If you place a frog in water and start to boil it, it'll sit there until it'll perish - if you take a frog and throw it in boiling water, it'll jump right away out of the bowl to safety...

Are we, as consumers, in the same boat as the frog experiment? Who in their right mind would spend $1400 on a organizer / phone device that a few years ago was topping $500 and was doing same cutting edge of the moment things?!

This is really mind boggling how far we've come as to prices, even some laptops don't cost that much.

Do regular people actually buy these phones at original retail value any more, given this exorbitant pricing?

Financially, it's madness, as the value of the phone plummets within 4 months, by which time a newer and often only marginally better model is released. You're better off waiting 4-6 months and buying the phone at 2/3 of the price, or even 1/2, if you're willing to settle for the previous generation.

I'm guessing the argumentation would be:
1) It is lighter
2) It is less slippery
3) Majority will be putting a case

So ultimate goal would be to make it lighter. People may take time to put a case on their new device, so by making it less slippery in those first crucial days, there would also be less cases of damage.

Overall I don't mind it being plastic, as long as it remains durable.