Cell Phones

[Zee]

iPhones also cost way more than phones like the S4 and Nexus 5.

32GB (non-expandable) iPhone 5S - $320 on a 2 year plan with rogers

16GB (expandable) Galaxy S4 - $79 on a 2 year plan

16GB (non-expandable) Nexus 5 - $29 on a 2 year plan

That's what's always bugged me about Apple.  They talk about a premium product and they charge a premium price, but then when sites tear down the phones to look at the actual cost of the parts, the iPhone costs no more to make than any other smartphone.  The difference in money goes straight to Apple's profit margin, which they're soaking consumers for.

That is 100% true.
Except Apple is completely transparent about it. They are the most profitable company in the world. Their goal isn't market share or revenue, it is profit through and through.
Previously in this thread there was talk of their strategy about how to sell and how they only have a small offering of phones and not much diversity in their offerings. This is because that is the way for them to remain the most profitable.

Compare Apple to a company like Amazon who wants to take over everything but does so at little to no profit.

I get that they want to make money, but as a consumer, I love companies like Amazon that give you stuff for really cheap.  Why I'd ever want to pay premium prices on things when I can get a comparable product for far cheaper is beyond me.  I don't need a phone as a status symbol.

 

[TimKerr]

iPhones also cost way more than phones like the S4 and Nexus 5.

32GB (non-expandable) iPhone 5S - $320 on a 2 year plan with rogers

16GB (expandable) Galaxy S4 - $79 on a 2 year plan

16GB (non-expandable) Nexus 5 - $29 on a 2 year plan

That's what's always bugged me about Apple.  They talk about a premium product and they charge a premium price, but then when sites tear down the phones to look at the actual cost of the parts, the iPhone costs no more to make than any other smartphone.  The difference in money goes straight to Apple's profit margin, which they're soaking consumers for.

That is 100% true.
Except Apple is completely transparent about it. They are the most profitable company in the world. Their goal isn't market share or revenue, it is profit through and through.
Previously in this thread there was talk of their strategy about how to sell and how they only have a small offering of phones and not much diversity in their offerings. This is because that is the way for them to remain the most profitable.

Compare Apple to a company like Amazon who wants to take over everything but does so at little to no profit.

I get that they want to make money, but as a consumer, I love companies like Amazon that give you stuff for really cheap.  Why I'd ever want to pay premium prices on things when I can get a comparable product for far cheaper is beyond me.  I don't need a phone as a status symbol.

Amazon's business model is unsustainable though. There have been lots of articles written but for some reason investors still love Amazon even though they make practically no money. Eventually a company cannot continue to exist without profit.

As for iPhones I hear where you are coming from. Personally, I have an iPhone and I have it because I think it runs the most flawlessly compared to a Samsung or a BB. I get that I pay more but it is almost like I am paying for peace of mind as well. Of course, this is just me and I'm not bothered or do I give a second thought to what kind of phone anyone else uses.

 

[Bullfrog]

It's no different than most consumer markets.

Does anyone really believe it costs twice as much to make an Acura over a Honda?

 

[Kessel Run]

It's no different than most consumer markets.

Does anyone really believe it costs twice as much to make an Acura over a Honda?

In some cases its the same damn car except with leather seats and an Acura badge.

 

[bustaheims]

It's no different than most consumer markets.

Does anyone really believe it costs twice as much to make an Acura over a Honda?

In some cases its the same damn car except with leather seats and an Acura badge.

The dashboard and centre console are usually a little different, too.

 

[nutman]

This is a clip I read on the elec show in Las vegas.

As you all know, this week was the tech show to end all tech shows. The Consumer Electronics Show is held in Las Vegas every January, and tech bloggers from all over the world flock to the Las Vegas Convention Center to ogle at all the newest gadgetry. Among the crew in attendance were a group of four editors from Wired, and they decided to hold a small competition to see which smart phone could handle a show of this magnitude the best. It may come as a surprise to you that BlackBerry pretty much demolished the competition.

