How Much Does Price Influence Your Decision?

Posted Apr 27, 2012 at 1:38 pm in Threads > Smartphones & Tablets

Android is a great, open, free platform. Sadly, the hardware that powers it can’t be free, and comes at a variety of different prices. Does price influence your decision largely? If there was a good device for $200, but a GREAT one for $500, which would you choose? (Interpret “good” and “great” as you wish)

As owner of Dollar Tech Check and as a long-time tech enthusiast, budget has always been a large concern to me. I’ll spend the full price for phones, but I can’t justify spending over $350 on a tablet.

6 Comments Join the discussion!

94 B2L 04/27/12 1:49 PM

Thumb up Thumb down +1
Price typically doesn’t influence my decision at all. (Well, unless it cost more than $800, then it’s out of my yearly budget.) I always buy my phones unsubsidized and never sign contracts. This year was the most I had ever spent on a phone, but it was well worth it. (Paid $750 for a new imported International Galaxy Note.) As long as high end devices stay in the $500-$800 range, I’ll typically jump on whichever device offers what I’m looking for.

Reply
- 14 Theolonious 04/27/12 2:10 PM
  
  Thumb up Thumb down +1
  Very commendable. I wish my wallet could survive hits like that.
  
  Reply
  - 94 B2L 04/27/12 2:24 PM
    
    Thumb up Thumb down +1
    I’m on a very limited budget, but I always manage to make it work. For example, I still can’t afford a tablet, but I’ve wanted one for quite a long time. The only reason it works so well is because I set aside $100 every month (For both my wife, and I) and then sell our old phones to help fund the new ones. Doing this guarantees that I can get whichever phone I want every year and I typically always have money left over to set aside for unexpected expenses. Having things set up this way ends up saving me more money than signing a contract every two years.
    
    The only downside is I won’t know what LTE is like for quite some time, since prepaid carriers don’t have LTE, or a contract to use Verizon’s or AT&T’s LTE networks.
    
    Reply
13 danferan 04/27/12 2:17 PM

Thumb up Thumb down 0
Yes, it does. When you have kids and a mortgage, you don’t have a lot of room for extravagance. I am fine with anything up to $300, but it would have to be a real beast to get me to consider anything over that…

Reply
- 74 professandobey 04/27/12 2:49 PM
  
  Thumb up Thumb down +1
  Agreed, but I don’t think about the price that I pay up front. I think about the price over the contract. And yes, I buy subsidized because I don’t see much benefit in switching carriers frequently. For example, if your voice+data plan is $50/month, that’s $1200 over two years. With a $200 phone, the total is $1400. Now, why would I try to get a free phone, for a 14% price difference, and let my experience for two years be sub-par (if not painful)?
  
  Reply
  - 14 Theolonious 04/27/12 3:14 PM
    
    Thumb up Thumb down 0
    I’ve always thought in that way exactly, and as a phone salesman on the side, that’s one of my best pitches.
    
    Reply

Android and Me

Google reveals Samsung Galaxy S 4 Nexus Edition

Android passes 900 million devices activated

Best no-contract plans for unlocked Android devices

Best unlocked Android phone for any budget

How Much Does Price Influence Your Decision?