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[Q] Tablet Prices

Is it me or are the standard tablet prices way too high?
Just checked the pricing for Sony Tablet S (Wi-Fi only) £399/$499 (16GB) and £499/$599 (32GB) with the 3G version roughly 100 more.
Not blaming Sony for this as all companies seem to be inflated.
If all companies were to take a look at the recent HP Touchpad saga, can they not see the potential if the prices were lower? (Maybe not to that extent, but you catch my drift hopefully).
As consumers, if we were to all agree worldwide that we were not going to pay these prices for something we believe should be at least a couple of £/$100 cheaper. Wouldn't companies have to eventually reduce prices due the poor sales?
P.s. TO MODS - If this belongs in Q & A apologies.

I think that the tablet market is still preadolescence. I believe that this will be the case for at least one or two more years then we can expect the tablet market to become more competitive on high quality tablets.

Hell yeah. But these companies have to make a profit or at least break even on the hardware.
I got a Streak 7 for $150. Loved it. I'm looking to find a Xoom or Transformer now.
Its all about searching for deals I guess.

@MeInGatineau - The Touchpad industry being young in it's life cycle is true, but as it stands there is enough competition to drive prices down. Companies will only do this if we refuse to buy at the inflated prices.
@vetvito - The companies do not "need to" make profit/break even on hardware so early, they "want to". The combination of software sales, economies of scale and cheaper components etc. in the long run should make them more than enough profit.

Have a Nook cost 200 bucks
A Asus EE tablet 380.00
A Samsung 10.1 paid 480.00
and a 32 gig Touchpad Paid 230.00 for it.
Cost is driven more by hype and perception than by academic business models.
All the above are 100-300.00 more in the stores if you buy "off the shelf"retail.
Always NEVER do that unless you are rich.
Typically the way electronics work is : They R/D a design and get it to manufacture , once there, they figure the baseline amount needed to be sold @ a given price in order to break even (recoup all costs for the project) Then , after they pass that mark costs begin to decline.... unless it is a hot seller then they exploit the hype of the market for the extra profit benefit it brings for as long as it lasts.
Apple is better at keeping the hype up than most other people in the market today, which explains why they have a following, you get less and pay more for it, and think it is a deal. NOW! that's great marketing !!!
If you really want to know more on this and markets and how they work just look at the Intel chip market.

Yes tablets are expensive at the moment but I don't think this immediately points to greedy manufacturers with big profit margins. Developing the tablets are quite costly and they are probably just covering their costs. Once they gain experience and pick up, I'm sure scales of economy kick and and products will become cheaper. Exactly how the laptop market has gone.
Competition will always drive prices down but no manufacturer is going to sell the tablet at a loss unless they are able to re-coop that money from elsewhere. E.g. Amazon sell the Kindle at a loss as they make money on the ebooks. Carriers sell mobile phones at a loss as they make money on the tariffs and carrier services used.
HP were selling the TouchPad for a loss. They could do this because the alternative was probably a greater loss.

Just Me said:
@vetvito - The companies do not "need to" make profit/break even on hardware so early, they "want to". The combination of software sales, economies of scale and cheaper components etc. in the long run should make them more than enough profit.
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I don't see how software sales would make profit for a tablet manufacturer? Most tablet manufacturers opportunities for profit are with the tablet sales and official accessories for that tablet.
I would argue that manufacturers do need to make profit/break even as quickly as possible. Manufacturers cannot afford to have long drawn out periods for products to break even. They do not know how they will sell, what competition will do or any of the other million factors that affect economy.
This isn't to say pricing them high will get them to break even as quickly as possible. Because if they are too high then they will not get enough sales.

