Why I'm not buying an iPhone

The Apple iPhone 4 has just been released. Lots of my spendthrift friends have got iPhones and they seem to love the device. I decided to do my research, and look into getting a new phone. When researching the Internet, I came across a comment by someone who said: “I used to think that iPhones were for those that wanted to show off but I know now, that people use them because they are a life tool that will do anything you want it to do.” This made me think that iPhones might have an excellent capacity for changing the way that people live.

The iPhone is a type of smart-phone. I have a nice cheap normal pay as you go mobile phone which can cost me as little as £5 per month to run. In contrast, I know many people who regularly pay in excess of £100 per month for their mobile phone bill. I decided to look into buying a smartphone.

When thinking of upgrading my phone, I realized my options were:

1. Leave everything as it is and  just stick with my current phone.
2. Buy a net book in order to experience Internet on the move. These small portable computers are the best way to experience mobile Internet, with better web-surfing and battery life than top of the range smart-phones. The downside is that they are physically much bigger.
3. Use or upgrade existing separate devices, to take on the same functions, i.e normal phone, normal camera, mp3 player. This option is a bit fiddly carrying around so many devices.
4. Get a new low budget smart-phone
5. Buy a new expensive  top of the range smartphone.

Reasons to buy a smartphone:

1. Consolidation of devices such as camera, mp3 player, phone, PDA, laptop. A smartphone can do it all.
2. Internet surfing capabilities.
3. Ability to read pdf files and edit documents
4. More phone memory.

Reasons not to buy an iPhone:

1. A new version of the iPhone might be released next year. Lots of people who have already spent lots of money to buy the previous version will be spending more money to upgrade to the latest hardware.
2. If you lose it, or it gets stolen, you have to buy another (unless you also get expensive insurance).
3. Apple are selling "bumpers" which look like colored elastic bands which go around the phone for fashion purposes. They are selling them for £25 each, yet they should only cost a few pennies to produce! This is an example of how Apple mark up their products very highly, for the hyper consumers among us.
4. There's additional accessories which iPhone consumers might want to buy, such as special headphones, fashionable covers and cases, docking units, etc. They are optional but potentially add to the expense.
5. All of my "broke" friends seem to have an iPhone. What's that all about? Its one of the most expensive phones on the market yet the very people who should never even be considering buying one are the ones who have them.
6. Many software applications for sale at Apples "App" Store. Games and apps mainly cost money. This means that its too easy to keep shelling out money with just a few taps of your fingers.
7. iPhones are not perfect, and they experience problems such as the case overheating, and poor battery life.

If I got an iPhone, it would go against everything I have so far  practiced concerning wealth building. I tried to convince myself that an iPhone would be an affordable luxury for me (which it is), but the fact is that when I looked at what I could actually use it for, the cost just seems too high for me. I the end I decided I would not be an "iClone" like everybody else. Let them play on their expensive iPhones while I focus my income on wealth building. I accept the iPhone is a good piece of kit, but I have to stay true to my wealth building plan, and that meant going for a cheaper more economical option.

I actually spent hours agonizing and researching over whether I should buy an iPhone. My whole philosophy, actions and purchases should echo that of the frugal millionaires in the book ""The Millionaire Next Door". If I did buy an iPhone it would go against everything I have come to believe about wealth creation and I would see it as saving all that money just so I can give it to Apple and Steve Jobs. It would feel nice to have a high end product such as the iPhone, but I know I would come to resent it due to it's cost, as If I'm honest, it would mainly be for keeping up with the Joneses.

Smart phones are just another excuse to spend more money. Lots of time and money is spent on these phones, goofing around on Facebook etc, which could instead be used for building wealth. Research of current phones showed me that no phone is perfect, all have some type of flaw, e.g Blackberries do crash and friends of mine who have them, say it is common for these top-end smartphones to regularly reboot themselves. iPhones have short battery lives, etc.

I did buy a smart-phone after all, but a low end one. I got the Nokia E63 black, which is basically a cheap Blackberry clone with above average end user ratings. It's got a lot of the functions of top end smartphones, at a fraction of the cost. It's not perfect, but no phone is, not even the iPhone.

I got the Nokia E63 smartphonecarphone warehouse currently shows you can get the cheapest equivalent iPhone 4 deal (16GB version, 300 minutes), for £30 per month, on the Vodaphone Network, and you pay an extra £30 for the phone. In reality, iPhone users will probably go for the more expensive price plans and could end up paying £50 or more per month. That's OK if you can afford it, but I bet lots will sink further into debt as a result.

To me the iPhone is another costly status symbol which won't add that much to my life. I can reproduce lots of its capabilities by buying a cheaper smart-phone, and save a bucket load of money in the process. Yes it is a compromise, but that is the nature of frugality. Let my broke friends enjoy their iPhones, I'm going to keep focusing on wealth building.