Mobile Phones

[All over the world]

I noticed that most mobiles phones are utter rubbish made only to be the "latest thing" and are throw aways after 3 to four years because they simply stop working, an example would be the iPhone, the battery isn't even replaceable...

Are there still quality mobile phones out there? Which ones?

[DD MacDonald]

Rather than be frustrated here, relax. Technology evolves at the pace of human creativity, which is pretty high, and the expectation that electonics should be considered as durable goods is misplaced. Certainly, I recognise that small electronics are often outdated before they are "worn-out" but rather than being frustrated by such obsolesence, I accept it - recycle the old phone and get a new one. Every phone that I have ever bought has been better than the last one I don't have an iPhone but nonetheless recognise it as the best invention of the past decade - map, phone, camera, book all in one. The list can go on and on - it's a victorian wet dream of practicality and frugality from many an angle.

While we members of the LL pride ourselves on maintaining things like suits and shoes to maximize their service life, it isn't realistic to expect the same of phones. Thinking that a phone would last in the real world would, to paraphrase OW, be a triumph of optimism over experience.

[All over the world]

Rather than be frustrated here, relax. Technology evolves at the pace of human creativity, which is pretty high, and the expectation that electonics should be considered as durable goods is misplaced. Certainly, I recognise that small electronics are often outdated before they are "worn-out" but rather than being frustrated by such obsolesence, I accept it - recycle the old phone and get a new one. Every phone that I have ever bought has been better than the last one I don't have an iPhone but nonetheless recognise it as the best invention of the past decade - map, phone, camera, book all in one. The list can go on and on - it's a victorian wet dream of practicality and frugality from many an angle.

While we members of the LL pride ourselves on maintaining things like suits and shoes to maximize their service life, it isn't realistic to expect the same of phones. Thinking that a phone would last in the real world would, to paraphrase OW, be a triumph of optimism over experience.

Well I mainly use my phone to make calls and look up numbers, I don't have any use for other functions. My grandmother has been using the same Alcatel Phone for over 12 years. They don't make them like this anymore.

[Costi]

You might try to talk your grandmother into passing to iPhone - you sound like she might be more easily convinced than you That would leave you with her good old (and vintage!) Alcatel, of course! After all, it's your only hope, since they don't make them like that anymore...
I am quite happy with my irreplaceable battery iPhone (I drop it about twice a day, no matter how much attention I pay - once I dropped one four floors down an elevator well, had it retrieved and it still worked! - so I don't expect I'll ever get to wear out a battery...). Like DD MacDonald, I welcome a phone as a source of renewal in my life - not everything gets better with age and use. However, I don't usually replace it before the old one becomes unusable. My current 3GS loses the screen backlight every now and then ever since I dropped it to the bottom a full bathtub (don't ask! ) and I don't know how much longer I'll put up with its whims, but I did keep the previous iPhone after I cracked the screen almost another year (to punish myself? - apparently it didn't work...)

[All over the world]

You might try to talk your grandmother into passing to iPhone - you sound like she might be more easily convinced than you That would leave you with her good old (and vintage!) Alcatel, of course! After all, it's your only hope, since they don't make them like that anymore...
I am quite happy with my irreplaceable battery iPhone (I drop it about twice a day, no matter how much attention I pay - once I dropped one four floors down an elevator well, had it retrieved and it still worked! - so I don't expect I'll ever get to wear out a battery...). Like DD MacDonald, I welcome a phone as a source of renewal in my life - not everything gets better with age and use. However, I don't usually replace it before the old one becomes unusable. My current 3GS loses the screen backlight every now and then ever since I dropped it to the bottom a full bathtub (don't ask! ) and I don't know how much longer I'll put up with its whims, but I did keep the previous iPhone after I cracked the screen almost another year (to punish myself? - apparently it didn't work...)

Well let's hope that one day we'll have some kind of chip implanted in our ear that will allow us to make calls it's probably the toughest solution! My mother keeps dropping her phones in the Loo or so she says, she buys a new phone every 6 months! Phones are expensive and for me it is an expense I can't always justify, I'd much rather write a letter because paper can be found everywhere and my pen was made to last!

[stwarren]

Try recycling your old phone at NextWorth (http://www.nextworth.com). I got a great trade in value and purchased a new phone.

[Cufflink79]

Just be glad the 1980's brick styled cellular phone is long gone.

Best Regards,

Cufflink79

[DD MacDonald]

Just be glad the 1980's brick styled cellular phone is long gone.

Best Regards,

Cufflink79

My thoughts exactly, while it is true that phones may offer features that some don't use, one major bonus is that they are getting slimmer.

[All over the world]

Just be glad the 1980's brick styled cellular phone is long gone.

Best Regards,

Cufflink79

Oh God, those! I am glad I never had one like that!

[Frog in Suit]

Who needs one ?

[WGD]

Who needs one ?

Hear , hear!

[Simon A]

My batman carries mine

[All over the world]

At last I found one! It was cheap too (£50), it's a Samsung, it's said to be completely waterproof and shock resistant. The thing is great. Not very good looking but it does exactly what it is supposed to do.

[BGE]

Just be glad the 1980's brick styled cellular phone is long gone.

Best Regards,

Cufflink79

One is reminded of the good olde days: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/m ... phone.html

In all seriousness though, I'm glad you've found a mobile phone that suits your needs All of the world. To echo the sentiment of other esteemed members on the fora, mobile phones just aren't one of those items that you can look to for longevity; to do so would result in nothing else but frustration and a pile of plastic, silicon chips and metal scraps. While I certainly feel a level of discomfort with the ourtlay of funds that goes toward a new phone—whilst knowing it will be obsolete in a year or less—I just chalk it up as an artifact of modernity along with computers, televisions, and say—toilet paper.

Look at it this way, objects like the iPhone are manifestations of what the human spirit can achieve when bright people get together and conjure up ideas and bring them to life. Part of the price we pay is to be a part of, and experience first-hand, the wonders and advances of human ingenuity.

So definitely not the same category of things with longevity we tend to strive for, such as bespoke clothing, fine furniture, or the love of a good woman/or life-partner.

[All over the world]

After much research I have my answer: Sonim. Their phones are more or less indestructible and used by intelligence agencies, militaries and organisations that are active in rough environments.