Is It Time to Buy a New Mobile Device?
As technology continues to evolve each day, frequent announcements about new mobile devices have become the norm for both existing mobile players as well as for the new entrants. The latest release is Amazon's Fire smartphone, expected to be available at the end of July 2014.
All of these announcements mean the options are numerous, but it also can indicate a very open and confusing landscape—a landscape filled with questions. When do I need a new mobile device? What do I do with my older devices? What device should I buy? Do I really need a new device at this time or am I just indulging myself? All of these are valid questions that need to be addressed before moving ahead with a purchase.
When a device is diligently taken care of, its life can run into years. However, with all of the OS updates supporting features that are often only compatible with the more recent versions of the device, users are forced to look at a device change even if the existing one is in fairly good condition.
Whether the change is driven by a need such as compatibility or by pure indulgence, experts typically are in favor of a two-year lifecycle when considering a new device.
Mobile phones have definitely evolved to represent a user’s personality, preference, and technology savviness in addition to several other aspects. Taking these into consideration, the average life expectancy of a mobile phone is sometimes even shorter than two years.
What should you do with your old—yet functional—device? There are some carriers that offer a device trade-in program that is similar to automobile trade-ins. If you are not interested in such a program, there are other practical ways to use your mobile device to make your home or work space more connected. If you do not want to take either of these routes and just want to dispose of your device, there are several suggestions on how to do so responsibly.
Mobile devices, especially smartphones, have for all practical purposes become a close companion for the majority of us. Even developing nations have quickly embraced mobile phones. With such an increase in usage, device circulation is very high, which calls for sensible action when it is time to dispose of them. This is an important step to be aware of whenever we are ready to move to a new mobile device.
