How do people afford the iPhone???

gjchester

Once again you are missing the point. The Aspiration is the driver not the cost.

The cost and specs are irrelevent, Whats inside is irrelevent. People want the Apple device for what it repesents it is a premium device. Android devices may offer the same features but they are seen as commodities, and Apples not.

As you pointed out Apple make a large profit, and yes they charge 30-50% more than an equivalent product. But even in these times of recession they are selling by the bucketload.

And back to my original point it's still not daylight robbery any more than VW charging more for an Audi than a a Skoda, it's down to what people want to pay for a device.

DKLS

Dunno work provide me with an iPhone and an iPad, they are great and pizz all over the alternatives, but probably wouldn't buy with my own money.

robbies_gal

so how can they be great and pizz allover alternatives if you wouldnt buy one yourself

what do they do that the others dont may i ask?

jayme1

you have to remember that when the SGS2 was released it was £500, in the six months that has passed it has since been reduced to ~£400, whereas the iphone 4s was released last month.

also a point about the iphones siri, android does have google voice control, you can literally say "send an email to John Smith I'll be late for lunch" or 'navigate to Tower Bridge" just like the iphone.

but you also have to remember that android is very fragmented as a platform, you cannot go on specs alone, a qualcomm dual core 1.5GHz CPU is slower than the 1.2ghz Exynos processor and the tegra 2 CPU is slower than the qualcomm, also if you are a developer which do you optimise your app to run on? the exynos at the expense of all others?

and that's iOS and WP7 have android beat, because developers can build apps for a single platform it allows a much better user experience using the full power of the devices.

android wins for hackability, iOS and WP7 wins for ease of use and also with the lumia 800 best looking.

and this is without saying that a 4.2" screen is a little overkill for a mobile phone, lump in your pocket anyone.

jayme1

this thread is just basically an android vs iphone thread - again

if you want android go android, if you want iOS go iphone, I don't care, and I see no reason why anyone else should either.

jb66

It's the screen that is my favourite feature, might not fit in your hot pants but fits fine in my jeans, it's very thin

Humphrey10

Kai wrote: »

You don't actually have to install any additional software. The very basic Android OS is very easy to use. The crucial point here is that you actually have the freedom to change almost anything you want.

For some (not all) Android phones I have seen people ask 'how do I do this (where this is some feature of the iPhone that I use) with the phone?' and the response is 'just install this extra thing/change these settings/etc, it's simple'. Maybe these are rare occurrences though.

Why would I want freedom to change what I want? I don't have 'freedom' to change the operating system on my PS3, or my Wii, or any of the other games consoles I have ever owned, or my TV, or any mobile that I have previously owned, why would this particular mobile phone be any different? Maybe you like this feature, but that does not mean everyone else feels the need for it.

Kai wrote: »

let you purchase a new one and allow you to open it to inspect it to make sure you're happy with it before you part with your money.

While being inspected, would the phone be switched on, and have the current version of the operating system, and connected to the internet? If that's what every shop does, then great.
Previous to the iPhone I had had the same phone for years, so I haven't been to a non-Apple mobile phone shop for ages, they may have changed now, but when I last was looking for a phone the staff in every one I went to were useless.

Kai wrote: »

I can quite safely say that there hasn't been any app that I have seen on iOS only that haven't been able to find an equivalent for Android.

Is every single game available on the App Store also available on Android? They aren't.
If I want to play a particular game, I want that exact one, I don't want someone saying 'here is a different game, it's 'equivalent' though so you can't complain'. I really can't stand all this 'everything on iOS is also on Android' nonsense.

Kai wrote: »

IYou are exactly the type of person that Apple wants. They've successfully 'trapped' you into their brand and you'll now be a good source of revenue for them.

'Trapped'? Howso? Just because I have spent some money on the App Store, you think I will never be able to buy another brand of phone that won't run the apps?
Spending hundreds of pounds on XBox games didn't stop me buying a PS3, spending hundreds of pounds on NDS games didn't stop me buying a PSP, spending hundreds of pounds on PSP games didn't stop me buying an iPhone. The Xbox, NDS, PSP and associated games all went to charity shops so the fact Apps have no resale value doesn't affect me. I really doubt I will still want the same apps in a few years when I want to replace the phone anyway.

If I did want another phone, and did for some reason still want the apps, I could just get an iPod anyway.

I am not saying any particular phone is better than any other phone. I am just saying that I prefer the iPhone. I don't care that it doesn't come in different colours, I don't care that I can't easily pirate apps, I don't care that I can't create a wifi hotspot with it, I don't care that I can't change the OS, I don't care that it's made by Apple, I don't care that it's more expensive.
Other people may care about these or other things, so they might prefer another phone. I don't thing you can say 'for 100% of people, X phone is best'.

jayme1

jb66 wrote: »

It's the screen that is my favourite feature, might not fit in your hot pants but fits fine in my jeans, it's very thin

I'm actually thinking of getting the samsung galxay note because of it's screen (was thinking of the galaxy nexus but the no expandable storage is a sort of deal breaker for me) as I want to use it for watching movies and TV shows (legally obtained I must add)

gjchester

gabbyevs wrote: »

what do they do that the others dont may i ask?

There was an interesting quiote on one of the Steve Jobs Obituary programs (Ezzie Izzard maybe made it) that went something like ..

"The Ipad does not come with an instruction manual, and yet people can pick it up and use it without having to even look at one."

And that speaks volumes, for a relatively high dech device the Apple UI makes it easy and intuative to use. That may sit behind the sales numbers, it's move the smart phone from a "geek" product to a "use by anyone" device. If my mother can use one and she has trouble with a PC then you can see the market.

Apples walled garden may exist,but it's currently the biggest garden with the best flowers. Will it always be that way, probably not, they have to innovate constantly or will fall from favour, but they are the current leaders.

Interestingly as people think Apple they more and more thing iDevices not the traditional market of Macs and Macbooks.

gjchester

jayme1 wrote: »

this thread is just basically an android vs iphone thread - again

It wasn't meant to be it was just why do people place such a premum on Apple devices, They are more expensive but have the brand following. Cost is not generally a consideration for people getting an iPhone.