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Post by Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ on Feb 21, 2012 17:32:19 GMT -5
Fact of the Day: Even on Less Than $15,000 per Year, 56% of 18-24 Year Olds Have Smartphones MashableTech -- "When a twentysomething’s budget is tight, her smartphone is far from the first expense to go, suggests a new study from Nielsen. The survey of 20,000 U.S. mobile customers found that smartphone ownership skews toward the young and the wealthy — exactly as you’d expect. What is more surprising, however, is this nugget: smartphone penetration among young people in the lowest income bracket is higher than it is among older people in the wealthiest bracket. Among 18- to 24-year-olds, more than half of respondents who make less than $15,000 each year said they own a smartphone. This might be explained if the parents of many college-age students footing their children’s phone bills. Still, even in the next oldest, post-college age group, the percentage of those in the same income bracket who own a smartphone was a mere 13% lower. Making less than $15,000 in a year doesn’t stop 43% of these 25- to 34-year-old mobile customers from paying for a smartphone. Meanwhile, fewer than 20% of respondents older than 45 who make less than $15,000 said they owned a smartphone." mashable.com/2012/02/20/smartphones-young-people/
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Feb 21, 2012 17:35:04 GMT -5
Well, DD has one but she uses it for everything. She falls into that category, though. I am thinking, though, that, like DD, someone paid for it and pays the bill.
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Sum Dum Gai
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Post by Sum Dum Gai on Feb 21, 2012 17:38:44 GMT -5
We don't have a home phone, so I'd need to keep my cell to put on resumes and whatnot, but that doesn't mean I need a smart phone. A basic flip or slide phone with a keyboard is all you need for calls/texts. Technically you don't even need the full keyboard.
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cme1201
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Post by cme1201 on Feb 21, 2012 17:42:24 GMT -5
Who has two thumbs and no cell phone?
>>>THIS GUY<<<
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Sum Dum Gai
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Post by Sum Dum Gai on Feb 21, 2012 17:50:03 GMT -5
Because you have internet access some other way. Wifi is friggin everywhere. Stand in front of a Starbucks and surf to your hearts content. There's one on every other block. If you can't be bothered to walk the 50 feet to your nearest Starbucks do the same thing at McDonald, Dunkin Donuts, the nearest hotel lobby, etc., etc. If you live in the burbs you can probably go from one end of the housing development to the other surfing on open wireless networks. I haven't lived anywhere that I couldn't get at least one decent signal from the neighbors in years.
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Driftr
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Post by Driftr on Feb 21, 2012 17:50:39 GMT -5
Neither do I. That'll probably change when my kids get old enough to be carrying phones and we end up on some family plan though.
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billisonboard
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Post by billisonboard on Feb 21, 2012 21:11:59 GMT -5
... Among 18- to 24-year-olds, more than half of respondents who make less than $15,000 each year said they own a smartphone. ... I knew an 18 year old when I was stationed on Guam who couldn't afford a car with air conditioning. He drove with the windows up, sweating his ass off, rather than let anyone who might see him know he didn't have AC. I wonder how many either don't actually have the smart phone or don't have an active data plan to go with their "cool to flash" phone.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 21, 2012 21:15:03 GMT -5
I was a bit put off last month when a mom i know posted on fb that her 13 year old got an iphone for her birthday... her older son has an iphone and her oldest has an ipod touch in addition to his regular phone... Not a big deal, but i happen to know a local church had to donate recently to give them a new roof because there was literally a whole in the girls bedroom for months! ...
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Post by stayput on Feb 21, 2012 23:42:59 GMT -5
Fact of the Day: Even on Less Than $15,000 per Year, 56% of 18-24 Year Olds Have Smartphones Second fact: No where in the contract does it say that only smart people are allowed to purchase smart phones. Hence, please refer back to the first fact.
