Skip to main content

Infographic: The shrinking price of mobile

Those old enough will recall the days when a mobile phone really wasn’t that mobile at all, requiring a trolley to push the giant block around and a winch to lift it to your face. Thank goodness those days are long gone, and with every new mobile device comes a slew of new features, with each model better value for money than the last.

A neat little infographic, which first appeared on the savings.com blog, gives some great examples of just how much technology has progressed in the last three decades.

Called The Shrinking Price of Mobile, it focuses on how consumers get more features for their buck with the passing of time, beginning with the foot-long $3,995 Motorola DynaTAC 8000X that could do little more than make calls (with its one-hour talk time). Oh, you could store up to 30 numbers on it, too. Weighing in at two pounds, you could also give your arm a workout every time you wanted to use it.

The infographic ends with the mobile phone of 2020. Priced at around $200, it expects that the device of tomorrow will come with even longer battery life, e-payment support and better graphics, together with all of the other features we enjoy today. But as savings.com points out, it’s not all good news for our wallet, as while the cost of phones comes down, the increasing number of features on the phones helps to ensure that the monthly bills stay high.

The Shrinking Cost of Mobile Phone Technology

Editors' Recommendations

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
Fitbit Sense 2, Fitbit Charge 6 just got handsome price cuts
The Fitbit Sense 2 in moss.

If you're thinking about getting a fitness tracker or a health-focused smartwatch, you should be looking for Fitbit deals. Fitbit's wearable devices will help you keep an eye on your overall well-being, and you can get a couple of them with discounts from Best Buy. The Fitbit Charge 6 is $20 off, lowering its price to just $140 from $160, and the Fitbit Sense 2 is on sale at $50 off for a more affordable $200 from $250. You're going to have to act fast if you want to take advantage of either of these offers though, because there's no telling when they expire. If you want the Fitbit Charge 6 or the Fitbit Sense 2 on your wrist for cheaper than usual, make your purchase right now.
Fitbit Charge 6 -- $140, was $160

Fitbit Sense 2 -- $200, was $250

Read more
How to cancel a Twitch subscription on desktop or mobile
The Twitch desktop app.

There comes a time in every online gamer’s life when one must move on from platforms once cherished. Beyond PlayStation Plus and Xbox Game Pass, one of the premiere gaming content meccas is Twitch. Built from the ground up to give players the world over a community forum to live-stream through, it’s the kind of content hub that’s great when you want it, but maybe one of the first things you want to walk away from when you’re taking a break from your PC and consoles.

Read more
Mint Mobile free trial: Get a week of free cellular service
Mint mobile banner image.

Mint is considered one of the best prepaid phone plans — It offers access to T-Mobile's 5G network, lets you prepay for months at a time for lower-cost service, and works with some of the best smartphones on Earth. It's also one of the best MVNOs, which means a Mobile Virtual Network Operator using another provider's network. You may recognize it for its popular and particularly well-liked spokesman, Ryan Reynolds. But soon, you'll also recognize it for something else, reasonable costs, and dare we say, its exceptional free trial. If you haven't guessed already, we're going to talk about the Mint Mobile free trial in a little more detail below, but if you'd rather get started, and give it a try right this instant, you can always do that, too.

Is there a Mint Mobile free trial?

Read more