Wired first announced the competition at the beginning of the week, and the rules are simple: offer compelling coverage and content at CES 2014 with nothing but a smart phone. No laptops, DSLRs, high quality audio recorders, or fancy tablets allowed.

Each of the four editors were assigned a different smartphone from the four major operating systems, Android (Motorola Moto X), BlackBerry (Z30), iOS (iPhone 5S), and Windows Mobile (Nokia Lumia 1020). The competitors were awarded 25 points for every day they successfully used only the smart phone, as well as bonus points for various other achievements.

Here?s how the competition ended:

4th Place: Android/Motorola Moto X with 100 points
3rd Place: Windows/Nokia Lumia 1020 with 145 points
2nd Place: iOS/iPhone 5S with 147.75 points
1st Place: BlackBerry/BlackBerry Z30 with 257.5 points

Not only did the Z30 win, but it blew everyone else out of the water by over 100 points! I don?t know about you, but that? s a pretty major victory for what they all figured would be the under dog!

 

[Zee]

This is a clip I read on the elec show in Las vegas.

As you all know, this week was the tech show to end all tech shows. The Consumer Electronics Show is held in Las Vegas every January, and tech bloggers from all over the world flock to the Las Vegas Convention Center to ogle at all the newest gadgetry. Among the crew in attendance were a group of four editors from Wired, and they decided to hold a small competition to see which smart phone could handle a show of this magnitude the best. It may come as a surprise to you that BlackBerry pretty much demolished the competition.

Wired first announced the competition at the beginning of the week, and the rules are simple: offer compelling coverage and content at CES 2014 with nothing but a smart phone. No laptops, DSLRs, high quality audio recorders, or fancy tablets allowed.

Each of the four editors were assigned a different smartphone from the four major operating systems, Android (Motorola Moto X), BlackBerry (Z30), iOS (iPhone 5S), and Windows Mobile (Nokia Lumia 1020). The competitors were awarded 25 points for every day they successfully used only the smart phone, as well as bonus points for various other achievements.

Here?s how the competition ended:

4th Place: Android/Motorola Moto X with 100 points
3rd Place: Windows/Nokia Lumia 1020 with 145 points
2nd Place: iOS/iPhone 5S with 147.75 points
1st Place: BlackBerry/BlackBerry Z30 with 257.5 points

Not only did the Z30 win, but it blew everyone else out of the water by over 100 points! I don?t know about you, but that? s a pretty major victory for what they all figured would be the under dog!

I read about this, it's a pretty stupid test.  They gave 4 different people 1 phone each.  So basically,  if the person with the Z30 was more dedicated than the person with the iPhone they'd get more points.  How about having the same person use each different phone one day at a time instead?  Wouldn't that make more sense?  This "victory" really means nothing other than the person with the Z30 tried harder than the rest.

 

[OldTimeHockey]

This is a clip I read on the elec show in Las vegas.

As you all know, this week was the tech show to end all tech shows. The Consumer Electronics Show is held in Las Vegas every January, and tech bloggers from all over the world flock to the Las Vegas Convention Center to ogle at all the newest gadgetry. Among the crew in attendance were a group of four editors from Wired, and they decided to hold a small competition to see which smart phone could handle a show of this magnitude the best. It may come as a surprise to you that BlackBerry pretty much demolished the competition.

Wired first announced the competition at the beginning of the week, and the rules are simple: offer compelling coverage and content at CES 2014 with nothing but a smart phone. No laptops, DSLRs, high quality audio recorders, or fancy tablets allowed.

Each of the four editors were assigned a different smartphone from the four major operating systems, Android (Motorola Moto X), BlackBerry (Z30), iOS (iPhone 5S), and Windows Mobile (Nokia Lumia 1020). The competitors were awarded 25 points for every day they successfully used only the smart phone, as well as bonus points for various other achievements.

