I Still Don't Get The Phone Thing

Google unveiled its new "Pixel" line of Android smart phones today. The cheapest one goes for $649  seems to be the same price as an Apple iPhone 7.

My own phone is a Samsung S6. It's an Android phone like the Pixel that goes for "only" $400 dollars or so.

The only reason I own the Samsung is that one of the places I do contract work for was willing to pay for the phone and the phone bill (I can do stuff with it while out of the house, including setting it up as a Wi-Fi hotspot for my computer if they need something that can't wait until I get home). I don't even want to know how much they pay per month to keep the thing running (I do try to have a light footprint on data usage, etc.).

I like the phone. It has improved my life in various measurable ways. But when I have to pay for my own phone, I grab a Tracfone flip phone and buy a $20 card every three months. I might hate to do without the cool Android stuff, but not so much that I'd pay what the market seems to be saying it's worth for it.

It boggles my mind that people spend more on a phone than they would on a pretty decent desktop or laptop computer, then top that off with monthly charges that don't come to much, if any, less than the cost a good high-speed cable Internet access plan. Can anyone explain to me how that really makes sense?

My daughter has an Android phone -- a cheapo machine she grabbed for $50 or so and only uses over Wi-Fi for chatting and gaming and such. For actual phone service, she inherited my old $10 Tracfone and $6.77 per month bill.