Why Yes I’m Becoming One Of Those Apple People
March 4, 2011 | Filed under Life, Money
…yes, I’ve become one of those people who own an iPhone. Watch out world, next thing you know I’ll be wearing black framed hipster glasses and sipping double mocha skinny soy latte cappucinos in a trendy cafe while discussing the significance of Plath’s relationship with Hughes on her work. Or Marcel Proust. On a more serious note, I made the decision to move to an iPhone for a number of reasons.
First of all, my 24 month plan was coming to an end and I was eligible for a handset upgrade. My Nokia E63 had served me well, but it’s now pretty beat up – one of the control keys had actually popped off which made navigating the phone somewhat difficult!
Secondly, I actually needed to upgrade my phone plan from a $29 cap to a $49 cap. I was finding that I was regularly spending over my cap limit, and paying a much higher amount. Moving permanently to a higher monthly cap with a greater call allowance meant that I would save money in the long run as there wouldn’t be months where I get slapped with a phone bill reaching three figures.
Thirdly, my iPod (gifted about five years ago from an ex ex ex boyfriend after a fight) needed to be repaired. The earphone jack is ‘broken’ so that no matter what ear buds I use, music only comes out of the right ear bud, giving me a nauseating sense of vertigo. The repair was quoted by the Apple centre in the multiple three figures – it would have been cheaper to buy a new music player, or a phone with the capacity to play a lot of music, instead of repairing the old one.
Fourthly, I had been contemplating purchasing an iPad as a computer substitute. I only have one computer – and that’s a laptop provided to me by work. It’s becoming unfeasible to take my laptop to and from work every day, so I needed some sort of a light weight device to browse the internet on at home. Having an iPhone means I can browse the internet comfortably when lounging on the couch, and also frees up my finances to build a small and cheap desktop system to use in the office for more heavy duty internet use.
I know all the above is really nothing more than me trying to convince myself that I was justified in purchasing an iPhone 4. With the $49 plan, I pay an extra $14 a month for the 32gb version. Over the 24 month contract, I’ll be paying $1176 for phone use, and $336 for the phone itself. Technically cheaper than the $1000 that Apple charges for the handset alone…but still quite a bit!
Now excuse me while I go and listen to some indie alternative music and plan a retro-inspired outfit.
10 Responses to Why Yes I’m Becoming One Of Those Apple People
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Are you suggesting that there is something wrong with indie/alternative music… :(
Aside from that, I quite like my iPod Touch, but I’m not sure I’d get an iPhone… the battery life seems a bit short. Although this might be due to my habit of refreshing Twitter all the time. Which would become even MORE of a habit if I had 3G and thus Twitter access on the train :P So yeah, even though one of my friends is pressuring me to get an Android-powered smartphone (Android being superior, according to him :p) I’m clinging on to my beautiful “Walkman” phone that does not actually have any kind of Walkman capability any more due to the memory card not registering :’)
Jess on March 4, 2011 #
If you’re planning to do office work and browse the net (and maybe play some casual games), a custom build computer might actually pretty cheap for you. 0.0 Super high-end gaming computers end up being over $1000 I noticed and my mid-build was around $600-700 (it can run some games at high settings, while others like Mass Effect 2…not so much),
Noellium on March 5, 2011 #
I’m planning on getting an iPhone when my current contract runs out in about a year. I’ve had an iPod Touch for around 3 years now, and I love it. I get that it’s not for everyone, and a lot of people prefer Blackberries, but I honestly LOVE my iPod and would love it even more if it had texting/calling/3G capabilities.
iPhones are a bit pricey, but they have come down in price and in my opinion it’s worth it. It depends on the person, for sure, but I personally wouldn’t mind the higher price. Hopefully yours is worth it to you!
Clem on March 5, 2011 #
The thing about us having the same phone (e63), which we both got at the same-ish time, is that I’m going to the shops today to buy myself an iphone because my e63 is also on the brink of phone death. And Apple is worth it, you’ll love the phone!
I enjoy our synchronised lives :D
Alexandra on March 5, 2011 #
Welcome to the dark side :P
Seriously though, I find the iphone extremely handy, particularly when travelling, as it means I don’t need to carry a full size computer with me, and I still have access to email, maps etc.
Probably my number one complaint is the battery life – I do need to charge it each and every night. But, to be fair, I’ve never had a device where I can (and do!) listen to music, surf the net, lookup maps, tweet, facebook, take photos AND use as a phone – all of those activities have to impact on the battery life. Also, I’ve noticed that they only seem to have a lifespan of about a year and a half – the one I have now is starting to play up, it’s been nearly a year. My previous one pretty much died at about 18 months old. Friend’s have had similar issues.
Amanda – you could have got an 8gb for free! (Just got one for dad – 24 month contract with telstra, 2GB internet, $49 cap, no handset repayments on an 8gb).
Bobbi on March 5, 2011 #
Better be really careful, or there’s gonna be a big slice out of this next month’s pie chart, tagged “iPhone App Store.”
Welcome to the club though. I’m actually on my second iPhone and can’t imagine life without it anymore!
Meli on March 5, 2011 #
Goodness, that’s insanely expensive! Mine was something like $250 USD and part of my dad’s AT&T plan. I guess they charge outrageous amounts for imported technology; it seems like it was crazy priced in India as well.
I do love my iPhone, though, it’s quite useful! A bit of a problem actually since I can now check my email immediately after waking up instead of dealing with my laptop and all its accessories!
TWD on March 6, 2011 #
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MACs have their purpose and are pretty much just awesome. I’m just too used to using a PC however. :)
FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com on March 25, 2011 #
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