@oka1 - That is my partly my point. There are deals to be had if you shop around, but why are the prices not discounted in the first place. The person/company that you bought from, would have bought from 1-2 people before you and it is likely that they all made money from each item.
I also have a Touchpad but the 16GB version, which I paid £127. Above the insane price of £89, but now that I have it, I realise I might have paid £200, but the £350+ price tag was ridiculous imo.
Also, I get your R&D point to an extent, but then why bring out a newer model with only slightly better features in 6 to 12 months and price it at the same price, as the original. Surely the the R&D cost wouldn't have increased significantly for the new product
@Techno79 - I'm not in the industry, but I can't really see the development cost being high enough to justify such a high selling price. I know it's not as straight forward as this but, tablets are generally just big smart phones, some with less features (e.g. Wi-Fi only).
In comparison the laptops that you mention are probably more costly to build, but are cheaper and have a lot more functions.
My point is, I don't believe they have to sell them for as much as they do and if, as a society, simplified, we all turned around and said drop the price by a couple of 100 and we'll all buy one, they would.
My software sales point was more at certain companies that get a % of sales revenue for apps sold, but true it's probably not the case for all.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that companies don't need to survive, I'm just saying, they should give a little back to the consumer that buy their products and help them make the vast amounts of profit they do.
In reality, as long as people are giving up their money as easy as they do, companies will sell at a premium.

hi
hi. this is just a test message

Yeah, it's too bad that companies want to make a profit.
Sent from my Galaxy Tab using Tapatalk

hp tablets
i just heard they were getting rid of these for like $99 bucks for 16gb
not a bad deal, can anyone confirm?

dutchman22 said:
i just heard they were getting rid of these for like $99 bucks for 16gb
not a bad deal, can anyone confirm?
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They sold millions in 2 days for that price and now they are sold out. I got mine off some guy who bought one and marked up 75 bucks

Just Me said:
@oka1
@Techno79 - I'm not in the industry, but I can't really see the development cost being high enough to justify such a high selling price. I know it's not as straight forward as this but, tablets are generally just big smart phones, some with less features (e.g. Wi-Fi only).
In comparison the laptops that you mention are probably more costly to build, but are cheaper and have a lot more functions.
My point is, I don't believe they have to sell them for as much as they do and if, as a society, simplified, we all turned around and said drop the price by a couple of 100 and we'll all buy one, they would.
My software sales point was more at certain companies that get a % of sales revenue for apps sold, but true it's probably not the case for all.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that companies don't need to survive, I'm just saying, they should give a little back to the consumer that buy their products and help them make the vast amounts of profit they do.
In reality, as long as people are giving up their money as easy as they do, companies will sell at a premium.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you breakdown the different parts of a tablet's cost then you'll have something like this:
Hardware costs
Retail mark up
Taxes
Manufacturing/production costs
Manufacturer's Profit
Manufacturer's profit first has to cover the huge costs of R&D, marketing and service/maintenance. These combined costs run up in the millions and will take a lot of sales before they break even. I would guess that they'd need to sell 100s of thousands before they get to break even point. So, until they reach those sales figures, I do believe they are justified in selling a high selling price. Obviously, I'm not saying I like high costs but I do think the current Android tablet price points are somewhat justified.
Tablets may be larger versions of mobile phones, but like I said before, mobile phones can be sold at a loss as they offset the loss against consumers signing up to 12/18/24 month carrier plans and using additional cost services with that carrier. Take a look at SIM free mobile phone costs if you really want to compare like for like. Top end mobile phones can cost nearly £500.
Also, some of R&D can be reused from previous generation of devices. Manufacturers are probably on their 100th generation of laptops where as Android tablets are at the most on their 3rd or 4th generation and thus still very new. I think for this reason, laptops are probably cheaper to produce.
Competition also drives prices down a lot and there is obviously more competition with laptops than there is with tablets. When laptops were fairly new, they would cost well over £1000 for a decent model which is far more than the tablets at the moment. It's only in the last few years that laptops have been fairly cheap. I'm sure tablets will get to that point a lot quicker but I doubt we'll see that before end of 2011.
Also, not all tablets will be a super seller. Some tablets will flop and never cover their R&D and marketing costs. It's down to profits from other tablets that cover these costs.
I'm all for lower tablet costs but from manufacturers perspective, I don't see anything wrong with the current price points of Android tablets given how new Android tablets are and the level of competition in the market. It's guaranteed that costs will eventually come down.

Very valid points. I fully understand that everything you said is pretty much true, but there are many counter arguments to your points, so I'll agree to disagree overall.
But going back to what should have probably been the first line in the thread and not the last (I can see why the thread went the way it did, instead of the way I wanted):
"As consumers, if we were to all agree worldwide that we were not going to pay these prices for something we believe should be at least a couple of £/$100 cheaper. Wouldn't companies have to eventually reduce prices due the poor sales?"
Would this work? Or would the tablet market slowly die out?