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billisonboard
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Post by billisonboard on Feb 21, 2012 23:52:18 GMT -5
Fact of the Day: Even on Less Than $15,000 per Year, 56% of 18-24 Year Olds claim to Have Smartphones ... fixed
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formerexpat
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Post by formerexpat on Feb 21, 2012 23:52:35 GMT -5
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billisonboard
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Post by billisonboard on Feb 21, 2012 23:57:48 GMT -5
Not even a possibility of one at $10.67 a month.
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zipity
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Post by zipity on Feb 22, 2012 8:58:08 GMT -5
Jump onto just about any wireless provider and you can usually find a "last year model" smartphone for free with a service contract. Given the social lives of most 18-24 year olds revolve around facebook I can understand why they are drawn to a smartphone. You notice from the stats that once they leave that age group the number who 'have' to have a smartphone drops. Personally, having had one for work for years, aside from getting email most smartphones are pretty useless. The iPhone and Droid phones are about the first generation that allow you to actually use the browser.
***Pet Peeve*** Why a company can force you to buy a data plan for a wifi enabled phone is beyond me. It pisses me off that you can buy an iPad without a carrier data plan but you can't buy a cell phone the same way. It should be my option to activate the phone service if I want but use they wifi source of my choice. This would probably change if they carriers didn't have their hands in the pockets of our politicians.
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workpublic
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Post by workpublic on Feb 22, 2012 9:07:17 GMT -5
and they also use "no contract" services like boost mobile and metro pcs. imho, it's the new paradigm in cell phone use.
you buy the phone and pay a standard monthly fee for unlimited talk text and web. instead of getting the phone for free and being stuck with a contract for two years with higher prices for service.
my plan starts at $55+tax(about $4) a month and "shrinks" to $45+tax a month after a year or so.
every month the bill is the same. you can add as you go or do a monthly plan(to get the "shrinkage")
check them out. even the majors are offering "no contract" service now. it's all the rage with the "smart money" in the NY metro area. ;-)
my Samsung Transform Ultra 3G Smart phone cost me $250. there were a lot of cheaper options for phones.
so if you want a low cost "everything" plan and don't need the latest 4G droid smart phone, look into a "no contract" plan.
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floridayankee
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Post by floridayankee on Feb 22, 2012 9:23:28 GMT -5
$1.6bn / 12.5m = $128 per account. I'm not surprised that lower income people have smart phones; we're paying for them to have one...or maybe more than one. Chances are, $128/year is a regular plan, not a data plan for a smartphone. If there is a company offering a data plan for $10.66/month, I want the name because I'll be signing up first thing in the morning.
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dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on Feb 22, 2012 10:11:24 GMT -5
We have a family plan and we pay for my mom's phone (she wouldn't have one otherwise). When DH retires, we'll pay less than $75 a month for the three of us and more minutes than we can use. We don't text. I just can't justify the monthly expense for iPhones for us. We both have laptops and Wifi at home.
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formerroomate99
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Post by formerroomate99 on Feb 22, 2012 11:07:55 GMT -5
Lonewolf, even when the minutes for a prepaid phone expire, paying $25 every 3 months is a heck of a lot cheaper than any plan I've ever seen. DH and I went over to the dark side with prepaid years ago.
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formerroomate99
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Post by formerroomate99 on Feb 22, 2012 11:17:58 GMT -5
Oh, and don't believe ATT when they tell you they'll port your number. It is an outright lie. Nobody ports numbers. But on the flip side, you can get a cheap refurbished phone for as low as $10.
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Feb 22, 2012 11:18:50 GMT -5
So - basically we are all shocked that young people have expensive technology that we didn't need when we were kids?
I remember specifically when I was in college, I had one year where my telephone bill was about $100 every month. And that was like 89/90. And my income was less than $15k - and I got far, far less out of it than I do from our smart phone, which costs about the same amount. I guess I'm not finding it that big of a deal.
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Feb 22, 2012 11:19:54 GMT -5
Really? We moved from Sprint to T-Mobile to Verizon and kept the same number. Granted that was 5 years ago. Did they stop doing that?
