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AT&T Confirms Early Upgrade Price Increase to $200

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Sorry, I Don't See The Justification.

Slammer

Oct 7, 2010, 8:05 PM
I understand the reasoning why carriers do this , but as an individual that works around PLC ,VSM, CLB and other forms of highly advanced complex electronic technology in commercial equipment, It amazes me how some of these complex engineered and operable controls I work with don't cost much more than a cellphone. I'm not saying phones are not more complex than years ago, but I do find it somewhat disturbing that the few components that phones have, can cost as much as PLCs that run thousands and thousands of dollars worth of equipment. I find it completely unjustified that manufactures can get away with selling these cellphones to carriers for such a markup. But then again they can get away with it because rather than the carriers fighting ...
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T Bone

Oct 7, 2010, 9:18 PM
A mark up?

Consider....the most advanced smartphones today have 1GHZ processors, to put that into perspective, the first PC I bought completely on my own was in 1995, had a 1OO Megahertz processor, and that thing cost me $5000. Today....you can get a smartphone which 10 times the processing power of that old desktop for 1/10 the price...and even lower with contract.

And you call that kind of rapid decline in price a 'mark up'?

The fact is that even at the no commitment price, the carriers STILL lose money on them because these things are worth far more than even the full retail.
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Slammer

Oct 7, 2010, 9:46 PM
Sorry. I disagree and don't buy the excuse. The state of the wireless industry would like you to believe this. But in reality, disassembling a cellphone and and a Programmable Logic Controller side by side, would render a huge differential in cost from the ground up.

Computers and phones have been around for years, it would only make sense that minaturizing components is the natural progression. Integrating both into one component of hardware is nothing different than many other commercially offered systems outside of the wireless industry. I have worked on $350,000 Automated Script machines used in Hospitals that indeed incorporate both computational and telecommunication hardware and software. These machines can be handled remotely fro...
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acdc1a

Oct 8, 2010, 8:45 AM
There is huge markup on cellular devices. Most of it is on the manufacturer's side. That said, don't be fooled by the carriers. Many of these "super high end" smart phones cost them as little as $200. Why not sell the devices at cost and do away with contracts?
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Slammer

Oct 8, 2010, 9:42 AM
I am not against carriers marking devices up within reason to make money. This is business. However, I as a consumer am not willing to accept deceptions of justifying 400-700 dollar payouts on a shell that holds only 5-10 electronic components in this form. I don't blame the carriers as much as the manufacturers. However, present practices can dictate the carriers prices and claim legitimacy due to carriers paying these prices and just passing the cost subscribers. It's much easier than bargaining for better deals. That is where I feel the wireless industry fails the consumer.

Many companies outside the wireless industry, send buyers out to research and locate the best deals possible to resell to customers. This accomplishes two things:
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acdc1a

Oct 8, 2010, 10:09 AM
The money has always supposed to be made on the service. That's the model the US set up.
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