Just Me said:
Very valid points. I fully understand that everything you said is pretty much true, but there are many counter arguments to your points, so I'll agree to disagree overall.
But going back to what should have probably been the first line in the thread and not the last (I can see why the thread went the way it did, instead of the way I wanted):
"As consumers, if we were to all agree worldwide that we were not going to pay these prices for something we believe should be at least a couple of £/$100 cheaper. Wouldn't companies have to eventually reduce prices due the poor sales?"
Would this work? Or would the tablet market slowly die out?
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Click to collapse
I personally don't think this would work. There are many consumers who are extremely well off and are happy to pay the high price for early adoption. How would someone be able to co-ordinate such a consumer boycott. I think the current natural system works. If a manufacturer releases a product at too higher price, then less consumers will purchase it. As time goes on, and the product gets cheaper, more consumers are likely to jump on board to buy. However, if the product remains too high a price for the duration of the products life, then this will be seen with low total sales and low profit margins for the manufacturer (possibly even a loss). The manufacturer "should" learn their lesson and make the next product at a better price point.
If manufacturers can make more profit from selling 100k products at a high price than selling 1M products at a low price then they need some other incentive to sell at low price point.
Hypothetically speaking, if we could agree between all consumers to not buy the tablets at their high price to force manufacturers to release them at a low price then the profit margins could be so low that manufacturers give up on tablets as they realise they can get more profit from netbook/laptop and other consumer devices. So yes, I do think a global boycott for the high initial early adoption cost could kill the tablet market.

Practically, in here, yes they are. But comparatively with other devices/gadgets, the current tablet market is decently-priced.

Just like everything else the prices will drop after all the early adopters jump. There will be more choices and lower price points.

[Q] Why smartphones are so expensive?

What is the difference between iPod Touch and iPhone? A $5 GSM/CDMA chip? Why $400 price difference?
Large screen Android tablets can be had for $200. Why unlocked phones are $600-800?
Sorry if it's been discussed, my search didn't find a good topic on the subject.

Wow, no answers! Noone else is interested in this question?
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Which?
They're expensive because of convenience, demand. people want it they gotta pay....
Sent from my LS670 using XDA App

They are so expensive, because people buy them anyways.
Manufactors and carriers are all after our money, why should they lower the price.
Besides that some devices also have to pay back the research that went into developing them.

Don't have any idea why unlocked phones are costlier but it you compare tablet and phone, size does matter. Smaller, faster and costier.

go overseas and see the prices some can have more then a hundred dollars difference even if they are the same devices

The price triples at the 3rd world countries. I wonder why.

Yeah, you're lucky for not live in a country like Brazil, there a smartphone like S2 or Iphone4 costs around 1000,00 US$ bucks...

well maybe unlucking phone is expensive because its not really designated in any other area than the original area, but the publisher wants to publicly sale it to other region. that can be the cause too

Development is expensive.

You buy a brand, this is why most of the time you pay double.. buy another phone with the same specs but with a non popular brand and you will pay less...
Not to mention that you are talking about Apple...

All your reasoning would apply for everything else electronic- TVs, MP3 or Blue Ray players, etc. Yet they all keep coming down in prices. But not the phones.

Yea, good question I was wondering the same.
It really is a gigantic gap between say an Iphone and Ipod touch in terms of price, yet the hardware has very little difference.
Seems like a marketing thing, as most users will want all the goodies packed together in a small package + a phone in one device.
It's a conspiracy i tell yea

You should see it like this. When you buy a phone, you pay for the development, the construction, the shipping, the people who check it, the people who made the software. add that up with an expensive casing (like HTC has.) and the euro's (or dollars) fly onto the price tag. With Apple, I don't know, they just rip your wallet.
Smartphones are still upcomming, with new technology added every time a new device is being developed.
Why is SSD more expensive than a normal HDD, because it's a new technology. DVD drives used to be really expensive aswell, look at them now they aren't so expensive anymore.
Anything that's new has a price, and it's your choice if you want to pay for it or not.
I hope this helps.

