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When I had purchased my Galaxy 4G,s TMobile said that I had to upgrade to the unlimited data plan. I explained that I did not use very much data but they insisted that I upgraded. I upgraded and realized why they made me upgrade..the 4G is constantly updating stuff, which in turn made me use much more data than I was used to. 4G is really not that important to me, so I disabled it and was able to switch my plan back to a 200mb data plan instead, saving myself $10 a month.
Needless to say, I didnt use enough data to even justify a data plan, and the phone I bought was way too much phone, so I went back to the basics. Owning a smartphone for me is like buying a fruit cup with a bunch of different fruit when all I really like are pineapples. Basically, paying way to much for things I dont want. Everything I need in a phone is just that... a cell phone. So I was one of those guys that didnt use my smartphone as a smartphone.
You also have to take into consideration that many people probably buy a "smartphone" for show and not utility.
That's a ridiculous statement. It's a "status symbol", right?
That's what a few people said about iPades too. Buying them as status symbols or to "show off". Blatantly false. The number of people that do that has to be pretty small.
Yup, tons of money in R&D and marketing are dumped into creating 'status symbols' that do nothing except work like those dummy TV and stereo models in a furniture store.
What a waste, I guess the joke is all on you 'smartphone' users lol
Yup, tons of money in R&D and marketing are dumped into creating 'status symbols' that do nothing except work like those dummy TV and stereo models in a furniture store.
What a waste, I guess the joke is all on you 'smartphone' users lol
I don't even understand what you are saying. here.
Sooo, companies are wasting money building dummy phones that don't actually work? Annnd the joke is on me because I have a smartphone?
Huh??
Point I am trying to make is: no one buys a phone or an iPad as a status symbol. That makes no sense. What kind of "status" does it guve you to own an iPad? Nothing. Just a weak argument all around.
Yup, tons of money in R&D and marketing are dumped into creating 'status symbols' that do nothing except work like those dummy TV and stereo models in a furniture store.
What a waste, I guess the joke is all on you 'smartphone' users lol
I am relaxed. Not attacking you. Nothing in that post reflected anger.
Just didn't get it. Guess cuz it's a BAD joke? LOL
LOL, true.
I wasnt taking offense in the slightest, just toying around with Tek_Freek's member quote
All kidding aside, the point is that if people are using their smartphones as merely something fashionable than it puts it about on par as one of these dummy models in a furniture store according to the OP.
That is an awfully expensive 'dummy' product to put when millions are poured into R&D and Marketing.
The argument is certainly in the minority if one were to think that smartphone users dont use them as smartphones.
Now, the stats are always changing every 6 months as feature phones have less of a presence in stores and less expensive smartphones are taking their place.
For example: I can see this group of users using their $49 entry level Android device and wondering why they are paying for a data plan they would almost never use.
There are still plenty of users that fit this category, but over time, a certain percentage of those users will convert once they get used to it.
I would argue that there definitely ARE people that buy stuff just to show off. My wife has a couple friends, and I know a few people like this at work as well, they are obsessed with their phone. Almost always an iphone, and when the new one comes out they have to get it, etc. But ask them why they want the new one, what's better about it, and you'll get a blank stare. Ask them what they love most about it that other phones don't do or do as well, and they say "I can surf the web" or "I like the apps". Ask them if they like the updated interface and they'll say they love it but couldn't really tell you anything specific. There truly are people that dumb out there! They really don't know anything about the phone and would probably be fine with just about any phone out there. But they have convinced themselves, (or they have been convinced?) that they must have that iphone, for whatever reason. I agree though, that this is a subset, and most phone-obsessed folks could answer these questions.
One more thing... ever notice, when someone is an iphone owner, they will always refer to it as iphone? Any other phone, people will just refer to it as their phone. I mean when the phone is not what the discussion is about, just referenced in an otherwise unrelated story like "I had to leave for work so I picked up my iphone and..."
It's not just a phone anymore... it's an advertisement! Apple makes great products but their biggest asset is their marketing, IMO.
That's a ridiculous statement. It's a "status symbol", right?
That's what a few people said about iPades too. Buying them as status symbols or to "show off". Blatantly false. The number of people that do that has to be pretty small.
The number may be small, but it's probably bigger than you think. People often buy $200 designer sneakers instead of the $30 shoes from Wal-Mart. We could certainly be seeing the same trend in tech gadgets.
I think many people buy smartphones for one or two features, and simply do not use the features that use a lot of bandwidth. My mother in law bought an i-Phone 4 because it had the highest resolution camera available (at least it did at that time.) She uses it to check e-mail, but never uses the browser, and never streams or downloads video.
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Apple makes great products but their biggest asset is their marketing, IMO.
