According to a recent report from NPD, price is not top of mind when buying a phone. The two foremost criteria are "having the desired capabilities" and "a flip-phone form factor." NPD says that's a sign of a mature market, since the end users have gotten past the dollar signs, however, NPD notes that "customers can certainly be de-motivated to purchase if a price is too high."
For more on the study:
- see this write-up from NPD