It's not that unbranded phones are more expensive, the price just isn't subsidised by the network operators.
Network operators sell you the handset at a loss, but tie you into a contract to recoup their initial cost. Customer inertia means there's a good chance you'll stay with them.

well they give you much more ie. i have an ace and i can do everything what i usually do on my pc... except gaming ofc.

Unlocked phones are not only expensive because of the demand. When you buy one on contract, you are going to end up paying over $1000 over the 2 year contract anyways. That's why they discount smartphones so much on contract, they know they will get paid back from the contract.
Sent from my HD2

I'm guessing prices don't come down on phones because carriers subsidize prices. Manufacturers know that and therefore prices will stay rather high. Having said that, development on new phone technology is going at a fast rate right now so manufacturers also are recouping those costs.

Althestrasz said:
You should see it like this. When you buy a phone, you pay for the development, the construction, the shipping, the people who check it, the people who made the software. add that up with an expensive casing (like HTC has.) and the euro's (or dollars) fly onto the price tag. With Apple, I don't know, they just rip your wallet.
Smartphones are still upcomming, with new technology added every time a new device is being developed.
Why is SSD more expensive than a normal HDD, because it's a new technology. DVD drives used to be really expensive aswell, look at them now they aren't so expensive anymore.
Anything that's new has a price, and it's your choice if you want to pay for it or not.
I hope this helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Everything else also has to be developed, designed, engineered, assembled, shipped and retailed. In fact, iPod was developed before iPhone and they mostly made of the same parts.
Also, if you look at pricing for prepaid phones, I don't think that carriers subsidize that much. Mostly they hike their prices to force us in their contracts.
A week or so ago I saw a link on one of the "deal tracking" sites, an HTC tablet was offered for the same price with no contract or service as the "discounted" price from Sprint.

theyre expensives due to all research and work of the engineers...and of course to obtain more money from all of us...you want the finest and latest technology from theirs...you have to pay whatever their wants...

Need some help, need some ideas.

Hi,
Thanks for looking.
I have decided to change careers.
I'm 42 with a long career in systems and marine engineering.
The last three years I've fallen in love and want more fulfilling work and have more time with my girl.
So I've moved to Shenzhen, China and I am starting a business.
Selling stuff maybe, trading & factory production maybe, company representation maybe. The truth is I do not know.
I am still early here and keeping my vision wide.
At the moment I am living comfortably off savings and selling items on eBay to keep income cyclical and my brain working.
But this is short term.
What I could use is some direction. There is potential here but I am not sure what I should grab and focus on.
Electronics are my long time hobby with partial exposure at work, networking, PC's, etc.
So what should I sell, who should I contact, what is in high demand I can source here?
There are great marketing advantages as an American in China,
-honest time-efficient business practices for one,
-communication for another.
My eBay name if you're interested: URatpeace
Thanks for your time.
Just throwing this out there and seeing what sticks :>
Phil
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda app-developers app

China? You can make fake iPhones running Eclair

OptimusLove said:
China? You can make fake iPhones running Eclair
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In all seriousness that isn't a bad idea. Copies like Gooapple and Goophone are selling really well. They have the same retina display, 1ghz processor, and ICS for $200.
There is a market for cheap Android phones, especially in China.
I'd say stick with apple copies because of the fact that you have something to work off of. It would be harder to create a new design.
Also, wait for the iPhone 5, that way you won't be stuck selling old hardware.
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u can publish android app if u r eligble for android merchant account.U can publish in behalf of those developers who are not elegible for same