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swamp
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Post by swamp on Feb 22, 2012 11:21:48 GMT -5
So - basically we are all shocked that young people have expensive technology that we didn't need when we were kids? I remember specifically when I was in college, I had one year where my telephone bill was about $100 every month. And that was like 89/90. And my income was less than $15k - and I got far, far less out of it than I do from our smart phone, which costs about the same amount. I guess I'm not finding it that big of a deal. Considering a smart phone is used as a phone, for web access, an alarm clock, a calendar, for texting, and playing music, it seems pretty cost efficient.
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billisonboard
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Post by billisonboard on Feb 22, 2012 11:25:09 GMT -5
... I guess I'm not finding it that big of a deal. At 43 it isn't surprise. But if you practice, you can get there sooner rather than later. First thing when you get up each morning say three times, "GD kids these days." Do the same before you go to bed each night. Before you know it, this will be you:
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swasat
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Post by swasat on Feb 22, 2012 11:26:21 GMT -5
Really? We moved from Sprint to T-Mobile to Verizon and kept the same number. Granted that was 5 years ago. Did they stop doing that? Thye still port numbers. I moved from Verizon to ATT last year. Same number. Have had the same number for the last 8 years. Moved the landline from Vonage to Verizon 4 months ago. Again, same number.
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Feb 22, 2012 11:30:59 GMT -5
LOL - bill - I'll work on that.
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cme1201
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Post by cme1201 on Feb 22, 2012 11:43:21 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Feb 22, 2012 12:04:57 GMT -5
From what I have seen the smart phones are not indicitive of income but certainly belong the the gottahaveitnow generation. Who seem to be able to afford smart phones, laptops, ipads and designer clothes but cannot pay back their student loans because they just can't find a job good enough for them.
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formerroomate99
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Post by formerroomate99 on Feb 22, 2012 12:45:52 GMT -5
From what I have seen the smart phones are not indicitive of income but certainly belong the the gottahaveitnow generation. Who seem to be able to afford smart phones, laptops, ipads and designer clothes but cannot pay back their student loans because they just can't find a job good enough for them. Some of it may be that. But if you're in a stage of life where your living situation is unstable, it makes sense to have your phone and computer in your pocket rather than at that crappy apartment you only go to to sleep, where it can get stolen by your roomate's scumbag boyfriend.
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formerroomate99
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Post by formerroomate99 on Feb 22, 2012 12:49:22 GMT -5
Really? We moved from Sprint to T-Mobile to Verizon and kept the same number. Granted that was 5 years ago. Did they stop doing that? Thye still port numbers. I moved from Verizon to ATT last year. Same number. Have had the same number for the last 8 years. Moved the landline from Vonage to Verizon 4 months ago. Again, same number. They'll port numbers if you are on a plan. I kept the same number switching between plans on different companies. But if you're going from a plan to a prepaid thing, the rules are different. ATT was the only carrier in my area that claimed they would port my number, but as soon as the grace period was over, they disabled my phone while it still had money on it, gave my phone number to somebody else, and it took hours on the phone to get a new phone number for my phone.
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mmhmm
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Post by mmhmm on Feb 22, 2012 12:59:25 GMT -5
Some businesses supply smart phones to certain employees. Our hospital does. Frankly, as far as I'm concerned they could have kept the darned thing.
As far as I know, most providers will port numbers for you. I don't think I've heard of any who won't.
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billisonboard
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Post by billisonboard on Feb 22, 2012 13:09:52 GMT -5
Thye still port numbers. I moved from Verizon to ATT last year. Same number. Have had the same number for the last 8 years. Moved the landline from Vonage to Verizon 4 months ago. Again, same number. They'll port numbers if you are on a plan. I kept the same number switching between plans on different companies. But if you're going from a plan to a prepaid thing, the rules are different. ATT was the only carrier in my area that claimed they would port my number, but as soon as the grace period was over, they disabled my phone while it still had money on it, gave my phone number to somebody else, and it took hours on the phone to get a new phone number for my phone. When you fall out of grace, .....
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