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As we gear up for another smartphone battle between Samsung and Apple this fall, there is a new wrinkle for the average smartphone customer to consider: prices that edge toward $1,000 for a new phone.
Capitalism can be crazy sometimes. Unless the next set of phones can drive me to work, slice bread, cook my meals, make my bed, and do my laundry while still making calls and sending emails at the same time, I see absolutely no chance of me buying one that costs as much, if not more, than a tablet or even low-end laptop...even if/when i decide some of my personal or research $$$ is disposable, absent any major compelling features/reasons/innovations[1] I can think of far better things to spend it on.
And I say this as a technologist, researcher, and (nowdays) an academic.
[1] Besides becoming 'thinner' -- sorry Apple, speaking as a longtime Mac user, that's not innovation or courage. If anything, it's cumbersome.
You have to think in terms of productivity, right? I know a lot of people get a lot more productivity out of a phone than I do but I just can't imagine how I'd get anything close to enough extra productivity out of these nifty new models to justify the cost compared to last year's model or something with fewer features. I guess each person has to decide for themselves whether they get any value out of the status of having the latest and greatest but I certainly don't get much, if any.
@hank: How will this impacted funds holding KRX and AAPL ?
Hi Ted. Glad you found my humble posting of value.
I only buy and use Apple products for serious applications like data storage, financial or surfing. However, I have some Amazon Kindle devices, which sell for much less, which are used only for Amazon-specific applications like their newspaper subscriptions. I won't sing the praises for Apple here - except to say I love their devices, their product support and their app store.
To your question re funds (which I feel many others here are better qualified to answer): Samsung* is the second largest holding in my international equity index fund PIEQX. When I bought the fund last December it had languished in the basement for many years with negative numbers. Today the fund is up 17.65% YTD. That's not "sizzling" performance for many. But, considering my normally conservative / cautious investment approach, that's one of my better performers.
The problem with any tech holding is that fortunes can turn on a dime as new applications replace old. So, I'm always "nervous" when it comes to owning tech stocks. With Samsung I'm worried about (1) the CEO having just been sentenced to 5 years in prison for corruption and (2) its being in South Korea, which is an easy target for North Korea's fruitcake should he decide to lob a few nukes in their direction. On the other hand, despite the many skeptics, the stock has continued to climb a wall of worry this year.
Love both Apple and Samsung stocks. For now I am using my 4 years old iPhone to full capacity and until it dies I am too cheap to chase after their $1,000 cell phones.
Similar to hank, Samsung is the largest holding in several international and emerging market funds we own, whereas Apple is another major holding in our domestic funds.
Not for me I'm actually thinking about going old school like Gibbs with just a flip phone. Believe it or not I can still read a map and the screens are to small for scrolling.
I bought mate 9 from Huawei been using for two months....superb graphics great camera...very fast . Easy to multitask. . Very comparable to Samsung 8 ip8 for fraction of price. Doing bulk of surfing on it resaech bonds stock ect...think I even xfer roll over interactive brokerage account to vanguard on this device without probs... Have not buy bonds stocks or bond on Android but I think it won't be a problem...think I spend about 400 dollars on it few months ago. 95%of time I am on this android at home or work.
BTW vanguard has very good bond desk but not probably better than Morgan Stanley
@John, I'm not sure "mate 9 from Huawei" has the same sex appeal as "Galaxy 8 from Samsung". But if it works for you that's great. ---
Been thinking about this a lot. If you simply look at all the capabilities in these things they're worth a lot. Consider what individually you'd have paid 30 years ago for a top caliber camera, DVR, photo shop (literally a shop). Throw in a sophisticated calculator, a computer capable of running complex programs, immense data storage capacity, a set of good global and local atlases, a set of Britannicas, etc. etc. Things only the wealthy could afford a few decades ago (and nearly forgot to mention mobile telephone capability).
But if you consider the cost of the hardware in these things, than $1,000 is rediculously high. I know that because Amazon can promote "specials" every so often where you can buy a half dozen "Fire" tablets in a bunch for some rediculously low price like $99. So I know the hardware isn't worth much.