Mobile phones and accessories. I'd buy Meizu Lenovo or ZTE or Ainol.
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Got into toe
Allanitomwesh said:
Mobile phones and accessories. I'd buy Meizu Lenovo or ZTE or Ainol.
Sent from my U8150 using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi all,
Thanks for the response.
Ironic the talk about iPhones because I have been working with them the last two weeks. Found a Chinese American living here who needed help selling iPhone mobos and reconditioned iPhones on eBay. He has a small account and is not good with PC's. So we make over $2600 in three days but he has some freakout over 8 mobos sold to Chinese citizens. I will refund everyone there money and walk away from this nutcase. Shame to because 4S mobo are in high demand now.
Alot of cellphones here in all models. 100's of sellers. & 100's of shops rebuilding and repairing phones. I have personally seen phones completely disassembled, rebuilt, boxed up, and then brought over to an 'official' China Telecom booth and sold. Sold as new I guess.
I am more interested in tablets then phones. I'm running my whole business now on a Asus Transformer Prime.
What mid-range tablet specs do you think would sell well?
Cheers,
phil

mrpotts said:
Got into toe
Hi all,
Thanks for the response.
Ironic the talk about iPhones because I have been working with them the last two weeks. Found a Chinese American living here who needed help selling iPhone mobos and reconditioned iPhones on eBay. He has a small account and is not good with PC's. So we make over $2600 in three days but he has some freakout over 8 mobos sold to Chinese citizens. I will refund everyone there money and walk away from this nutcase. Shame to because 4S mobo are in high demand now.
Alot of cellphones here in all models. 100's of sellers. & 100's of shops rebuilding and repairing phones. I have personally seen phones completely disassembled, rebuilt, boxed up, and then brought over to an 'official' China Telecom booth and sold. Sold as new I guess.
I am more interested in tablets then phones. I'm running my whole business now on a Asus Transformer Prime.
What mid-range tablet specs do you think would sell well?
Cheers,
phil
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dual core tablet with 1 gig ram. Capacitive screen 200+ ppi and a lithium ion battery,none of that liPo nonsense. Decent thinness, not necessarily razor,just not a brick,and a sim slot. Please. A sim slot in international GSM. Don't put a VGA webcam. Don't at all,or put one that's decent. And a good gpu for gaming,don't just claim one which you haven't put. Autofocus on the rear camera. All the HDMI and USB slots THAT WORK...and availability in two colours at least.
Sent from my U8150 using XDA

Allanitomwesh said:
Dual core tablet with 1 gig ram. Capacitive screen 200+ ppi and a lithium ion battery,none of that liPo nonsense. Decent thinness, not necessarily razor,just not a brick,and a sim slot. Please. A sim slot in international GSM. Don't put a VGA webcam. Don't at all,or put one that's decent. And a good gpu for gaming,don't just claim one which you haven't put. Autofocus on the rear camera. All the HDMI and USB slots THAT WORK...and availability in two colours at least.
Sent from my U8150 using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Noted and i will try to track down. And price?
Cheers,
Phil
Shenzhen China
2012

Keep it under $350 as much as possible. For your situation, cheaper is better,since you'll clear stock faster.
However, quality is what will set you apart with your tablet. Don't just be cheap,be excellent value. Give your customers what they paid for,or even abit more.
Lastly, if you wouldn't be glad to buy it yourself, don't sell it.
Sent from my U8150 using XDA

Hi,
Still researching and I have some I am looking at. I have actually bought a small 7" tablet (N77-Lscpe.com) to fill a couple work voids. Quality is good. It's a little buggy with the internet. Not as quick (1.2GHz) as my Asus tran Prime. Happy with it though. I have another tablet manufacturer I am talking to now that seems well built, slim, and has a SIM slot.
My eBay store just started today, http://stores.ebay.com/A-Foreigner-in-China. I am hoping to be adding every day.
I'm looking at carbon fiber products and motorcycle parts.
And alot of other things too.
Cheers,
Phil
Shenzhen China
2012

If you could find/make a USB charger that can give 5V 550mah out from a nokia blc 4 battery, that would be awesome. As long as its within 10USD, i will be in for one.

mrpotts said:
Hi,
Still researching and I have some I am looking at. I have actually bought a small 7" tablet (N77-Lscpe.com) to fill a couple work voids. Quality is good. It's a little buggy with the internet. Not as quick (1.2GHz) as my Asus tran Prime. Happy with it though. I have another tablet manufacturer I am talking to now that seems well built, slim, and has a SIM slot.
My eBay store just started today, http://stores.ebay.com/A-Foreigner-in-China. I am hoping to be adding every day.
I'm looking at carbon fiber products and motorcycle parts.
And alot of other things too.
Cheers,
Phil
Shenzhen China
2012
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looking forward to seeing which tablet you settle on.
Say,could you get android market working on a Huawei?
Sent from my U8150 using XDA

Mobile phones and accessories,tablet.generally the foreigner think that the thing of China very badly, too many deceptive website.

