Lol the comments on that article made me happy... happy to not be one of those people. Our ignorant statements about "build quality", etc. are WAY more sophisticated...
Seriously though, here's the thing... OF COURSE IT COSTS MORE!!! It's more than 3x the device! WAY better processor, NFC, double the RAM, almost double the battery capacity, way bigger screen with much higher pixel density... everything about this thing is more expensive. The fact that it's not 2-3x the cost is actually lending credibility to the engineers of this thing.
If we're going to compare the iPhone 5 to something, lets compare it to a dual core, 1GM RAM, 1440mAH battery with no NFC, no removable parts and a smaller (in size and pixel density) screen. Say, the Galaxy Nexus? Very similar processor, same RAM, 1850mAH battery, (does have NFC, but oh well). Much bigger screen but 316ppi instead of 326, so close there.... oh what? It sold off contract for $400, compared to $750 for Apple. For $350 less, you get much better software, a larger battery, NFC, a larger screen and no ridiculous home button.
Obviously the mainstream hipsters disagree, but the cost-benefit of the iPhone 5 seems to be approximately 40% of what Samsung made 2 years ago, yet it costs them almost as much to make that 2 year old tech as it does for Sammy to make the S4, which is arguably triple the value.