2018 at 18:46

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https://www.motorola.com/us/home?cid=us:sem:0w53f9&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=PPC&utm_campaign=Brand_Core_Exact&utm_content=Moto_Solo&utm_term=motorola&gclid=Cj0KCQjwxN_XBRCFARIsAIufy1YBv9x5qu_57mYfSbmwlIaxLb69UmpX700RS6Yxbh6Cyq2xZUnBUikaAuzSEALw_wcB&dclid=CLrAyejhg9sCFRaUaQod9I0K_w paid around 250 for mine unlocked. I don’t need much phone since I kicked my clash of clans habit

HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute > facw 05/13/2018 at 19:20

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As a kid I always liked those, thought they were cool.

HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute > Wuelling 05/13/2018 at 19:22

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Yeah. I’m not even phone shopping, just happened to be at the store and set the screens to Oppo on the iPhones, then looked at the price. Also, I have an unlocked Moto G4 that I’m writing this on :)

facw > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute 05/13/2018 at 19:23

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Was certainly fun to flip the keyboard in and out. Windows Mobile 6.1 was pretty bad though (I eventually got NFSFAN’s custom 6.5 ROM which was a huge improvement, though still left some clunky things.)

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute 05/13/2018 at 20:33

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They got that expensive when they became portable computers that can make phone calls.

Under_Score > Mustafaluigi 05/13/2018 at 21:42

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This is what my dad is worried about right now. In fact, I was about to make a separate post about this. My parents pay around $150 or so per month for me, my mom, and my sister’s unlimited service. If we leased phones, would my mom’s rate go down to like $50 per month for the three of us or what.

Tohru > facw 05/13/2018 at 22:45

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I miss old feature phones like that.

In 2009 I got an LG Tritan through US Cellular. I don’t remember how much it cost now.

It was nice because it had a full keyboard, a touch screen, *and* the little stick next to the buttons was a mouse cursor for web browsing that you could push inwards to click on links.

Give me this phone but it runs Android and has Galaxy S5 specs or better and people would throw money at you.

LOREM IPSUM > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute 05/13/2018 at 23:16

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Our first cell phone was a NEC transportable. It was wired into the car much like any other old school cell phone, but the handset and “brains” in the trunk could be removed and reassembled outside of the car and carried around.

Aside from the handset, which was plastic, the entire thing was steel and weighed in at probably 10 lbs.

MSRP in 1987? $9,999.00 usd, plus installation.

Calls cost between .50-.75 cents per minute, depending on carrier and plan. Also there were only 2 carriers in any gven service area, as that was all the technology would allow at the time.

I think we’re doing alright these days, all things considered. I won’t be pissing away money on any thousand dollar flagship phones anymore though. Just not worth it to me in the end anymore.

facw > Tohru 05/14/2018 at 00:01

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I mean the first Android phone (the HTC Dream) was one of these (with tiny trackball).

It used to be everyone had one, but I assume the fact they’ve more or less died out means that people weren’t actually buying then. I think the only current physical keyboard phone is the Blackberry KeyOne (KeyTwo apparently being announced in June).

If you want a landscape slider though, it seems like the last offerings from the major players were the 2012 Droid 4:

And the 2011 Samsung Captivate Glide (part of the Galaxy S II family):

Or the HTC EVO Shift (also 2011):

Tohru > facw 05/14/2018 at 00:42

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I mean, it’s probably just here they weren’t selling. Last year in South Korea Samsung released an Android flip phone.

I’d be all over that if it came here. My poor S5 has a cracked screen from dropping it at work.

Mustafaluigi > Under_Score 05/14/2018 at 06:49

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Figure about 15-25 per phone if you own the phone. All they do nowadays is pull the phone payment out of the plan, make the plan month to month and give you a payment plan for the phone over 2 years. Same effect of keeping you with them for 2 years but more transparent than before. You can’t leave until you pay off the phone.

Mustafaluigi > loki03xlh 05/14/2018 at 06:51

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Do you own your phone or are you still paying it off? My plan was pretty cheap once we payed our phones off and just rode the existing plan on our 2+ year phones. ~150 for 3 phones, 16 gigs and unlimited everything else on Verizon.

loki03xlh > Mustafaluigi 05/14/2018 at 10:37

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I bought my phone in November of 2014. My monthly plan was $75-ish after taxes, etc. After my contract was up, the price never went down. I asked about it, they said the price was the same, even though I had “paid off” the phone by fulfilling my 2 year contract. After another year, I found out I could switch to a pre-paid plan and reduce my monthly payment to $55/month.

I just looked at Verizon’s site: A single line still cost $75/month before the phone payment.

loki03xlh > gmporschenut also a fan of hondas 05/14/2018 at 10:43

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Data plans were a thing 4 years ago when I paid $300 for a 64Gb iPhone 6 and $75/month for my plan. Now a new phone cost iPhone is $700 or$29/month and a single line plan is $75.

Nauraushaun > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute 05/14/2018 at 20:49

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Even more expensive in Australia

CobraJoe > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 06/11/2018 at 16:15

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I spend $300ish and I get phones that are just as good as the $800 ones.

“Just as good”.

That may or may not be true...

I know my Note 4 cost over $800 when it was new, but I’m still happy with it nearly 4 years later. Overall, it’s a much better plan than buying the cheap option and starting to hate it after just one year.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > CobraJoe 06/11/2018 at 18:14

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All I can say to that is I don’t find myself wanting for any features/power/memory/etc. The gap between the $400 and $800 phones is not as large as the gap between the $100 and $400 phones.

CobraJoe > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 06/11/2018 at 22:27

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Extra battery, extra speed, better screen, extra memory... they’re all nice to have, even if they’re not necessary. For a couple years, you’ll have a premium phone that’s ahead of the tech curve, and for a couple of years you’ll have a phone that still easily keeps up.

I’m pretty happy with that setup, and the cheap phone bill right now is a definite plus.