If I were you and I'm Into gadgets, I'd definitely start my own brand, put goals in front of you, just go step by step wither you could make a low end android phones, or high end android phones at a lower profit margin, design some nice boxes with a nice phone and a good warranty, if you are going to put warranty you probably want to see cost to profit margin.
If you need more ideas and that sort of stuff, let me know
by the way, Shenzhen is a very nice town, loved it there, every time I pass by Baby K but never got to go there, maybe next time.
good luck OP

Phablet competition getting fierce?

By Krishan Sharma:
The competition is set to heat up further with both HTC and Nokia rumoured to be releasing a phablet each by the end of the year and even Apple reportedly working on screen sizes of up to 6-inches
On top of that, there’s increasing competition from Chinese brands such as Huawei and CoolPad with low cost sub $US200 phablets. So plenty at stake here for Samsung and the Galaxy Note 3 just might let it hold on to the phablet crown for now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think that in order to assure competition stays behind, all Samsung has to do is reduce Gnote3 abusive price..
Are you listening Samsung people?
.

Go get one of the cheap a$$ $200 phablets with 1gb of ram , etc ...there is no comparison those are just cheap knock offs ... yes htc is finally going to make one haha 3 years after the first and of course apple is going to inovate the whole world with their Iphablet somehow it will be the first according to every fanboi ... You get what you pay for samsung has 3gb of ram yes it could have a non pentile screen but it will be a great device
Sent from my SPH-L900 using Xparent BlueTapatalk 2

I think that a 700 euros ($930 )pre-order price, is abusive no matter what, even for a state-of-the-art, high-end super smartphone...
Let's see how its price will look like over a couple of months from now.
Gladly, as a owner of the excellent GNote2, I am not in a hurry.
It's not about value or quality comparisons, is about strategy...
As a consumer, you don't have to accept or even justify, big corporations abusive prices policies.
Let them do that...be clever...
.

betoNL said:
I think that a 700 euros ($930 )pre-order price, is abusive no matter what, even for a state-of-the-art, high-end super smartphone...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Samsung (or any other manufacturer) will get away with the highest pricing they think the market will bear. There's no doubt the price will drop over time. It's kind of like buying a new car. If you buy it at the beginning of the model year you'll pay top dollar. If you buy it at the end of model year after the next generation's been announced you'll pay a hell of a lot less. You quoted what's happened to N2 pricing now that the N3's out.
As for the N3 vs. other phablets you do get a lot for the abusive price
32GB of NAND and 3GB of RAM
An inductive Wacom-esque display for inking and a Synaptics overlay for using some air-control features without needing the pen
Sensors for accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer, temperature, humidity, gesture
The new Qualcomm Envelope Tracking power saving chip
USB 3.0
MHL 2.0
4.3 (a short lived benefit)
Top tier components of the highest quality and "newness"
A removable battery which adds design complexity and cost
Samsung's army of s/w (though not everyone uses all the features)
Samsung's devices generally have a good durability record
The Note-series has always been aimed at "creation" and "productivity" and because of S Pen/S Note doesn't really have a lot of competition. All the other phablets that are out and coming out are really just giant versions of each manufacturers phone family and focused on consumption. So people who really want a giant phone have lots of choices. People that appreciate S Pen/S Note will pay the abusive price. I'm one of those people and if it weren't for S Pen/S Note I'd have a 4.7/5.2" standard-size phone and there's no guarantee it would be a Samsung. The N2 sold 15-20% of what the SGS3 did. If Samsung can abuse that same percentage of people to go for a N3 it'll be a hit. Time will tell.

