How old is your mobile/smartphone?

[HappySaver]

I have a 9 year old Nokia cell (not smart) phone that I'm thinking may be near its end life. It still works great, but the battery charge is not lasting as long, and more worrisome, it has started to randomly self power off. It doesn't happen often, and it always turns back on when I power it on, but still... The other day I was picking my husband up at the airport and waiting for him to call me from curbside. He didn't call. Finally I realized the phone had shut itself off! When I called him, he'd been trying to reach me for 20 minutes.

So I'm just curious how long people keep their phones. I've been hoping to reach 10 years with mine. But now I'm not sure I will. Plus, my husband has a new iPhone that I'm coveting, so I may need my own.

[KTP]

I am still using a Nexus One I bought directly from Google (no contract) about five years ago? It has a 1Ghz processor and still runs everything I need, which really is just phone plus a offline GPS mapping program for use while hiking. I have made about 500 phone's worth off of Apple stock though.

[HappySaver]

I have made about 500 phone's worth off of Apple stock though.

Like.^^^

[jeffrey]

Still one of the few people who is actually phoneless

[John213]

Phones should lasts for years so my rule of thumb is don’t change phone “atleast” for 3 years with 3 exception

1. Broken
2. Outdated (I had a 4 year old flipflop phone before I switch to Smartphone. It’s worth the upgrade IMO)
3. You have a lot of money :P (which I don’t)

[sblatner]

I had an HTC Incredible for four years. Just upgraded to a Motorola Droid Maxx about a month ago. The change is amazing. My Incredible was so slow.

If you are having battery problems, you could buy a new battery but that might cost as much as a new phone. I had a phone that used to shut off on its own...bought a new battery and that solved the problem.

[cypher1]

I've had my Nexus 4 for 16 months, paid 350 outright. I'd be happy to get at least 3 years out of it, before consider upgrading.

[HappySaver]

If you are having battery problems, you could buy a new battery but that might cost as much as a new phone. I had a phone that used to shut off on its own...bought a new battery and that solved the problem.

Great suggestion! I had not even thought the powering off issue could be related to the battery, duh!
I checked on Amazon and they sell new battery replacements for $4 with free shipping, marked down from $36, probably because the models that use this battery are all so old. So I just ordered it. Hey, for $4 it's worth a shot!

Thanks!

[bjl584]

About a year and a half. Droid Razor XD. It still works just fine.

[JoeP]

My requirements are low, and I use very little data. I just purchased a motorola moto-g about 2 months ago and really like it. Out of contract it was $200, and I pay $27/mo for AT&T go plan with no data (use wi-fi).

Before that it was a samsung flip for I think 7 years.

[breathemusic]

I usually upgrade my phone every 2 years when I renew my contract. I've been with verizon since I first got a cell phone, and although recently I've considered other options... I'm hesitant to change to another carrier when I know that verizon has historically given me the best cell service, especially when I'm visiting friends and family back home out in the boonies. I think the other major carriers have gotten better... but I don't really know anyone from back home that uses anything other that verizon to know if I'd still be able to get good service with another carrier.

[phantom]

I've had a Samsung Alias 2 (non-smartphone) for about 5 years. It has a dual hinge that I expected to start giving me trouble after a few years, but that part is still fine. Some of the decorative plastic started to break off a few months ago, but that's been my own issue so far. I'm taking the decorative plastic breaking as a sign that I should start shopping for a replacement. But, I've been dragging my feet trying to decide if I am finally ready to make the jump to smartphone and whether or not I want to go for and iPhone that will be obsolete in just a couple years.

[JoeP]

I've had a Samsung Alias 2 (non-smartphone) for about 5 years. It has a dual hinge that I expected to start giving me trouble after a few years, but that part is still fine. Some of the decorative plastic started to break off a few months ago, but that's been my own issue so far. I'm taking the decorative plastic breaking as a sign that I should start shopping for a replacement. But, I've been dragging my feet trying to decide if I am finally ready to make the jump to smartphone and whether or not I want to go for and iPhone that will be obsolete in just a couple years.

I was considering an iPhone (we have iPod touches and other iPhones), but settled on an Android solution for two reasons. First, iTunes is a Tool of the Devil when it comes to usability, stability, bloat, and puzzling error messages like "An Unknown Error Has Occurred." Second, the OS itself is closed and has a fascist interface: You shall be organized in a orthogonal grid! My phone acts like a UBS drive, and moving data around is dead simple, plus I get to configure it to work with my life not the other way around.

[MonkeyMama]

We keep our phones 4-5 years, on average. Probably generally as long as the battery lasts (in the past it was just cheaper to replace entire phone).

We also only had one cell provider for well over a decade. But, we both have fairly new phones right now. We switched cell providers and got all new phones. Then my spouse's phone just randomly died out of nowhere, about one year in. (We tend to take care of our stuff and keep for a long time, so this was beyond random). He bought a cheap refurbished phone just until he could get a better phone when our contract renews. We then switched providers and were able to keep our phones, but he took the opportunity to buy a better phone. I took the refurbished, which has some issues. (I wasn't picky and I liked the phone, but it has a lot of problems now). So, I think I will be getting a new phone in the near future. & then I would like to keep it for several years! (I tried out a Windows phone for my first smart phone, but I can't do phone bank deposits with it. So I am keeping that one as a hand-me-down for my kids. I am sure we can scrounge another hand-me-down eventually, for younger child. Something more reliable than the cheapie refurbished phone).

Our foray into smart phones hasn't started out so good, but my spouse is confident that is current phone will last for many years. I will probably just get the Moto G or something like that.

[phantom]

I was considering an iPhone (we have iPod touches and other iPhones), but settled on an Android solution for two reasons. First, iTunes is a Tool of the Devil when it comes to usability, stability, bloat, and puzzling error messages like "An Unknown Error Has Occurred." Second, the OS itself is closed and has a fascist interface: You shall be organized in a orthogonal grid! My phone acts like a UBS drive, and moving data around is dead simple, plus I get to configure it to work with my life not the other way around.

My reason for wanting an iPhone is that I started doing iOS development several months ago. So, I'd like to be able to use the apps I write, and I'd like to familiarize myself with how things are done in other apps. As a developer coming from the world of web development and years in the trenches of the browser wars, I like the limited number of environments I have to support. Some of the app store guidelines get a little restrictive, and it's annoying that you need a Mac to make apps, but for the most part, it's a nice place for a developer to be. As a user, I'm not so sure it's where I want to be. While there is certainly some appeal in the consistent user experience, I cringe a bit at the lack of freedom. I also get nervous about the cost of the iPhones and how quickly they become obsolete.