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My parents opted to get my younger siblings iPhones for a few reasons - first, it doesn't cost much more then other phones (especially since they have free iPhone models now). You can always get in touch with them, and they also have GPS so you can keep track of them (Find my iPhone etc). Not to mention, you aren't cool or popular here unless you have an iPhone.

Am I the only person here, who recognizes a problem with what is bolded?
 
All phones have learning curves. I wouldn't say the iPhone is "easier to learn" nor would I perpetuate the myth that "it just works." If that were the case, you wouldn't see long lines at the genius bar; classes at the Apple Store on how to use your phone; several books on how to use an iPhone, etc.

I do find it funny that some people claim Android is completely "stolen" from iOS but then say it's so hard or complicated to use. Can't have it both ways.

Yep, Android is stolen from Apple. Funny the people who claim this aren't able to use Android because it's too complicated yet they crow about how much easier iOS is use. They must either be quite biased or not too bright. Or both.
 
Am I the only person here, who recognizes a problem with what is bolded?

In my city, people aren't cool if they don't have a Galaxy phone.

Some people think that they are even "cooler" if they have a big ass Galaxy Note.

Yes, the bigger the phone you have the cooler you are.

Samsung is the new heaven and everyone who doesn't like the S3 is an iSheep.
 
In my city, people aren't cool if they don't have a Galaxy phone.

Some people think that they are even "cooler" if they have a big ass Galaxy Note.

Yes, the bigger the phone you have the cooler you are.

Samsung is the new heaven and everyone who doesn't like the S3 is an iSheep.

I would say that your area is a distant outlier. I dont think you would find this kind of incredulity with any other brand.
 
I would say that your area is a distant outlier. I dont think you would find this kind of incredulity with any other brand.

Yes, my city is very far away from the US :D Although it has around 7 million population, and is one of the launch countries of the iPhone 5.

Well, but there are a lot of people with no taste. I can live with that.
 
Of course, you won't find the same lines at Android stores. Or Samsung stores. Or HTC stores. Or Motorola stores. Good luck solving your problems at Carrier stores.

You won't find those lines because those stores don't exist anywhere near where you live if they exist anywhere at all. I take the rest of your statements with the same regard as any weak anecdotal evidence.

Not very much value at all.

One thing that I will state is that from the very first iPhone to the iPhone 5, there has been a continuity to iOS and Apple's ecosystem that is simply not available with Android. From my perspective, that has everything to do with buyer loyalty to iPhone.

I guess it depends on your area. I've never had a problem walking into my local (NYC) ATT wireless store and getting a problem solved. Not that I've had many at all.

And my point had nothing to do with whether or not other phone manufacturers had stores or if people needed help learning how to use them. My point was - that those that say that people can just pick up an iPhone and use it right away aren't considering the fact that it's not true for many people at all. So my anecdotal evidence is spot on. Why does Apple offer classes on how to use iPhones and iPads? Why are there lines of people a the genius bar with these devices other than wanting to exchange/have something sincerely broken that needs fixing?

And your last statement is quite funny. The continuity in iOS has nothing to do with buyer loyalty and everything to do with Apple and the fact that they do incremental (not saying it's a bad thing) changes to the OS. If you think Apple's iOS is dictated by buyer loyalty then it says a lot about your passion for Apple but not much about your sense of reality.
 
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40% of parents with teenagers spend way too much on their kids.



Well - to be fair - it's possible they didn't spend much or anything. You can get older iPhones for free by signing a 2 year contract - at least here in the U.S.

Plus - as near as I can tell - that survey says nothing about which models they have. It could be the 3, 3GS, 4, 4S - and they could easily be the parents previous model.

In other words - the "data" doesn't really say much other than 40% of US teens are using some sort of iPhone.
 
Well - to be fair - it's possible they didn't spend much or anything. You can get older iPhones for free by signing a 2 year contract - at least here in the U.S.

Plus - as near as I can tell - that survey says nothing about which models they have. It could be the 3, 3GS, 4, 4S - and they could easily be the parents previous model.

In other words - the "data" doesn't really say much other than 40% of US teens are using some sort of iPhone.

the phone is free, the 2 year contract is not. i'm sure you are right about kids inheriting their parent's iPhone, but they still have to pay for the plan. unless these kids are using them as iPods.
 
the phone is free, the 2 year contract is not. i'm sure you are right about kids inheriting their parent's iPhone, but they still have to pay for the plan. unless these kids are using them as iPods.

No argument. It's still an expensive endeavor for a parent to pay for usable iPhone.
 
