Smart Phones Are Becoming Disposable!

[DroidModderX]

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Smartphones are no longer the next big thing. In fact a wise man once said, "Smartphones are like toasters." This is true in a sense. Cell phones are no longer a luxury for the wealthy. Gone are the days of $5,000 car phones. They no longer have an age limit. I got my first cell phone (a nextel walkie talkie brick phone) when I was 16. Smartphones are for everyone these days.

Good smartphones are also getting cheaper and cheaper as the price of internals begins to bottom out. Four years ago if you wanted a smooth and fluid smartphone experience you would need to burn at least $600 or more. Today you can get a flagship device for under $400. There are actually great cellphones in the under $200 range.

I can remember going on vacation as a kid. I wanted my very own camera, but a good camera was expensive so Mom would grab me a cheap disposable camera. You know the paper cameras with the plastic dial. You would turn the dial to load another shot. Once you hit 30 or so shots you were done with that camera and had to take it to get the pictures developed. The camera was then thrown away by the photo developer.

We are reaching this stage with smartphones! Phones like the BLU Dash M2 pack a punch with their specs, and full metal build and are selling for as low as $59. You can get a Moto E which is a pretty decent smartphone for only $49. At these prices you could easily purchase a cell phone for a kid to "use while on vacation to take pictures ect". If they were to break the phone it wouldn't be that big of a deal since the phone is so cheap.

What are your thoughts? Do you like the trend of manufacturers building cheaper handsets, or do you think they should continue pushing the limit with the spec wars?

To be clear simply throwing away electronics is never smart, and you should always dispose of your cell phones properly.

Blu Dash M2

Moto E Unlocked

 

[Jeffrey]

I have been buying top specced $200.phones for 2 years now. I keep them for 6-8 months and give them away to those of need.
Then I buy the latest and greatest $200. phone. I always have the most current OS and 4gb of Ram. Next purchase is 6gb Ram

 

[cr6]

Buying a high end smartphone is still well worth the money for the average consumer, being that it can easily last you 4 years. As long as having the latest OS update isn't a top priority, it makes good sense financially speaking.

S5 tap'n

 

[FoxKat]

First, I love innovation so I'm going to be a huge supporter of new ideas and pushing the envelope of power and speed. Second, I'm a gadget guy so the latest and greatest is always going to be on my radar screen. Third, I don't like settling for second best, that is what I consider to be second best to me, not necessarily what is viewed as second best by others. Fourth, lag, stuttering, distortion, poor quality in any way are extremely disturbing to me so even if second or third or fourth best is half the price but only 10% lower in quality or performance is 10% more than I am willing to settle for. I'd rather wait till I can afford the latest and greatest than settle for less when upgrading.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

[Jeffrey]

Buying a high end smartphone is still well worth the money for the average consumer, being that it can easily last you 4 years. As long as having the latest OS update isn't a top priority, it makes good sense financially speaking.

S5 tap'n

I can't see keeping a phone for 4 years. Too much has changed both hardware and software and let's not forget networks...

 

[cr6]

I can't either but for the average consumer, it's not difficult. That's why over the past couple years smartphone sales have dropped across the board with all manufacturers. I know quite a few people who aren't power users like most on the forums, who still have three year old devices and aren't looking to upgrade anytime soon. This will apply even moreso with folks that have upgraded this year. Aside from incremental updates, i don't see all that much changing with hardware or software. We've reached a plateau with smartphones just as we did with laptops 2 years ago, at least hardware wise....and software hasn't changed all that much either since then other than small increments, that aren't "must have" features.

S5 tap'n

 

[Jonny Kansas]

As my stepson gets older, I like to see that there are decent phones available at a much cheaper price. It won't be long before he's old enough to get off the bus on his own and have his own key to the house. We've been toying with the idea of getting a landline just in case there's a cell issue or one of us is home alone with him (and the baby on the way). Though he's great with tech, it'd be easier to teach him to use a basic cordless phone than show him what the phone icons on our phones look like, where they're at, etc. Not to mention, what happens when/if the icons get updated or one of us uses a skin?

