Now I want to buy cars like I buy phones: Research it over the internet, click a button, enter my credit card number, wait for the car to show up at my doorstep.
I assume if you're spending 30K+ you'd at least want to test drive it. Also I'm sure if you got in touch with any car dealership near you, they'd arrange the above for you.
Used to think that about just about anything. Shoes, clothing, electronics, and more. You can get car accessories and parts online too, depending on the automaker. It may not get delivered to your home, but it'll at least get delivered to the dealer, if not your home. Some automakers have sites where you can customize your car online, like mini.com.
If the trend continues, why just buy whole cars online too, especially if they're well-reviewed? What was unthinkable before surprisingly changes. I would not be surprised if buying cars became as easy as an Amazon Prime one-click in the future. Probably not for at least a decade though.
Cars require maintenance the expectation of which greatly influences our purchasing decisions (e.g. "Toyota tax").
People generally don't buy used phones.
Phones don't come in mutually exclusive form factors (2dr coupe, airport van, cab and chassis, everything in-between). They're all touchscreen slabs with one or more buttons at the bottom.
You also won't get fired from your job if you break your phone and your bosses call goes to voicemail. If you don't show up for work because your car is broken you'll probably be fired.
>Cars require maintenance the expectation of which greatly influences our purchasing decisions (e.g. "Toyota tax").
There is a thriving phone repair industry patronized by people that can't afford to throw away expensive electronics every few years. When the most common "failures" are cracked screens and dead batteries, both of which are fairly easily replaced, it makes sense if you don't "need" the absolute latest and greatest to signal.
>People generally don't buy used phones.
Used iPhones retain their value pretty well.
>Phones don't come in mutually exclusive form factors (2dr coupe, airport van, cab and chassis, everything in-between). They're all touchscreen slabs with one or more buttons at the bottom.
I dunno, the difference between a regular smartphone and a "phablet" is pretty striking to me.
>You also won't get fired from your job if you break your phone and your bosses call goes to voicemail. If you don't show up for work because your car is broken you'll probably be fired.
The mechanisms necessary for a removable battery that doesn't fall out accidentally cost extra weight and bulk. It's an engineering tradeoff, and swappable batteries aren't worth it for many users. This is also why many laptops have fewer interchangeable parts- for many people, being lighter and thinner is better, and a 3-5 year lifespan is plenty.
As a user of a second-hand iPhone 5c, I can say that I was quite impressed and am now fully converted from Android. As well, I'm tempted to just buy second-hand phones for the rest of my life now.
I think that the state of the hardware is pretty good now that we can consider second hand rather than brand new items. The only concern is whether the software landscape will move slow enough so that the phone/table/TV or other smart device is usable for at least 2-3 years.
In older times, when the software was not able to be upgraded so easily, this time period is much, much longer.
I sell used computers and tablets on the side though I stay out of phones. I can tell you that they move fast. I buy used for myself now almost exclusively.
I really don't understand the "you get fired for breaking your car" bit.
> You paid $200 for a flagship, or nothing for a clunker,
Nope. I paid $170 for a Moto G a few years back and it was a great choice. I got a fairly modern phone. Not too big, I don't like big phones. I got updates at a pretty good rate. And the best thing, I don't have a contract. And if I sit on the phone and break it, I'll go and try to buy another one. If I bought a $600 and sat on it and broke it, I would be rather upset.
That's happened with a previous phone. And a family member said, "Well why don't you buy insurance for it". I noped on that and set a new benchmark for my mobile phone -- if I am too upset if it gets destroyed or broken then I need to buy a cheaper model, I can't afford the expensive model. $200 is about that price point currently.
Man, I love the MotoG - it's the first generation model - it's small, just the right feel, been dropped a few times.. everything works wonderfully. Really wish that we keep getting small reasonably priced and reasonably featured smart phones. My MotoG's getting old but there isn't something on the market to upgrade to :-/
In most markets outside the US, the carrier contract model hasn't been dominant. Some people choose to get a flagship for "free", others choose a mid-tier phone in exchange for lower monthly fees, still others use budget phones on a prepaid tariff or a cheap monthly deal.
I think it's notable that T-Mobile introduced diversity into the US cell service market - they're the only truly global carrier operating in the US.
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[ 3.7 ms ] story [ 57.5 ms ] threadIf the trend continues, why just buy whole cars online too, especially if they're well-reviewed? What was unthinkable before surprisingly changes. I would not be surprised if buying cars became as easy as an Amazon Prime one-click in the future. Probably not for at least a decade though.
It's the haggling that I dread.
Cars require maintenance the expectation of which greatly influences our purchasing decisions (e.g. "Toyota tax").
People generally don't buy used phones.
Phones don't come in mutually exclusive form factors (2dr coupe, airport van, cab and chassis, everything in-between). They're all touchscreen slabs with one or more buttons at the bottom.
You also won't get fired from your job if you break your phone and your bosses call goes to voicemail. If you don't show up for work because your car is broken you'll probably be fired.
There is a thriving phone repair industry patronized by people that can't afford to throw away expensive electronics every few years. When the most common "failures" are cracked screens and dead batteries, both of which are fairly easily replaced, it makes sense if you don't "need" the absolute latest and greatest to signal.
>People generally don't buy used phones.
Used iPhones retain their value pretty well.
>Phones don't come in mutually exclusive form factors (2dr coupe, airport van, cab and chassis, everything in-between). They're all touchscreen slabs with one or more buttons at the bottom.
I dunno, the difference between a regular smartphone and a "phablet" is pretty striking to me.
>You also won't get fired from your job if you break your phone and your bosses call goes to voicemail. If you don't show up for work because your car is broken you'll probably be fired.
Where the heck do you work?
Anyone who designs battery-powered consumer electronics and doesn't make it trivial to replace a dead battery should be slapped with a cold herring.
One nice feature of the Samsung Galaxy line (at least up to the 4S I have now) is that it takes all of ten seconds to swap batteries.
let's just remove all features that add weight!
As a user of a second-hand iPhone 5c, I can say that I was quite impressed and am now fully converted from Android. As well, I'm tempted to just buy second-hand phones for the rest of my life now.
I sell used computers and tablets on the side though I stay out of phones. I can tell you that they move fast. I buy used for myself now almost exclusively.
I really don't understand the "you get fired for breaking your car" bit.
Nope. I paid $170 for a Moto G a few years back and it was a great choice. I got a fairly modern phone. Not too big, I don't like big phones. I got updates at a pretty good rate. And the best thing, I don't have a contract. And if I sit on the phone and break it, I'll go and try to buy another one. If I bought a $600 and sat on it and broke it, I would be rather upset.
That's happened with a previous phone. And a family member said, "Well why don't you buy insurance for it". I noped on that and set a new benchmark for my mobile phone -- if I am too upset if it gets destroyed or broken then I need to buy a cheaper model, I can't afford the expensive model. $200 is about that price point currently.
I think it's notable that T-Mobile introduced diversity into the US cell service market - they're the only truly global carrier operating in the US.