Unless competitors add extensive stylus capabilities there will be no other phablet I consider in my phone quest. If I wanted a regular smartphone I'd opt for a S4 or something of the like. The productivity potential of the Note puts it above the competition for my use

@BarryH_GEG ,
Hey man, you promised me then, to always quote my posts integrally :laugh: :laugh: .
I know you are in love with with the GN3 ( or..are you a Samsung share holder?) and of course if I have to choose among an abusively priced HTC or an abusively priced Sony or an abusively priced Samsung like the GN3 I will always go for the GN3, since, just like you, I am also impressed with its specs and being a GNote series user since the beginning and all, however ...
An abuse is an abuse no matter what...( and the damn Apple is the one that started this trend of abusive prices, among other crap....).
And I am very optimistic that I will keep the willpower and wait as long as possible till prices get a lot less abusive and hoping to sell my excellent GN2 for a good price around then.
A buddy of my already laughed and said I won't be able to wait that long and will get that beast sooner than I think...but I am trying....
And if I wait too long I will probably will get the GN4 instead, with a (probably) flexible screen, abusive price and all
My primary goal is: resist all temptations and I have a very good phone right now to help me to achieve that.
At least we agree that the prices are abusive.
Do you hear Samsung? Abusive!
Anyway I am hopeful:
Here in Holland the Galaxy S4 is already 100 euros ($130) cheaper than the HTC one....and guess which one keeps selling way more?
Better + better price = competition killer.
And that's what I meant with that part of my post that you left behind in your quote:
betoNL said:
It's not about value or quality comparisons, is about strategy...
As a consumer, you don't have to accept or even justify, big corporations abusive prices policies.
Let them do that...be clever...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Strategy, and above all , THINKING AHEAD
.

I can relate
betoNL said:
By Krishan Sharma:
I think that in order to assure competition stays behind, all Samsung has to do is reduce Gnote3 abusive price..
Are you listening Samsung people?
.[/QUOTE
Krishan,
You have brought up some interesting points.
I do think that Samsung have got away with it because the NOTE series is still unique, in my mind. No one else has really managed to get such good integration of a stylus. I hope that some of the competitors do get much better in the Phablet category.
As an owner of the NOTE1 I decided not to get a NOTE2 but I am very keen to get the GN3. I am still willing to pay "TOP Dollor" because no one else gives me this type of passage. However I expect by next year it will have changed. Because a lot of companies are now paying serious attention to this category of device.
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Back in the day (in non-phone geek's eyes), if you had an Android phone, you had a "Droid." Now, if you have an Android phone, you have a "Galaxy."
Back then, you would pay top dollar for a Motorola Droid, since that is what people thought of when they went to purchase an Android phone. The Galaxy series has since (by far) taken the spotlight when it comes to Android. Therefore they are doing what any successful corporation would do; taking advantage of the popularity and charging more for the name.
Towle
Forum Moderator

betoNL said:
[MENTION=1493949]Hey man, you promised me then, to always quote my posts integrally :laugh: :laugh: .
I know you are in love with with the GN3 ( or..are you a Samsung share holder?) and of course if I have to choose among an abusively priced HTC or an abusively priced Sony or an abusively priced Samsung like the GN3 I will always go for the GN3, since, just like you, I am also impressed with its specs and being a GNote series user since the beginning and all, however ...
An abuse is an abuse no matter what...( and the damn Apple is the one that started this trend of abusive prices, among other crap....).
And I am very optimistic that I will keep the willpower and wait as long as possible till prices get a lot less abusive and hoping to sell my excellent GN2 for a good price around then.
A buddy of my already laughed and said I won't be able to wait that long and will get that beast sooner than I think...but I am trying....
And if I wait too long I will probably will get the GN4 instead, with a (probably) flexible screen, abusive price and all
My primary goal is: resist all temptations and I have a very good phone right now to help me to achieve that.
At least we agree that the prices are abusive.
Do you hear Samsung? Abusive!
Anyway I am hopeful:
Here in Holland the Galaxy S4 is already 100 euros ($130) cheaper than the HTC one....and guess which one keeps selling way more?
Better + better price = competition killer.
And that's what I meant with that part of my post that you left behind in your quote: Strategy, and above all , THINKING AHEAD.
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See, I quoted your entire post.
As for "love," I love my family, dogs, and closest friends. My devices are my devices. I'm excited about the N3 because I think it's cool and I've had my N7100 since November (a long time for me) and am itching for something new.
Here's part of my rationalization for buying early when prices are higher. I'd be lying if I said I didn't like having the newest tech before everyone else and showing it off. The life cycle of devices used to be about a year but now the DNA and N4 are considered ancient and the SGS4 and One aren't even "new" anymore; at least on XDA. So if I pay 20% more to have a new toy earlier and get to show off a bit I consider it worth it. YMMV of course.
P.S. - I swore I wouldn't but I pre-ordered a Gear when I found out you can shake it to turn it on which a lot of reviewers missed. It'll go well with my N3 and 3G Note 10.1 2014. Sigh. I'm tech addicted.