R&D's another matter. I have no idea. But here too I suspect they're making out like bandits.
Personally, I upgrade one or another device about every 2-3 years. This year I replaced a 5-6 year old Mac with a 3 year old model in top condition. And replaced a 5 year old Ipad with a new one after Apple dropped the price to a couple hundred dollars. Bought their 2-year AppleCare package as well. Apple tech support is great to have.
The devices I replaced still worked - which speaks volumes about the quality. But a lot of improvements occur after about 3 years. With Apple, too, the more recent IOS upgrades won't load on older devices which can become a security issue and also inconvenient.
PRMTX is doing well again this year: +28% YTD. Don't own it, but wished I did.
@Maurice- The trick there was to disconnect the bells on the "extra" phones. That's how Telco "knew" you had extra stuff. I don't keep these for any value at all... I just like them!
Comments
Regards,
Ted
And I say this as a technologist, researcher, and (nowdays) an academic.
[1] Besides becoming 'thinner' -- sorry Apple, speaking as a longtime Mac user, that's not innovation or courage. If anything, it's cumbersome.
Derf
Derf
I only buy and use Apple products for serious applications like data storage, financial or surfing. However, I have some Amazon Kindle devices, which sell for much less, which are used only for Amazon-specific applications like their newspaper subscriptions. I won't sing the praises for Apple here - except to say I love their devices, their product support and their app store.
To your question re funds (which I feel many others here are better qualified to answer):
Samsung* is the second largest holding in my international equity index fund PIEQX. When I bought the fund last December it had languished in the basement for many years with negative numbers. Today the fund is up 17.65% YTD. That's not "sizzling" performance for many. But, considering my normally conservative / cautious investment approach, that's one of my better performers.
The problem with any tech holding is that fortunes can turn on a dime as new applications replace old. So, I'm always "nervous" when it comes to owning tech stocks. With Samsung I'm worried about (1) the CEO having just been sentenced to 5 years in prison for corruption and (2) its being in South Korea, which is an easy target for North Korea's fruitcake should he decide to lob a few nukes in their direction. On the other hand, despite the many skeptics, the stock has continued to climb a wall of worry this year.
*Samsung Electronics (SSNLF.PK) +56% YTD
Thanks again for the interest.
Similar to hank, Samsung is the largest holding in several international and emerging market funds we own, whereas Apple is another major holding in our domestic funds.
According to the headline, they won't make you faster, unlike my Posture Foundation (PF) Flyers that help me "run faster, jump higher".
BTW vanguard has very good bond desk but not probably better than Morgan Stanley
---
Been thinking about this a lot. If you simply look at all the capabilities in these things they're worth a lot. Consider what individually you'd have paid 30 years ago for a top caliber camera, DVR, photo shop (literally a shop). Throw in a sophisticated calculator, a computer capable of running complex programs, immense data storage capacity, a set of good global and local atlases, a set of Britannicas, etc. etc. Things only the wealthy could afford a few decades ago (and nearly forgot to mention mobile telephone capability).
But if you consider the cost of the hardware in these things, than $1,000 is rediculously high. I know that because Amazon can promote "specials" every so often where you can buy a half dozen "Fire" tablets in a bunch for some rediculously low price like $99. So I know the hardware isn't worth much.
R&D's another matter. I have no idea. But here too I suspect they're making out like bandits.
Personally, I upgrade one or another device about every 2-3 years. This year I replaced a 5-6 year old Mac with a 3 year old model in top condition. And replaced a 5 year old Ipad with a new one after Apple dropped the price to a couple hundred dollars. Bought their 2-year AppleCare package as well. Apple tech support is great to have.
The devices I replaced still worked - which speaks volumes about the quality. But a lot of improvements occur after about 3 years. With Apple, too, the more recent IOS upgrades won't load on older devices which can become a security issue and also inconvenient.
PRMTX is doing well again this year: +28% YTD. Don't own it, but wished I did.
FWIW