[rdtsc]

> are they actually suggesting someone would be better off with a Android, Blackberry or Windows 7 phone?

It seems your comment is based on a flawed assumption that all these consumer devices should be evaluated in a vacuum where price, app markets, & previous corporate adoption doesn't matter.

iPhones where historically really expensive devices. And price is one of the features of the device just like camera resolution is. So it is a bit like saying "Can't people see that a Lexus is a much better car than a Honda Civic? Why are reviews for a Honda Civic better sometimes than reviews for a Lexus, I don't get it !?"

[masklinn]

> iPhones where historically really expensive devices.

No. Smartphones are historically really expensive devices. Year before the iPhone was released, I had a Eseries Nokia phone, it was something like 500€ out of carriers (and few carriers had it, Eseries are enterprise/corporate phones), unsubsidized Nseries phones ("comsumer" smartphones, usually with a 10key and more multimedia features instead of the full qwerty keyboard of Eseries) were the same price.

When the original iPhone was released, it was not expensive, it was unsubsidized.

[rdtsc]

> When the original iPhone was released, it was not expensive, it was unsubsidized.

Which made it 'seem' expensive to an average consumer. Yes, they end up spending that money by being locked into a contract for 2 years, but they at least see it as a cheaper option.

[BlazingFrog]

He didn't say it was the best value on the smartphone market. He said it was (in his opinion) the best smartphone.

Not sure how price qualifies as a feature considering prices may change based on time, geography, carrier choice and other factors.

No matter how you look at it, a Lexus is a better car than a Honda Civic. You, as a customer, may not assign the same value to the actual features as a different customer may is the only difference.

[rdtsc]

I just see value as one of the features. Even reviewers who get the device for free will probably have an idea on what it would cost and thus have correspondingly higher expectations of it.

To continue with my stupid exampel, if I am asked to review a Lexus, I will end up reviewing it differently perhaps because I expect more. Heated seats not working well enough -- taking points off. Even in a comparison review some of this bias will leak in.