The iPhone is already a Veblen good in the Chinese market where it is losing market shares as Chinese companies produce increasing competitive lower-priced rivals. Apple's strategy is not to compete for the bottom end or even middle but to focus on the top. It's called "positioning" in marketing. American-made, like German-made, is also positioning.
Nokia is re-launching one of its old phones: the 3310 I think. All you do with it is . . . wait for it . . . make phone calls!!! That'll do me. It's called the "dummie phone", but I'm not bothered.
ReplyDeleteEdward Snowden recommends using a dumb phone if one is interested in security and privacy. Smartphones are boobytrapped.
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