Quote:
Originally Posted by monkeyboy
I can't really agree with you, although I also can't lay out exact the costs involved. But first, you should realize that the retail price of a PS3 is also HEAVILY subsized by Sony. PS3 are sold at a loss, I believe at least at a $200-300 loss, with the intention of gaining that back with game sales (4 game sales easily brings back $200). So the unsubsidized retail price of a PS3 would be closer to $600-700. Here is a sample news item:
Also consider that these smartphones like a TP2, are every bit as capable and sophisticated as a modern laptop, but in miniature form, which itself adds to the cost. Hesse has been quoted as confirming these prices and subsidy levels publicly, so the numbers I presented are not fiction.
Lastly, you seem to be conflating the cost of devices with the cost of wireless services. In any case, the bottomline is that Sprint has been losing money bigtime, so it is difficult to argue that they are overcharging in the broad scheme of things...
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Please don't feel the need to explain any of this to me, I completely know how the subsidy side of the cellular market works. Getting back to my main point: Sprint has the worst pricing structure of the major carriers when it comes to WinMo devices and that is a fact. The only person who pays for this in both senses of the word is US as consumers. We pay more because of their flimsy subsidizing deals, and we pay more because they roll out new WinMo devices only slightly more often than the planets align.
Tmobile customers can purchase a TP2 for $100 less than I can purchase my own Sprint Touch Diamond.... which STILL does not have a linear replacement/upgrade device anywhere in the announced future. No matter what you say, that's just wrong.