Quote from: ravenjt on November 04, 2014, 01:16:21 PM

Quote from: Roy Badami on November 04, 2014, 12:57:38 PM

Quote from: exocytosis on October 31, 2014, 11:33:23 PM

The Average Joe immediately saw utility in mobile phones

BTW as an early adopter who lived through some of those early mobile technology years I can tell you that the average person did not see the utility in mobile phones back in 1992 when I bought my first (analogue) mobile phone. They were perceived as expensive to buy, expensive to use, battery life was poor, and most people frankly couldn't see the point. In fact, most people back then saw mobile phones as the preserve of high earning bankers - and of drug dealers.

That's not my recollection of 1992. Everyone saw the benefits of mobile phones, it's just that they couldn't afford them at that time. I certainly coveted my friend's mobile in 1992. Mobiles have spread around the world as their utility is so obvious.

People didn't perceive them as having sufficient utility to justify the expense. And the reality is that by 1992 they were starting to become affordable - they just weren't perceived as such. I think my first phone has actually nearly free on a contract that cost me something like £30 a month, which is pretty much in the same ballpark as what many people pay today.

It's not that phones have got a lot cheaper, but that people's perception of those costs, and of the utility, has changed enourmously.

roy