

Pass the costs along - mmackh
http://www.marco.org/2012/08/25/pass-the-costs-along

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chimi
> passing down the possible $20-per-handset fee [to consumers]

Let's be real. This is a drop in the bucket. $20 on a phone is not going to
make or break the deal when they cost hundreds to buy outright. Most of the
costs are absorbed by contracts and carriers will mostly eat the additional
costs. Consumers don't lose because of this deal. Overall, we are talking
about 1% of the cost of a phone over a 2-3 year contract -- pennies. Besides,
passing on the costs is exactly what _should_ happen. If consumers want the
goods, let them pay for them. You don't _need_ an iPhone. If you can't afford
the $20 difference between the iPhone and the other brand, then buy the iPhone
-- or choose the feature phone and get it for free! I say let Apple be
rewarded by having their phones cost $20 less. It's a small victory for having
revolutionized the mobile phone industry and given consumers a dramatically
better experience with mobile technology in general. There is one sure winner
in this and it's the consumer -- no doubt. Look at what they have in stores
now!

The real losers in this verdict, if there are any, are the companies that just
want to copy another company's innovations without the expense of research and
development. I'm not an Apple fanboy by any measure. I have a macbook pro, but
shifted to another maker for subsequent laptops and haven't got another apple
product, but I still applaud Apple for taking this to court. For proving the
value of research and development to the world. For insuring investments in
technology and progress will be justly rewarded and for showing those who
would rather let everyone else take those risks that their behavior won't
stand in a just court of law. You have _all_ been warned.

If you want to profit from a better world -- go create it! Innovate and design
a better planet. Don't wait for someone else to do it. Get creative. That's
exactly what Apple did and I'm glad they are being rewarded for that.

We need to reward more of that.

~~~
ZeroGravitas
Smartphones and tablets are getting cheaper all the time. Out of a $100
dollars paid by the end customer, $20 is a massive amount, especially as
there's a bunch of other costs to pay e.g. the alleged (but possibly mythical)
$15 to Microsoft.