Will definitely not be buying him phones like I buy myself when he's of an age to have his own, so I'm glad there are options that will get the job done without breaking the bank.

 

[LoneWolfArcher]

Anything that you can attach to a monthly service fee (IE cable TV, landline telephones, etc) will become cheap eventually. There is incentive to make these things as inexpensive to maximize the monthly revenue stream of subscribers. Verizon, AT&T and Sprint have been pushing the OEMs on this for years.

 

[mountainbikermark]

As my stepson gets older, I like to see that there are decent phones available at a much cheaper price. It won't be long before he's old enough to get off the bus on his own and have his own key to the house. We've been toying with the idea of getting a landline just in case there's a cell issue or one of us is home alone with him (and the baby on the way). Though he's great with tech, it'd be easier to teach him to use a basic cordless phone than show him what the phone icons on our phones look like, where they're at, etc. Not to mention, what happens when/if the icons get updated or one of us uses a skin?

Will definitely not be buying him phones like I buy myself when he's of an age to have his own, so I'm glad there are options that will get the job done without breaking the bank.

What I do for ease sake is put custom icons on certain app icons across all my devices. My 8 year old knows the phone app is a certain photo, weather, etc so when she uses one of the Wi-Fi only ones for Skype her sister, or whatever it doesn't matter which phone or tablet it is. I actually did it initially for myself back when she was a baby and sleep was only a wish but as she has grown it has become useful for her as well. On "her" G2, we customized the icons to what she wants for her games and YouTube.
When my older kids were young flip phones were the norm,I started them off on cheap pre pay flip phones back when minutes and texts were limited so they could learn budgeting. Today with data being the limited and smartphones being the norm I fully plan on doing the same for my youngest and it's good to see there will be a quality selection of cheap phones available. As far as calls/texts go I'll have the mental security of knowing she won't blow her budget and not have any minutes/texts available in case of emergency but she'll be limited to her YouTube fix and I won't be out hundreds of dollars if (when is probably a better term here) the phone gets lost or broken. I see kids her age (8) with iPhones and other premium devices where the child never gets out of sight of the helicopter parent and I just have to shake my head. There are too many inexpensive alternatives out there and the quality of those choices is getting better as trickle down technology increases. What we thought was bleeding edge just a few years ago is now a Tracphone.

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[droidprincess]

My boys are 10 and 8... they now both have smartphones. My 10 year old has a Note 4 I purchased used and my 8 year old has his brothers previous S5.
I didn't have much issue with them learning to use the phones because they always used my devices. But, I agree it is nice to have cheaper smartphone options. I like my boys having phones and knowing if something goes wrong I can easily and inexpensively replace them.

Sent from my SM-G928V using Tapatalk

 

[Mustang02]

My boys are 10 and 8... they now both have smartphones. My 10 year old has a Note 4 I purchased used and my 8 year old has his brothers previous S5.
I didn't have much issue with them learning to use the phones because they always used my devices. But, I agree it is nice to have cheaper smartphone options. I like my boys having phones and knowing if something goes wrong I can easily and inexpensively replace them.

Sent from my SM-G928V using Tapatalk

Are you adopting? I didn't get a phone until I was 18 and paid for it myself.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

 

[droidprincess]

Are you adopting? I didn't get a phone until I was 18 and paid for it myself.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

Lol not adopting at the moment

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[Mustang02]

Lol not adopting at the moment

Sent from my SM-G928V using Tapatalk

Dang it. I pickup after myself....sometimes. I'm 99% housebroken.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

 

[droidprincess]

Dang it. I pickup after myself....sometimes. I'm 99% housebroken.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

Housebroken is a plus.... what about dishes??

Sent from my SM-G928V using Tapatalk

 

[Jonny Kansas]

Are you adopting? I didn't get a phone until I was 18 and paid for it myself.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

I was 16 or 17, but same here. I had a part-time job at a movie theater. I've always paid my own cell phone bill. And because I was only 18 when I switched from Cricket to VZW and had no credit, I had to pay a large deposit to join up.