>RE: I'm still trying to figure out why smart phones cost as much as >laptops.
>What's a plausible justification for it? Smart phones are
>ubiquitous now, so why are people still being charged these
>exorbitant prices as if it's brand spanking new technology?
>
>Laptops have bigger screens, more hard drive space, more RAM,
>etc, etc and you can do more with them. The only thing smart
>phones have over them is that their portability is more
>convenient betwixt the two.
>
>Smart phones being smaller means less materials are being used
>yet these things cost just as much (or more depending on the
>brand) than laptops.

Anything under $950 doesn't count as a laptop. <-- Yes, I'm bougie. With that said, manufacturing, designing, marketing, distribution, and software costs drive up the price of a smartphone. High end smartphones such as the iphone 6, LG G3, Saygus V2, etc. don't cost as much as a full spec 15 inch retina macbook so in one respect you're wrong. The market regulates itself and customers have shown that anything above $998 is too much for a smartphone.

People spend $5,000 and $10,000 a year on clothes. People drop $180 to thousands of dollars a night in clubs so this point is moot. SPOILER ALERT: we buy stuff we don't need all the time. It's not overpriced relative to function and value

I'll take an LG G3/iphone 6+ over a 2003-2010 budget laptop in terms of functionality.