Current premium smartphones reasonably priced when compared to past devices
Many consider current premium mobile phones like the iPhone to be expensive. With some models going over 1000 Euro, they seem expensive compared to when you can have a virtually exact feature set at the 200 Euro price point. But compared to previous years the prices aren't that expensive.
The Finnish customer magazine OP-Media compared phones from the past and how the prices of those devices would be today. The results are surprising, making the iPhone X seem like an affordable. All price data is from Finland in Euro, and prices have been adjusted accordingly.
- Released in 1987, the Mobira Cityman cost a whopping 7300 € in it's time. At that time mobile phones were truly a product for the few.
- Released in 2000, the legendary Nokia 3310 was a mainstream device with features such as the snake game but limited data capabilities. The price would be 396 € today.
- Released in 1996, the Nokia 1610 weighed 232 grams and had a 100 hour stand by time, and the capability of receiving (not sending) SMS. All of this at the price of 380 €.
- Released in 1996, the Nokia 8110 was a premium smartphone. Known as the banana, the device later became known as the Matrix phone. The release price of the 8110 was 808 €.
- Released in 2000, the Nokia 9210 Communicator was a third generation smart phone from Nokia. It featured a full sized keyboard and a 640×200 screen. Priced at 1448 €, it is more expensive than any smartphone currently on the market.
- Released in 1999, the Ericsson T28 was a premium smartphone weighing in at only 83 grams. The distinctive feature of this phone is the prominent antenna, which the swedish company had yet to integrate into the case. The T28 cost 469 € at the time of it's release.
- Released in 2003, the Nokia N-Gage was a failed attempt to gain ground in the mobile gaming segment. Built around the Symbian smartphone operating the system the N-Gage cost a reasonable 426 € in today's Euros.
- Released in 2003, the Nokia 1100 offered a bare bones feature set, but a long battery life of some 400 hours. This allowed the device to sell over 250 Millium units, with an introductory price of 169 €
So while the high-end smartphone pricing in 2017 may seem expensive compared to some of the lower-end devices, the prices are not unusually high in comparison to what people were willing to pay for very basic functionality.
The complete article is online here: Nykypuhelimetko kalliita? Katso mitä menneet suosikkipuhelimet maksaisivat nykyrahassa