Forums
New posts
Articles
Product Reviews
Policies
FAQ
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Forums
Apple Mobile Products: iPhone, iPad, iPod
iPhone Hardware and Accessories
So Credo Has the iPhone
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="chas_m" data-source="post: 1551220"><p>I suspect that contracts are two years because the carriers have to make back their subsidy plus profits, and that's the minimum amount of time they need to do so.</p><p></p><p>In a world where a new model of a given phone appears every year, two years is also the average turnaround on a smartphone: such devices are still very new things, and each year brings big strides in performance over the previous models (computers, a much more mature market, by and large sees a lot less in the way of huge, paradigm-shifting changes, and consequently people can hold onto them for longer).</p><p></p><p>The carriers make this pretty easy: at the end of your contract, you can basically move to whatever new phone you want for very little or nothing (depending on what model you choose). You can opt to buy the phones outright, which means you don't have a contract (and the phone is usually unlocked, good for those who travel to different countries) ... but the cost is closer to $700 on the best phones, and you'll probably still want a new one after 2-3 years because of the rapid pace of improvements.</p><p></p><p>Smartphones are expensive, but they are also powerful ... and ubiquitous data and computing power/media storage in your hand *will* change the way you live your life (seriously), that's why iPhones et al are such a big deal ... so it requires a bit of a rethink compared to the way you might use a feature phone (ie just phone, messaging and email).</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="chas_m, post: 1551220"] I suspect that contracts are two years because the carriers have to make back their subsidy plus profits, and that's the minimum amount of time they need to do so. In a world where a new model of a given phone appears every year, two years is also the average turnaround on a smartphone: such devices are still very new things, and each year brings big strides in performance over the previous models (computers, a much more mature market, by and large sees a lot less in the way of huge, paradigm-shifting changes, and consequently people can hold onto them for longer). The carriers make this pretty easy: at the end of your contract, you can basically move to whatever new phone you want for very little or nothing (depending on what model you choose). You can opt to buy the phones outright, which means you don't have a contract (and the phone is usually unlocked, good for those who travel to different countries) ... but the cost is closer to $700 on the best phones, and you'll probably still want a new one after 2-3 years because of the rapid pace of improvements. Smartphones are expensive, but they are also powerful ... and ubiquitous data and computing power/media storage in your hand *will* change the way you live your life (seriously), that's why iPhones et al are such a big deal ... so it requires a bit of a rethink compared to the way you might use a feature phone (ie just phone, messaging and email). [/QUOTE]
Verification
Post reply
Forums
Apple Mobile Products: iPhone, iPad, iPod
iPhone Hardware and Accessories
So Credo Has the iPhone
Top