

iPhone 3G. Awful performance, even worse battery life, no multitasking, next to no storage space, couldn’t do shit without iTunes, and even with iTunes the options were severely limited. Overpriced locked down piece of shit. Streamlined UI was pretty much the only good thing about it. Got an android phone not long after and it was like night and day.
I used to do the same, and for stationary PCs, that’s still my recommendation. Sure, some might actually need bleeding edge stuff for for some specific niche high performance thing, but for most people that’s a waste of money.
The only exception is for laptops. I rely on laptops as I’m often on the go, and I’ve generally had better results when going high end (within reason) than going mid-tier.