Samsung has put a lot into this device and certainly it is worthy of the price point. Besides in the US no one pays full price unless they want to. I have done it many times, but I opted to use my upgrade this time around.

Where's the address for that "techoholic anonymous" ?
:laugh:
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betoNL said:
I think that a 700 euros ($930 )pre-order price, is abusive no matter what, even for a state-of-the-art, high-end super smartphone...
Let's see how its price will look like over a couple of months from now.
Gladly, as a owner of the excellent GNote2, I am not in a hurry.
It's not about value or quality comparisons, is about strategy...
As a consumer, you don't have to accept or even justify, big corporations abusive prices policies.
Let them do that...be clever...
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iPhone 5s (32gb) - 739 EUR preorder price
HTC One - 661 EUR preorder price
Note 2 - 650 EUR preorder price
LG G2 - 629 EUR preorder price
Lumia 1020 - 699 EUR preorder price
Given the price and specs of the Note 3's competition and predecessor I'm not sure how anyone can be surprised with the pricing. In my opinion, it's the cost of being on the bleeding edge. I don't see how the pricing is abusive when looking at similar devices. Keeping in mind the Note is the only high end device with a Wacom digitizer..

Maverick777 said:
iPhone 5s (32gb) - 739 EUR preorder price
HTC One - 661 EUR preorder price
Note 2 - 650 EUR preorder price
LG G2 - 629 EUR preorder price
Lumia 1020 - 699 EUR preorder price
Given the price and specs of the Note 3's competition and predecessor I'm not sure how anyone can be surprised with the pricing. In my opinion, it's the cost of being on the bleeding edge. I don't see how the pricing is abusive when looking at similar devices. Keeping in mind the Note is the only high end device with a Wacom digitizer..
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They were/are all abusive prices.
I bought my Note2 a couple of months after the pre-order period for 530 Euros ( around 130 euros cheaper)
Today the Note2 is costing around 410 euros over here ( online)
It's just a matter of how long a high-techoholic / gadgetoholic can resist and wait :cyclops:
And the iPhone is not an example, cause it's for ubber-suckers :laugh:
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Selling phones at cost price?

Guys, i bought a LeTV x600. Excited about this phone and the new (yet big) company in the phone world, i went to watch their presentation. It looks they are selling this phone, other models too, at cost price! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WHNbrYGWQM&feature=youtu.be&t=6395
Their idea is to sell at cost price and make profit from their streamming service (they are the chinese netflix) used from the phones of course. Chinese companies are already releasing flagship phones for half the price. Some are really great. But this could be a paradigm shift in the way of doing business. I mean most companies have to get profit from phones, they don't have "other" services in order to make up for selling the phones at cost price. Operators already do something similar to this, the phone is for free, but they obligate you to use their network for 1 or 2 years. We can buy this phone with no obligation to use their streamming service.
I'm no business expert, Apple and Samsung will always be Apple and Samsung, but i think this could really hurt the small/medium players. This is not a "cheap" badly made phone just for the purpose of watching stuff. Just watch the reviews about it.
Think HP selling printers at low price, hopping to get the real (and absurdly high) profit from ink.
What do you think about this?
On a sidenote, the LeTV ROM have some nasty/lame bugs and they are being a bit slow to fix them. IMHO, nowadays most phones are released inmmaturely. Sure, smartphones are more complex than older phones, but still companies could spend a bit more time doing QA on them. They understimate the work and time to have a really mature software. But time runs fast nowadays. Having great specs on a phone is not enough. I think on this case, if LeTV doesn't change their attitude, they can say bye bye to their great idea. Because customers are impatient and don't forgive much.