Heretic here
So, because it's Apple phones, nobody considers it might simply be because they're not selling that well for Walmart?
Walmart has cut the prices of iPhone 5 handsets in its stores to, it's assumed, make way for Apple's next smartphone. The retail goliath on Friday slashed the cost of the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c smartphones when users purchase a two-year mobile contract. The 16GB iPhone 5c will now start at just $29, down from a previous …
but if you are referring to the manufacture of Apple Products using slave labor, then I have to ask where all your 'electronic kit' is made? Perhaps it is made by the same companies that Apple use? Do you know for sure that your supplier is not paying less in wages to get their 'stuff' made?
If you are signing up for a 3year contract at $100/month (all cell+data plans end up costing $100/month whatever the ad says - it's a law of nature)
Are you really going to be persuaded to buy with a $20 drop in the price you pay at the till?
Do Walmart really think that their customers don't understand basic market economic theory ?
It does appear that in most places people suspend all judgement in order to rent something new. I hope that they know why but I worry they don't.
My mobile does what I want, is now elderly and cost me just over £5, about US 8 per month rent - and I get enough texts, minutes and unlimited land-line calls. I can almost like it.
"...can walk and chew gum at the same time..."
AH HA!!! You've explained a long-standing mystery.
'Why are the entrances of Walmarts simply covered in bubblegum stains?'
You've explained it! Their clientele knows that once they step inside Walmart, their often already low IQ will instantly drop another 25 IQ points (~33% average). If they forget to spit out their bubblegum just outside the entrance, then they'll topple over about 20 feet inside.
This also explains the purpose of the elderly Walmart Greeters. They're there to catch the wobbly shoppers that forget to spit out their gum.
>>Of course they are. Why would they keep going back time after time and get the latest "upgrade" to their "not so smart" phone so they can say they have the latest?
Where are these much-rumored iPeople who upgrade their phones every time a new model comes out? Out of all the phone I know with iPhones, most are on the 4S still, which is now 3 years old. I even know a couple people who are still on the 3GS and those things are still going like tanks. I don't know anybody who gets a new iPhone every year... I guess some people get a new one every 2 years because they are on service plans that overcharge them for the privilege of "upgrading" every 2 years. But lots of haters like to say iPhone users are just sheep who throw their money at Apple to get any new and unnecessary thing and I don't see it.
The comment was about "smart phone" people in general not specific to iSheeple. A significant number I know (and this is not amongst the IT contractor community) go through an upgrade cycle at regular intervals. Most won't be upgrading *every* new release, but every other release certainly
as a longstanding iPhone 5 user (pre-pay not contract - to avoid bill shock) I'm happy to mention that I just bought a Motorola Moto G for €134 on Amzn.fr as a backup phone. Apart from it having a bigger & brighter screen than the IP5 - it feels 'snappier' - though the sunspider 1.02 scores for Moto G are 1.5 seconds compared to the IPv5 750 milliseconds. The only annoying thing about KitKat is that it's hard to turn off the 3G data. (once "Data" is turned off, there's a further hidden Menu option to turn-off "Background Data" as well) Android reacts to this enforced Wi-Fi trafficking by putting a small pouting exclamation mark on the display.
So, I really don't feel the need to invest in an IPv6, and when my MacBookPro eventually conks out it might get replaced by a haswell ChromeBook! (Available from $150 from Amzn.com) tho' it cost me another €100 for postage & Duty from USA - but I got the 32GB flash (only 16GB in EU) & have used crouton to sidegrade to xubuntu.
"Where are these much-rumored iPeople who upgrade their phones every time a new model comes out?"
Don't know where all of them are, but two of them are in Cherrybrook, Sydney. So far they've been out there on the pavement in George Street in the dark, while iMinions ply them with coffee and sing songs for every launch since the 4.
And even when they had to replace all their 30 pin connector peripherals (car dock, alarm clock ..erm.. dock, bloody big cheap nasty column speaker dock, etc) becaus etheir new phones didn't fit anymore (I suggested adaptors, but it seems the docks needed the phone to fit flush in order to support it and they were a bit worried about stress on the connectors), the simply chucked it all out and replaced it because 'that's progress'.
So I might only know of two, and they could be the only two in the whole world, but I wouldn't count on it - they ARE out there, make sure you lock your door