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Comment by nerfhammer | Hacker News Reader

Most people do not own smartphones. So the majority of customers don't need a large upfront investment to get a portable phone.

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Smartphones are only getting cheaper. My smartphone is an LG Optimus V, which was $150 without a contract (but it's bound to Virgin Mobile, a prepaid carrier). By my estimation the phone is all-around better than a 3G iPhone. Obviously I probably got the phone somewhere near at-cost (considering how hard the RadioShack employees push you against buying it) but smartphones will be dirt cheap soon enough.

I've been having problems with my Optimus V through Virgin Mobile.

It crashes in call (total power off); data availability hasn't been stable (I would say about once a week I have significant issues where I won't be able to use email, a browser, etc. for the entire day); maps/GPS is iffy; I think there are some interface design flaws.*

I used to have an iPhone 3G. I thought it was great.

I switched to VM for the plan -- $25/month for 300 minutes, unlimited text and data ($40/month for 1200 minutes).

Honestly, though, these problems haven't really bothered me too much. I've found that for $25 or $40 a month it's fine with me if the experience isn't "perfect".

*My friend also experiences these same problems

I have Optimus V running AOSP Android 2.3( custom rom ) and it runs amazingly, underclocks when not in use , overclocks when using, great battery life and responsiveness. For the value of the phone and not being on a contract its an amazing deal.

I also have the VM Optimus V and the main issue I see is losing data connectivity occasionally then the phone not being able to get back onto the data network. However, turning airplane mode on then off usually gets things working again.

The problem is how Virgin Mobile implemented data with Android, not the phone itself. People who have the Samsung Android phone have the same issue.

Search #vmdd (Virgin Mobile Data Down) on Twitter and follow the fun.

that's my phone as well. no problems so far. $150 up-front cost is great. but mostly i like the $25/month no-contract with unlimited data/text/web. i really wanted the Dell Streak, but that was a $75/month MINIMUM contract

By my estimation the phone is all-around better than a 3G iPhone.

The Optimus V is a late 2010 phone. My iPhone 3G is from 2008 and hasn't been sold by Apple for a full generation. Your comparison doesn't really make sense.

Yes it does. It's 2-year old technology at commodity prices. That's an important observation.

That's a good point. Thanks. But featurephones are also subsidized, aren't they?

Yes. They're usually free on a contract.

Not that they're that expensive new. But if portability was easy there would even be an omnipresent resale market for used phones, so even boring phones retain resale value, as is common in other countries.

They're about 25 dollars no-strings-attached at Target.

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