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posted by martyb on Wednesday March 18 2020, @02:05PM   Printer-friendly
from the Nothing-beats-the-candy-bar dept.

How much is too much? Are these portable computers we carry around that just happen to be able to make phone calls really worth a small fortune? Would you pay over $2000 for a mobile phone that can fold in half?

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip on sale in Australia April 3 for [AUS]$2199

[...] At the Z Flip's [AUS]$2199 price it's [AUS]$200 more than the Galaxy S20 Ultra we told you was too expensive and too big earlier this month.

The Z Flip may be even more expensive but it is at least smaller, and gets even more so when you fold it in half to stash in your pocket or bag.

The new wave of foldable phones are very expensive, but that's also part of their appeal.

"The Galaxy Z Flip is a statement piece and we can't wait to see what Australians do with it," Samsung vice president of mobile Garry McGregor said.

On the other end of the scale, Huawei has announced its new foldable, the Mate Xs, will also be coming to Australia soon.

[...] The phone, a horizontally folding device that opens up into an 8-inch tablet is described by the company as a "high-end, luxury device," which partly explains its massive price tag.

The Huawei Mate Xs is due to go on sale here April 9 for [AUS]$3999, but is already available for pre-order.

[...] Huawei's local managing director Larking Huang said the phone was "ideal for tech seekers or anyone who craves performance, design and usability".

"Australian consumers will benefit from an unprecedented, immersive experience, all at the touch of their fingertips. Offering large dual displays, ultra-slim foldable form and all-day usage – Australians will be able to do business on the go or watch movies," he said.

What they won't be able to do is use any of Google's mobile services, like the Play Store, Gmail, Drive, Maps, YouTube, and other apps Australians rely on to do business, and indeed watch movies.

Huawei was banned from using those when it was placed on a US list of "banned entities" last year.

What is the most you will pay for a mobile phone?


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  • (Score: 2) by richtopia on Wednesday March 18 2020, @05:36PM (2 children)

    by richtopia (3160) on Wednesday March 18 2020, @05:36PM (#972840) Homepage Journal

    My threshold price is going down, not up. I used to consider 300 acceptable, but now I'm thinking more like 200.

    Why? I can buy a laptop for sub-200USD. Phones are no longer exotic hardware and should be competitive with traditional PCs. Maybe I'll consider increasing this threshold for new features, similar to your comment about DJI.

    Ultimately I plan on keeping my current phone until it breaks. I'll probably buy a Pine Phone as a toy, but that still fits my sub 200USD rule.

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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by JoeMerchant on Wednesday March 18 2020, @06:48PM (1 child)

    by JoeMerchant (3937) on Wednesday March 18 2020, @06:48PM (#972873)

    You know, the DJI comment was meant to be absurd, but... if you can get an extra 100' of altitude on your end of your cellular tower connection, then do a short hop direct line of sight to your earpiece, that could have VERY practical applications.

    --
    🌻🌻 [google.com]
    • (Score: 1) by anubi on Thursday March 19 2020, @02:58AM

      by anubi (2828) on Thursday March 19 2020, @02:58AM (#973036) Journal

      I bought several of these...

      https://www.hsn.com/products/motorola-moto-e5-57-16gb-tracfone-w8mp-camera-and-1500-/9389183 [hsn.com]

      $60 or so. Each comes with a years service. So far, they have been decent phones...my only gripe so far is a Miracast issue, which requires rooting the phone so I can flip a bit in a configuration file.

      I don't use the phone all that much, but I find it really handy for all the apps I can sideload into it. It takes the SanDisk 128GB TF card too.

      I think it's a wonderful thing for all the other things it will do...offline. Maps, mathcad, signal generator, oscilloscope, network diagnostics, pulse oximeter type thingies, and lots of other stuff. Star-Trek tricorder type stuff.

      --
      "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]