According to a personal technology column in the Wall Street Journal, as smartphones have increased in size, several firms, including PopSockets, have begun making grips that make it less likely that you will drop your phone: “There are two parts: an adhesive base that sticks to my phone, and the accordion-style top that expands so I can wrap my fingers around it, then pops back down when I’m done.”
a. Are PopSockets and similar products substitutes for or complements to smartphones? Briefly explain.
b. Suppose that the price of smartphones declines. Use a demand and supply graph of the market for phone grips to show the effect on the equilibrium price and quantity. Be sure that your graph shows the equilibrium price and quantity before and after the decline in the price of smartphones.