This article is right about one thing: people do seem to put too much importance on the upfront cost. I see things like the latest gen iPhone is $99 upfront and the previous generation is $49. For $50 you get older hardware that will be obsolete a year earlier... for something that'll probably cost you up to $2000 (or more) over 2 years anyway.
I think your conclusion is valid but that particular anecdote is pointless. If a customer is willing to pay $50 less up front for a cell phone, then chances are any hardware obsolescence isn't going to be particularly noticable.