In this blog I will discuss what I think is meant by, "While the price of acquiring a cell phone and associated service is going down, the cost of using a cell phone and associated service is going up."
When cell phones first came out, they were incredibly expensive. This was the first technology of its kind to allow someone to communicate on a mobile device. For this reason, cell phone companies could market the product at a relatively high price. And as time goes on, I can see cell phones becoming even cheaper. However, as cell phones have become more popular, the price of cell phones and their service charges have changed significantly.
First, I feel that one main reason cell phones are now much cheaper is because everyone has one. The technology isn't as rare as it once was. Another reason the price has gone down is because the price of the service has gone up. When cell phones first came out, there sole purpose was to make a phone call. Today, cell phones are now smartphones, and are used for making calls, connecting to the internet, sending emails, playing games, and much more. With these abilities comes a price. As users we pay much more for the service because we are not only paying for service to make a call, but also to connect to the internet. As time goes on, I would not be surprised one bit if the price of these services continues to rise.
The invention of cell phones was huge for our society, but I feel that the progression to smartphones is an even bigger accomplishment. Overall I agree with the statement that the price of cell phones is going down, and the service is going up; and I feel that this will be continued to be proven true in the future.
I agree with what you have said regarding today's cell-phone hardware has gone down in price but the services have gone down in pricing. I even agree that the hardware was very expensive in the beginning and I stated that in my blog as well. But now I look back and I realize that you could get a cell-phone back in 2000 for a penny. The service charges were complicated to say the least but my question for you is "when do you think the relationship between the 2 prices began to change?" or "what technology began the next era of cell-phone plans and service charges?"
ReplyDelete-Mike Hershberger
Good point about the fact that the use of cell phones has changed drastically since they were introduced. We essentially have a (nearly) fully functioning pc in our pockets at this point and we are constantly demanding newer, better, faster, prettier products. The R&D costs alone must be insane for these companies.
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