I, with my iPhone 5S and my Kindle Reader, may be an anomaly in the world of Apple fans who obsess over the latest features and line up outside stores for new releases even if last year's model works fine.
However, it's characteristic of a shift in consumer thinking that poses a problem for the tech industry. Seven years after the introduction of the iPhone that I paid $650 for, mobile devices are closer to commodities than novelties.
We now know exactly where PCs are invaluable and where the usefulness of smartphones and tablets begins and ends. As a result, mobile prices are falling, and manufacturers are competing most fiercely at the bottom.
The features that used to distinguish new releases are becoming more standard across the industry, pushing down prices. According to research firm IDC, the average price for smartphones fell from $335 in 2013 to $314 this year...and...are projected to sink to $267 by 2018. Drooping margins make it tougher to recover from a misstep within the mobile industry.
Source: Bloomberg BusinessWeek, November 19, 2014