Technology improves every 6 months! How long do you keep yout cell phone?

[CSJr1]

Forget the 18 month cycle, that only seems to work for desktop computers. With cell phone technology, the trend seems to be 6 months and even less before the next best thing is here. I feel kind of sorry for people who buy their phone off contract, only because the upfront cost and difficulty of continuing to buy the new tech. It must be hard for manufactures to try to keep up with the competition, but great for carriers that market new devices.


I wonder how long does the average smart phone user keep their phone. This is probably heavily dependent on if you are on contract or off.

I am a tech fiend and have to have latest and greatest. Even though I am on contract, I manage to make this happen. What about the community?

 

[BIGPADDY]

I just recently purchased the Nokia Lumia 920 red off contract don't do contracts sim free for me and I'm planning to keep the device for four to five years :smile:

 

[CSJr1]

I just recently purchased the Nokia Lumia 920 red off contract don't do contracts sim free for me and I'm planning to keep the device for four to five years :smile:

Wow. I don't think I can keep my phone that long if I wanted. Too much wear and tear, drops etc. You must be very careful with your phone and have extended warranty.

 

[Hammered Pizza]

I have a Lumia 920. Will probably sell it shortly before Nokia's new flagship arrives (for maximum return), piddle about with my old LG E900 for a month, then get the latest and greatest all over again.

This way only costs me about ?150 every year - saved up through great value SIM-only deals.

 

[nottechsmart]

I've always kept mine for about two years. Of course it was easier years ago cause we didn't have smart phones. I had the first couple IPhones till the competition caught up. Now it's getting hard though, seems every other commercial break I see a phone I want:beer:

 

[CSJr1]

I have a Lumia 920. Will probably sell it shortly before Nokia's new flagship arrives (for maximum return), piddle about with my old LG E900 for a month, then get the latest and greatest all over again.

This way only costs me about ?150 every year - saved up through great value SIM-only deals.

Reselling an off contract phone is a great way to make up the revenue for the new device, I didn't think about that.

Like the previous poster, I see and hear rumors about new stuff all the time.. This speed cycle is ridiculous. When will the phones hit a respectable upgrade cycle? Its kind of like the housing market burst!

 

[bawboh86]

I'm sure it will plateau sometime soon. It can't keep up this crazy update cycle. I'm already starting to see some specs plateau (ie: quad core). I'm sure they'll get better dies made, but once we hit a certain point with cameras, cpus, and GPUs, it'll be much like the desktop world. I just hope that battery tech catches up sometime soon as well. THAT's the main killer of smartphones and new tech.

 

[CSJr1]

I'm sure it will plateau sometime soon. It can't keep up this crazy update cycle. I'm already starting to see some specs plateau (ie: quad core). I'm sure they'll get better dies made, but once we hit a certain point with cameras, cpus, and GPUs, it'll be much like the desktop world. I just hope that battery tech catches up sometime soon as well. THAT's the main killer of smartphones and new tech.

Thinking the same thing myself. Maybe by next year this time, all high end devices will hit summit at quad core and 1080p screens. I don't see a use for a phone with more resolution than that. And I think the 6-7" phones will be rejected. But thats my opinion.

On topic though, It seems early voting has most people stick to carrier specific update cycle? 2 years before upgrading, interesting.

 

[Daniel Ratcliffe]

I remember when HTC seemed to be releasing a new phone every minute... Jeez they were bad for super-churning them.

 

[spaulagain]

I have a Lumia 920. Will probably sell it shortly before Nokia's new flagship arrives (for maximum return), piddle about with my old LG E900 for a month, then get the latest and greatest all over again.

This way only costs me about ?150 every year - saved up through great value SIM-only deals.

Same here. While I like my 920, there are some things about it that disappoint me. Most notably the super clean hardware design that my L800 has.

I more than likely will do the same as noted above if the new 9xx this fall is better. Fallback on my L800, until the new 9xx is released.

 

[failed1234]

Thinking the same thing myself. Maybe by next year this time, all high end devices will hit summit at quad core and 1080p screens. I don't see a use for a phone with more resolution than that. And I think the 6-7" phones will be rejected. But thats my opinion.

On topic though, It seems early voting has most people stick to carrier specific update cycle? 2 years before upgrading, interesting.

Imagine using a tablet as phone? That would be hilarious.
Sent from my HTC 8x using Board Express

 

[purefire21]

I plan on keeping my focus s until I can get my hands on the Ativ S. My focus S is still super fast and I have all the app I need

 

[travisel]

My first Microsoft OS smartphone was December 2006 - Motorola MOTO Q 9c "WM5.0" on 3 year contract, I updated that phone to WM6.0 then to WM6.1 My next Microsoft OS smartphone was December 2009 - LG IQ GW825 "WM6.5" on 3 year contract again. Then my next Windows Phone was December 2012 - Samsung ATIV S SGH-T899M "WP8 Portico" on another 3 year contract till December 2015 I hope?

For me 3 year contract always been.

My next smartphone in Dec 2015 My expectations are:

- WP9.x
- Quad-Core or Octa-Core
- 64-bit
- Intel 64 or ARMv8
- 14nm Intel Atom or 14nm NVIDIA Tegra 6
- 4GB+ RAM
- 64GB+ Flash with 128GB+ microSD
- 5" 1080p or 2160p
- 3300+mAh battery with solar power recharging display!
- Flexible material used

This is just my ideas

 

[gsquared]

I'm in the 2 year group. Of course old phones can still live. I just reactivated my Sammy Focus for my lady tonight. She has/had a Sprint GS3 but it got shut off. I have the custom 7.8 ROM on it so it thinks its a Nokia 800 device. Nice to get all of the Nokia apps on that device.

Anyway, I'll keep my L920 for two years. I'm sure there will be a new WP model being released around that time.

 

[Daniel Ratcliffe]

Imagine using a tablet as phone? That would be hilarious.
Sent from my HTC 8x using Board Express

oh hello Samsung galaxy tabs.

 

[Chregu]

I used to extend my contract by one year, but I'm getting older and now I think it's just a waste to buy a new phone every year, so I extended this time for 2 years to get my HTC 8X. Unless it breaks, that's the one I'll keep until then.

 

[TonyDedrick]

I keep mine for the duration of my contract, which is about two years.

As for needing the latest and greatest, I can understand the feeling as a guy very into gadgets myself. However, I've learned that a measure of responsibility needs to be shown in these times. Not that, in the grand scheme of things, I necessarily NEED much of the gadgets I have today. But if I currently have something that is in good working condition and does 90% of the things it needs to do, I'll get as much mileage out of it as I can.

 

[WindowsPhone8User]

I used to extend my contract by a year, then I took an arrow to the knee and buy off contract.

 

[failed1234]

I used to extend my contract by a year, then I took an arrow to the knee and buy off contract.

Yeah... Ha.
Sent from my HTC 8x using Board Express