How Mustachian is it to succumb to buying a crappier product at a higher price, just because a commercial told you to?
How Mustachian is it to buy a cheap product based on price that won't last very long, costs you more time, hassle and has almost ZERO resale value after a short time of ownership?
This is like arguing that I should eat twinkies because it's cheaper than eating organic. No long term thought or evaluation on outcome is done, instead and immediate decision based on price is made.
That's exactly how unmustachian people buy things, they think their being thrifty, but in the end they still spend more.
The hardware and price comparisons, though, are pretty easy to quantify. Android phones are consistently less expensive for better hardware, and I'm having a hard time finding a way to argue with those numbers. Hell, my htc evo is almost two years old and still has better hardware than the newest iphones. In smartphone evolution time, 2 years is like an epoch.
I'll quantify it for you.
Are we talking on or off contract? My phone cost me $250.00 (32gb on contract) the 16gb was $150.00 on contract. Your phone was $199.99 on 2-year contract with eligible discounts. $449.99 before discounts. Hmm... doesn't look cheaper.
Those comparisons on the surface are all gloss.
Let's take your EVO and compare it to my iPhone 4
If you're reasoning is 4G makes it superior alone, that's snuff as it's not available everywhere yet. And it certainly wasn't 2 years ago when that phone first came out on SPRINT of all networks. Wouldn't do me any good in my location now either. The processor is the same speed at 1ghz, the memory is the same, storage capacity is less, but yours is upgradable to what mine is by default (32gb). Your battery life is worse, your screen might be larger, but the quality isn't as impressive with less resolution and TFT LCD, please, that's old school at best. Should I dig out the Gizmodo review?
I'll give you points for higher MP camera's but MP's aren't everything, better sensors on the iPhone.
I won't pick on the software too much, but what version are you stuck at? The last update pushed for your phone was in June 2011. I know my manufacture will continue to support my phone with regular updates for at least another 2 years. I dont' have to worry about my carrier jacking up that process like I would if I owned an Android device, or having my phone loaded with crapware. Some android owners never get any updates at all. If this wasn't a problem, fragmentation of the Android platform wouldn't be written about so much.
(And please do not respond telling me about how you load custom roms and have your phone rooted. Mine is jailbroken, and that point goes to us nerds, we are like 2% of the population, so it's not a fair subject to bring up. Average Joe isn't going to be loading custom roms on his rooted Android.)
EVO is made out of plastic.
You could make the argument of the antennae problem I suppose. Although the EVO had screen problems with the first ones they shipped, oh yeah and the battery life sucked.
Your phone is thicker and heavier.
We could discuss warranty too. Both come with 1yr, except I only had to pay $65 to extend mine to 3 years which I can do again and again. And while you could argue for carrier insurance that will replace your phone, you'll be stuck with some carrier tech for any problems, while I can get my phone serviced quickly for free by someone who actually knows what they are doing at any Apple store in the country. I can get my questions answered, etc. Hell I think that's a huge win right there.
Should I mention long term resale value???
Is that quantified enough?
This is like arguing that the Corvette is superior to the Porsche because it has the same performance characteristics and is cheaper.