Wednesday, 4 January 2012

My 5 year phone challenge....eeek!


















Martin said...

If you have an old Android phone, one way to keep it up to date for another year or two after the manufacturer has abandoned it is to switch to CyanogenMod.

Click here to see if your old Android phone is supported.

Richard said...

That's exactly my plan!

I made my last phone (Nokia N70) last 5 years before upgrading. It still works almost perfectly. But then I treated myself to a Samsung Galaxy S in 2009, which I use now.

A few lessons:

1. Get, and use, a decent case.
2. Buy the best phone you can afford. The iphone is probably a good choice on that score.
3. Be prepared to get a new battery. This is where the iphone falls down as it is built as disposable technology and to my knowledge you can't easily replace the battery.

Susan said...

I have an iPhone 3G which is 3.5 years old now and still going strong. the only issue I've had is that the software updates are designed for the newer models and so my phone is a bit slow sometimes. also some of the newer iPhone apps aren't compatible with my "old" phone so I'm not able to download them.
I'm tempted to buy a new phone but frequent technology upgrades are so wasteful.... I'm sure an iPhone can last 5 years, the challenge is more in resisting relentless advertising of shiny new gadgets rather than the technology not being able to last that long... Good luck!

Tattie Weasle said...

My old phone is 3.5 years old too an iPhone which I love. It's getting pretty battered and I can't do many apps - which is lucky as I am not really up on apps. I hope to make it to 5 years old when I will hopefully be able to upgrade.
It is difficult to keep things such as gadgets for long. I already need to upgrade my computer after only 18 months! It doesn't have emough memory forthe latest windows appliation!

Almost Mrs Average said...

@Martin - thanks for those links. I bet there are many Android phone users who don't actually realise that a few extra years can be added to a phone's life. Well not the average user anyway. It's incredible what you discover when you start to look more closely. :)

@Richard - top advice, thank you and great news on the Nokia. I've been less successful with my N97. It was my local O2 store that raised the issue with me that battery lifespan could be an issue, but hopefully I could get it replaced for a small cost (well small cost compared to a new phone, that is) :)

@Susan - that is really encouraging that you've had yours for so long. Gives me some hope, but it definitely seems that it's the apps that could be the killer and my patience of course. This will definitely become a battle of my temptation as well as a technological one. :)

@TattieWeasle - you too are so encouraging and pushing for 5 years. You'll have to give me an update when you hit five years, and help keep me going. Damn technology eh! My laptop seems to be slowing up at the moment, that's only 15 months old too (although I know I need to do some maintenance to it really). It's the battery that gets me though. It used to manage somewhere towards 11 hours when new. Now it's 3-4 hours if I'm lucky. :)


Built in obsolescence will ensure you fail but nice idea.

Almost Mrs Average said...

I think you're probably right, gosh 2017 feels like a long way away ;)

Plastic-free Beth said...

Wow. Good luck with that. I'm rooting for you. I have not been able to keep my phones running for that long, and it's just so irritating. Also, like Susan said, the upgrades will eventually not be compatible with your phone. But this will be a great experiment to see if it can be done, for sure.

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