On Thu, 26 Jul 2001, Benjamin Kowarsch wrote:
> What you did is, you made a down-payment on a phone that cost in the
> vicinity of 200 USD and up, and you and others on the same network are
> going to pay for that phone in installments which are worked into your
> regular charges and calls.
Yup. Nothing wrong with that. I'm often happy to take a loan from someone.
I don't buy this "creating bubbles" thing. Lots of companies in lots of
industries extend credit to consumers to encourage them to buy things.
Every American auto manufacturer does lending as well, and how about
those time payment plans on stereos, televisions and furniture?
> I rather pay the full price for my phone, get cheaper services in return
> and use the phone longer.
I'd rather replace my phone yearly. Who wants to be stuck with a two-year
old phone? Not me.
> This is also a reason why phones should be modular and software or
> smartcard upgradeable.
The Japanese phones *are* software upgradable. How do you think all these
recalls work? You just take your phone back in and get a new software
load on it.
> Have you ever thought that Japanese(predominantly male) managers and
> engineers are exploiting the young ladies with all those toy phones that
> have to be thrown away and replaced simply because they want to keep their
> bubble growing ?
Oh, this kills me. Take a walk around Shibuya. You think phones are the
only item subject to fashion around here?
These girls aren't even going to notice spending 20,000 yen on a phone
once a year. They're bying a new 60,000 yen Louis Vutton bag every
three months.
> My GSM phone (Nokia 8810) is smaller than most Japanese phones and it is as
> light as a Japanese phone....
> Anyway, what weight are we talking here ? 110g versus 85g !
Huh?! Are you saying your Nokia 8810 is 110g? That's a monster, in my
book. The nice new colour P210i weighs 59g. I don't see how you can say
a phone which weighs nearly twice as much as another is "as light."
> I couldn't care less about 25g difference.
I could, and do. I've got a P209i (60g), and I have several friends with
a P209is (84g). I've compared the two and there's a pretty noticable
difference, enough to give me a strong preference for mine.
If you really want to see the difference, I suggest you carry your phone
around in your shirt pocket for a week.
cjs
--
Curt Sampson <cjs@cynic.net> +81 3 5778 0123 de gustibus, aut bene aut nihil
Basically, a tool is an object that enables you to take advantage of the laws
of physics and mechanics in such a way that you can seriously injure yourself.
--Dave Barry
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Received on Thu Jul 26 15:24:52 2001