Here?s how the competition ended:

4th Place: Android/Motorola Moto X with 100 points
3rd Place: Windows/Nokia Lumia 1020 with 145 points
2nd Place: iOS/iPhone 5S with 147.75 points
1st Place: BlackBerry/BlackBerry Z30 with 257.5 points

Not only did the Z30 win, but it blew everyone else out of the water by over 100 points! I don?t know about you, but that? s a pretty major victory for what they all figured would be the under dog!

I read about this, it's a pretty stupid test.  They gave 4 different people 1 phone each.  So basically,  if the person with the Z30 was more dedicated than the person with the iPhone they'd get more points.  How about having the same person use each different phone one day at a time instead?  Wouldn't that make more sense?  This "victory" really means nothing other than the person with the Z30 tried harder than the rest.

Aha! We've finally proven that people with Blackberry's are harder workers!

 

[Kin]

I'm not an expert in the technology but, at the very least, one would think that they would make some sort of effort to normalize the phones selected for price. The Iphone 5S is sold by Rogers for 800 bucks at least without a contract. The Nokia and Blackberry go for 600 each and the Motorola one goes for 450.

Because otherwise it more or less looks like the more expensive phones outperformed the cheaper model which shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. Although, that said, I can't imagine this was meant as any sort of serious test.

 

[nutman]

I have a Z30 and my wife as well, she also has an Iphone, she has told me the Z30 if far and above the better phone. I myself am very impressed. its to bad aps, and peer pressure rule what most people buy, because if they tried the Z30 that is the phone most would go with.

If BB does what they say and bring out a new and better phone this year, I think the other big phone co's will be in panic mode.

Based on more than a month with this phone, and several friends an I comparing each others phones, we have been in awe with the Z30.

 

[Zee]

I have a Z30 and my wife as well, she also has an Iphone, she has told me the Z30 if far and above the better phone. I myself am very impressed. its to bad aps, and peer pressure rule what most people buy, because if they tried the Z30 that is the phone most would go with.

If BB does what they say and bring out a new and better phone this year, I think the other big phone co's will be in panic mode.

Based on more than a month with this phone, and several friends an I comparing each others phones, we have been in awe with the Z30.

Yeah, the other phone companies will be in "panic mode" considering they control over 95% of the market right now.

 

[Kin]

I myself am very impressed. its to bad aps, and peer pressure rule what most people buy, because if they tried the Z30 that is the phone most would go with.

Or, you know, because there's a wide range of features, price points and users people tend to choose the one that's right for them rather than what might be right for you.

 

[Leafaholic99]

I have a Z30 and my wife as well, she also has an Iphone, she has told me the Z30 if far and above the better phone. I myself am very impressed. its to bad aps, and peer pressure rule what most people buy, because if they tried the Z30 that is the phone most would go with.

If BB does what they say and bring out a new and better phone this year, I think the other big phone co's will be in panic mode.

Based on more than a month with this phone, and several friends an I comparing each others phones, we have been in awe with the Z30.

My girlfriend just switched over to the Iphone last week, I am still with Blackberry and got the Z10 last spring. I have considered switching over because of the lack of apps for BB10, but have not done so yet because what I do love how well my phone operates for texting, email, BBM and that I can goto basically any site on the web because it has flash.

The only issue I have with my phone is that sometimes the texting app is a bit wonky, I will goto create a new text or a current conversation and sometimes it takes a while to load up, I can type my message by the keyboard covers the preview screen where what I type is hidden, and even if I get my message inputted before it loads I can't send it until it finished loading. This isn't really a big issue for me, as I don't text that many people, I mostly BBM everyone I interact with through messaging on my phone. It would be nice if I could start getting Android apps on my phone from the store with out sideloading.

 

[bustaheims]

I can goto basically any site on the web because it has flash.

If you're going to websites that still use Flash, you're visiting sites that are at least 2 years behind in their development. The whole Flash thing is such a non-issue these days - especially since Adobe killed mobile Flash themselves. Any BB device using Flash is using software that is no longer supported by its developer.

