Are you paying more for your mobile phone? New study says you are.
By Will Park on Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008 at 4:35 PM PST In Announcements, Research
Following on news that the mobile phone industry has seen smartphone sales increase whilst the rest of the not-so-smart handset offerings are seeing less and less demand, JD Power and Associates has released a new study that indicates the average buyer paying more for their cellphone.
After querying almost 20,000 cellphone users, JD Power found that the average purchase price of a handset had risen $9 to an all-time high of $101. The aforementioned upswing in smartphone demand can be attributed to the higher average purchase price of mobile phone hardware, and with the average smartphone purchase dinging the average wallet for $208, the correlation makes sense.
As more people start eyeing the fancy web-connected features and productivity boosts that smartphones are known for, the average person is going to start paying more and more for their next handset. And, that means fewer and fewer people are going to be opting for the free handset offers – JD Power found that only 33% of new phone buyers went for the free phone offers, compared to 36% in the previous six months.
So, dear readers, has your most recent mobile phone purchase left your wallet just a bit lighter than the last time around? Our wallet sure has.
I think it’s fair to pay around $500 for a nice phone, however I can’t justify paying the same for a phone as I would for a laptop… (N95 8GB)
I hope ur talking msrp priciing Zak. lol. I cant imagine paying over $500 for a good phone. When the phone is capable to getting up early in the morning and cooking me breakfast, then I might consider paying more. My current phone was free becasue I won it at a Sprint Roadshow so my wallet feels fine, lol.
@Radium – Here in Canada you have to buy your phone unlocked because the the SP’s (Rogers, Fido) don’t offer “sexy phones.”
They’re currently offering the N95 8GB at Rogers however it’s locked where it only has the rogers browser and can’t play your songs as ringtunes