Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Apple Inc. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Elroy who wrote (150168)	2/13/2013 2:51:54 PM
From: HerbVic	Respond to of 213173

Interesting, thanks. It's my first "smart" phone, I'm not a big cell phone user at all. For me it doesn't make sense to spend $500-$700 on a phone, I might use my phone three times per week, if that. So I was happy to find this flashy looking thing at a normal phone price. The problem seems to be with the lack of subsidies in some foreign (to the US) markets. Good enough will always be cheaper, and the best will always be desired by many. The argument seems to be that Apple's higher price point is, by extension of the characteristics of domestic market saturation and the abundance of cheaper competing products in markets where bundling deals are more difficult, going to stall their growth in smartphone sales. However, I postulate to you that these are mere hurdles to overcome. Apple's market penetration methodology is not to compromise their brand with cheaper and compromised version of its products, as was the strategy of Sony. Apple prefers to see their products as having a longevity of consumer utility that a multitiered free market will pass the used and earlier incantations of their products into the lower tiers at the required penetration price points, as they introduce newer and improved versions. In other words, market penetration is achieved, not through conventional means, but through the secondary market of used equipment. One might ask, "How does this help Apple?" Well, it has been shown that Apple has the highest customer loyalty. While not everyone who uses the product will become a repeat customer, the numbers are high enough to be significant. Therefore, the used device becomes the envoy of the company's goodwill toward its customer base. Apple sees the retail market as a highly dynamic confluence of diverse interests across multiple income levels. The dynamics of upward mobility is accelerating, from a historical perspective, even in oligarchical markets. A young person today, may prefer to spend as little as possible on his device. However, as he learns of the necessity of its enabling features toward fulfilling his goals of upward mobility, as his situation improves, he might be motivated toward utilizing the cutting edge of available technology. Then of course, there's the subsidy issue. Apple's strength has been their ability to play off the carriers against each other. We'll see how that goes in China. It worked pretty good here in the US. Seems to be slower going there, but it is having an effect that the carriers with the Apple products are taking market share from those that don't.

To: Elroy who wrote (150168)	2/15/2013 2:32:32 AM
From: JP Sullivan	Respond to of 213173

I'm not a big cell phone user at all. For me it doesn't make sense to spend $500-$700 on a phone I wonder if you are aware that making and receiving calls makes up only a small proportion of the use of the smartphone for the majority of people -- there are surveys that support this finding. Smartphones are so powerful you might want to think of them as computers that, by the way, are also capable of functioning as a phone. Apps are the main reason why you would want to consider buying a smartphone instead of a good feature phone. Be warned, though, once you start using apps you'll never want to go back to a feature phone ;-) In fact, you might find it to be quite a life-changing experience. I know I have. And for the better, I might add :)