Yes, my city is very far away from the US :D Although it has around 7 million population, and is one of the launch countries of the iPhone 5.

Well, but there are a lot of people with no taste. I can live with that.

Perhaps because voice calls in your country is an ancient history, like email, and bigger screens for bigger keyboards make more sense?
 
Free is the right price

The iPhone began getting affordable for teens over the past few years. When the 4S was released last year the iPhone 4 went down to $100 and the 3GS was free. This gave parents 2 "cheap" options for getting their children iPhones and at a lesser cost than an iPod Touch.

Now with carriers adding shared data plans, it's even more of an excuse to get children a smartphone.

Look at the non-smartphones carriers still have. They're just as expensive as the cheap iPhone on contract.

This year it gets better with iPhone 4 being free on contract and 4S being $100. I suspect this will be the trend moving forward.

Also; if you're like me. I am upgrading to an iPhone 5. My iPhone 4 is being handed down to my 12-(soon-to-be-13)-year-old daughter. Before switching to a shared data plan I wouldn't have paid for a smartphone because of data costs. Plus my carrier has an option to shut off data for specific devices giving me control over how much data my daughter can use.
 
I hope these kids are paying for their iPhone's because I sure as hell would not pay one for my children when I have them.

There is no need for a child/teen to have a smartphone for that matter. A dumb phone is perfectly suitable. That is, unless you're 8 year old is already in the workforce.

Just my $.02. I'm sure there will be plenty of you who disagree.
 
I fall directly into this. I got my first iPhone on my 14th birthday last year, a 4S, and then upgraded directly to the 5 (with the help of Alaska's annual PFD) just 2 weeks from my 15th this year.
 
I hope these kids are paying for their iPhone's because I sure as hell would not pay one for my children when I have them.

There is no need for a child/teen to have a smartphone for that matter. A dumb phone is perfectly suitable. That is, unless you're 8 year old is already in the workforce.

Just my $.02. I'm sure there will be plenty of you who disagree.

If less than a teenager (12 and under) there is not much of a need for a smartphone or cell phone at all except to call home when at a friends or relatives. For those children it makes much more sense to have a prepaid phone.

While children get older parents need to contact their children because they are out and about more often. Does this mean they need a smartphone? No. But a phone none the less.

As long as parents can have control over their childs access to internet on the device, then it is reasonable to allow them to have one. For boys it's an advantage of a Gameboy + Phone which can help save money.

The key is control. If parents don't have control options then the child should not have full access to the world through a smartphone. But if the parent can start and stop services on the phone remotely, then it's fine.

AT&T allows me to cut off the internet service on any device in my mobile share plan. That's the first line of defense. I can also shut off the phone service, but that might take a call to AT&T. If my child violates rules that bring me to this point, then the phone is taken away.

Most parents will just let their kids have at it with a smartphone. I don't agree with this approach. You have to be involved in the same way you have to be with access to a computer and the internet.
 
Maybe not yet, but eventually Apple for its own sake will need to be pushed again and a decline is definitely an effective way of doing this. Apple's flirtation with bankruptcy in the late 90s gave us the iPod. Now that they're in their comfort zone, we get a lot more subtle evolution than revolution. When the iPhone 4 came out two years ago, it was WOW, I have to have that. Now it's that's nice, what's the difference?

Come on Apple, rescue us from our cable TV tyranny.

I don't understand how this statement keeps surfacing. The iPhone 5 is quite arguably the most "changed" iPhone yet... It is the first iPhone to have a different screen size, it has had the largest performance increase over the previous model ever, it has a completely new lightining connector, revised headphone jack location, LTE support and is the thinnest and lightest iPhone yet. Not to mention better cameras front and back and a revised design...

Exactly where do you have a hard time finding the differences? :confused:

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Am I the only person here, who recognizes a problem with what is bolded?

Read within context, it was said to show how kids in middleschool/highschool feel the need to have an iPhone to be seen as cool or popular. In hindsight my sarcasm does not clearly come across. But on the other hand - the iPhone is the most popular phone - so if you don't have a phone that is owned by the majority, you're part of the minority.
 
Eh?
I have friends with jobs that can't afford the iPhone contract prices! How can teenagers carry about that sort of money? Surely 40% of teenagers don't have rich parents.
 
(insert grandmpa Simpson shaking his fist)

In my day middle school kids were hanging out with their friends and not posting on some interweb about stuff they couldn't even afford to buy....

:)

I went outside and ran for about an hour after I posted this, if it makes you feel better. :)
 
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