What makes some cell phones worth ten times others?

It's all based on your own personal wants. There are people of all ages who will buy an iphone for a variety of reasons. There are others who don't have a smart phone at all. And there are many who have something in between.

Just like there are different RVs for different people. Buy what works for you and don't worry about "what you're missing".

Back in the day, I spent a lot of money trying to keep up with the computer industry. Obsolescence is a way of life in the electronics world. That is why I buy a low cost phone occasionally as I feel like the software is ahead of the hardware in most cases. I do not want to see "This app will not run on your phone because your phone is too old" message.

"What makes some cell phones worth ten times others?"

Nothing.

watch out though in a few years you will be able to take someones picture and the phone will tell who the person is and everything about them. the police are already doing it with there license plate scanners.

Some of you guys are making me feel somewhat extravagant! I spent $215 on my Sony phone this summer. (It replaced an iPhone 3Gs.) I wanted something more reliable than average so I read a ton of reviews. But when I went to look at my top candidates, the final deciding factors were the look of the display and feel of the case (not as slippery as many phones).

Occasionally I need to use my phone for processing credit cards with a swipe dongle; Paypal and Square apps no longer supported the 3Gs' software and it couldn't be upgraded further. Otherwise, the phone (although pathetically slow to load web pages) was still humming along.

when you start getting the "this app is not compatible with your phone" warning when you want to download a app. that's what the more expensive phones are good for. my 4 year old expensive phone is warning me on many apps now. the cheaper phones do not have the capabilities of using a lot of the apps. even my banking app will not work on my older phones. most people call it a phone but they have the capability of doing so much more just the internet in my pocket and the answer to any question i have and the fantastic movie and still camera quality is worth the extra expense on a phone that will do what i want it to.

I have a Samsung S4
It does everything i need and want
But there is the quality factor of higher price phones that has not been discussed here
iPhones Samsung and other higher cost phones, have a mfg quality in the case, glass, display and other components, that is not in the $7 phone

It's not all bling, thou a big part of the buy appeal is the bling

Snob appeal... My daddy only buys me the best...

Snob appeal... My daddy only buys me the best...

Everyone has their own valuation for these things.

In comparison to OP, who says he buys a new $100 phone 2-3 times a year, I bought a top of the line Samsung 4 years ago. It's still just fine. I think I spent less, and I've got a high end machine (for a while).