By all accounts it's a good thing, since it lets those with lower budgets still get the device, and yet still allows the manufacturer to make a profit.
You want to make a device for every price point your customers are willing to pay.
Cars do it too - those extras you can pay for don't cost anywhere near as much as you pay, they are simply there to make extra profit.
That's why you have the high/mid/low models of virtually every device, and the price difference is not anywhere near the performance difference (look at intel CPUs for example).
When you go to a car wash do you really think that extra shine/wax/whatever spray really costs that much? It doesn't, it's simply a way to make a little extra from those who are willing to spend it.
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This is simply called segmented prices http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price_discrimination
By all accounts it's a good thing, since it lets those with lower budgets still get the device, and yet still allows the manufacturer to make a profit.
You want to make a device for every price point your customers are willing to pay.
Cars do it too - those extras you can pay for don't cost anywhere near as much as you pay, they are simply there to make extra profit.
That's why you have the high/mid/low models of virtually every device, and the price difference is not anywhere near the performance difference (look at intel CPUs for example).
When you go to a car wash do you really think that extra shine/wax/whatever spray really costs that much? It doesn't, it's simply a way to make a little extra from those who are willing to spend it.