 

[nutman]

I have a Z30 and my wife as well, she also has an Iphone, she has told me the Z30 if far and above the better phone. I myself am very impressed. its to bad aps, and peer pressure rule what most people buy, because if they tried the Z30 that is the phone most would go with.

If BB does what they say and bring out a new and better phone this year, I think the other big phone co's will be in panic mode.

Based on more than a month with this phone, and several friends an I comparing each others phones, we have been in awe with the Z30.

My girlfriend just switched over to the Iphone last week, I am still with Blackberry and got the Z10 last spring. I have considered switching over because of the lack of apps for BB10, but have not done so yet because what I do love how well my phone operates for texting, email, BBM and that I can goto basically any site on the web because it has flash.

The only issue I have with my phone is that sometimes the texting app is a bit wonky, I will goto create a new text or a current conversation and sometimes it takes a while to load up, I can type my message by the keyboard covers the preview screen where what I type is hidden, and even if I get my message inputted before it loads I can't send it until it finished loading. This isn't really a big issue for me, as I don't text that many people, I mostly BBM everyone I interact with through messaging on my phone. It would be nice if I could start getting Android apps on my phone from the store with out sideloading.

My brother in law has the Z10  and we compared at Christmas, and the Z30 was way better. my battery is so awesome I can have a heavy 12-14 hr day and still be sitting at half battery power come bedtime. that's 5am until 11:00-11:30pm I use the phone before I plug it in.

 

[mc]

Yeah...Adobe caved in to Apple and killed Flash. It's really a non-issue now.

 

[AvroArrow]

If you're going to websites that still use Flash, you're visiting sites that are at least 2 years behind in their development. The whole Flash thing is such a non-issue these days

I don't want to get too deep into this, as I'm not really supposed to comment* much on this stuff out here on the interwebs, but how can you say flash is a non-issue if he's already stated there's sites he uses that need flash?  And what does it matter if these sites are "behind in their development"?  As a user of the site, Leafaholic has no control over this.  Clearly, if the sites he frequents use flash, then a flash-enabled browser is absolutely of consequence to him.

*the opinions expressed here are my own, and not necessarily shared by BlackBerry

 

[bustaheims]

I don't want to get too deep into this, as I'm not really supposed to comment* much on this stuff out here on the interwebs, but how can you say flash is a non-issue if he's already stated there's sites he uses that need flash?  And what does it matter if these sites are "behind in their development"?  As a user of the site, Leafaholic has no control over this.  Clearly, if the sites he frequents use flash, then a flash-enabled browser is absolutely of consequence to him.

*the opinions expressed here are my own, and not necessarily shared by BlackBerry

I'd actually like to know what sites he's using that still do use Flash, because it wouldn't surprise me if what he might believe to be Flash is no longer Flash. To be completely honest, I really struggle to see how any site that hasn't developed a non-Flash mobile version could be so vital as to necessitate being visited via cell phone. Also, he never stated there are sites he uses that need Flash, just that there are sites out there that use Flash.

 

[AvroArrow]

I'd actually like to know what sites he's using that still do use Flash, because it wouldn't surprise me if what he might believe to be Flash is no longer Flash. To be completely honest, I really struggle to see how any site that hasn't developed a non-Flash mobile version could be so vital as to necessitate being visited via cell phone.

I've come across some before.  Example: some restaurants' sites are flash-based.  So, if you want to look up their allergy guide, you better have flash support.

Also, he never stated there are sites he uses that need Flash, just that there are sites out there that use Flash.

I think the implication was that he does use some, otherwise, how would he know about them and why would he comment on them?

 

[bustaheims]

I think the implication was that he does use some, otherwise, how would he know about them and why would he comment on them?

Well, there's the very real possibility that he's still going by the "Apple devices don't have Flash, so they can't use the whole internet" mantra that so many people trotted out for a long time. There are a lot of people out there that don't know that Adobe killed mobile Flash themselves and that the newer Android operating systems don't include Flash either.