How often do you change your mobile phone?

E

evilwit

Disciple
Hey guys
I,being a tech fan like to buy all the latest tech possible.But being a student,I don't earn anything so I have to depend on my parents for money.There are few friends of mine who frequently change their phone.Even they are dependent on their parents.I always buy best thing that is under my budget.For ex. last year my phone got kaput then i bought a Note 2.It was around 40k at that time and was one of the best phone present at that time.Now my friends keep changing their phones every 2 to 3 months and they buy all the latest apple and android sh!t. even if their phone is working fine.IMHO that's a stupidity because every few months they have to get into the hassles of selling their phones and getting new phones.And i am pretty sure that some amount of the money also get wasted in this procedure.I think one has to keep a phone until its working fine, after all its about our hard earned money What's your take?How often do you change your phone?
Thanks
 
How is it your hard earned money. Since you are in college, its your parents' hard earned money :p

Anyways, coming back to your question. When i was in college, i dint realize the value of money since my parents basically said yes to everything i demanded. Now that i have a job, i realize the value of money and how difficult it is to be making an earning. I have drastically cut down all extravagant expenses. I dont eat at expensive restaurants, i dont drink CCD coffee, i have sold off many of my gadgets except those which i need. I cant even think about spending 40k on a phone. Maximum i will spend is 5k :p. Even if u are earning lots, money is a limited resource and once you understand the value of savings and compound interest, all your spending habits will drop off.
 
You have to ask yourself, as a tech enthusiast, what interesting new features are released in phones every 2-3 months? Phones (and even PCs outside of gaming) now have reached a point where major new features are 2-3 years apart.

The only reasons to upgrade every 2-3 months are not tech related. And take it from someone older, once you fall into the trap of "my friends are doing so-and-so, what do I do" there is no end to it.
 
I buy phones only and only when my phones dies/get stolen/ or hacked by someone

First Phone (@ 2005) > N70 music edition - hacked by mom :p, once she liked it she captured it
Xperia X10i> Stolen during exams after using 2 yrs++ :(
Xperia Z> Current i am using, and hope to use it for next 4-5yrs minimum :)
 
evilwit said:
Now my friends keep changing their phones every 2 to 3 months and they buy all the latest apple and android sh!t. even if their phone is working fine.IMHO that's a stupidity because every few months they have to get into the hassles of selling their phones and getting new phones.And i am pretty sure that some amount of the money also get wasted in this procedure.I think one has to keep a phone until its working fine, after all its about our hard earned money What's your take?How often do you change your phone?
Thanks
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Wait for r_dst to answer this one, but he has a plan. Does the same apply to your friends as well ? if so then you get to sample a lot for not too much loss. But its more work as you said.

I'm of the view you hold onto it so long as its useful. This could be 2-4 years ideally. Harder to do earlier as there was lots of churn but now things are beginning to mature the rate of change or replacement for that matter should not be as urgent.

Spoke to some friends who own the original galaxy note and inquired if they felt the need to upgrade. No, they said they were still quite happy. One of them got rid of his pc and does any online tasks solely through the phone. Granted this isn't someone that uses a pc much but its replaced another device already.
 
First I used a crappy Motorola phone (no camera, no SD card) for almost 4 years.

After using HTC Explorer for 2.5 years, I'm going to buy Moto G.

And my parents (my father especially) think that it is waste of money and there is no need for a new phone.
 
"My friend bought this and my friend bought that and i should have that too"...This is a never ending cycle and if you are part of this, you are just jealous and want what others have and in most cases you will do self convincing that you "NEED" the new gadget and not "WANT" it.
 
How is it your hard earned money. Since you are in college, its your parents' hard earned money :p

Anyways, coming back to your question. When i was in college, i dint realize the value of money since my parents basically said yes to everything i demanded. Now that i have a job, i realize the value of money and how difficult it is to be making an earning. I have drastically cut down all extravagant expenses. I dont eat at expensive restaurants, i dont drink CCD coffee, i have sold off many of my gadgets except those which i need. I cant even think about spending 40k on a phone. Maximum i will spend is 5k :p. Even if u are earning lots, money is a limited resource and once you understand the value of savings and compound interest, all your spending habits will drop off.
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Amen....This point will come in your life too...just wait :)
 
2 yrs a cycle minimum. Though half of the time I spend salivating over a new phone, I keep asking myself if it is something I really need. I sometimes end up trolling TE's FS threads, window watching while not buying the phone. Bad habit but then urges :p
 
avi said:
OP is jel.
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No I am not jealous.If I was,I rather would have created a buying thread or a show-off thread.I think this is just waste of time and money.I just created this thread know other people's opinion.And till now everyone have agreed with me.:)
 
It's all about gratification. Buying new tech provides instant gratification to many. Earlier it used to be PC hardware, then I turned to IEMs and then on to phones and tablets. In phones I haven't lost any money in the past 1 year.
You perhaps don't realize this but many people have lots of expendable funds at hand. Also a lot depends on the age and at what stage one is in his life. Lots of my friends are getting married these days so all they talk about is buying houses and stuff. I however have no such plans so I am thinking of getting a Harley/Custom chopper instead. To them and nearly 95% people, my choice will seem insane as that would burn up nearly 2 years of my savings. But I currently have no responsibilities or expenses to speak of. I however have very different outlook in life, all thanks to my Dad. He likes to spend his money instead of saving it all up for the future. He does have savings but he doesn't save too much. I also have the same attitude, as in I would rather live in a 1 bedroom house with a custom built muscle car outside the door than a bungalow with a normal sedan. Just because I really only need one room for myself and the car outside the door will fulfill my desires more than empty rooms in a big house will.
Yes, we should be a little conservative but after ticking off all the checkboxes one should be able to spend as much he wants on what he craves or is passionate about. Money sitting in vaults is neither good for the economy nor for one's health.:D
 
Being.smart said:
I buy phones only and only when my phones dies/get stolen/ or hacked by someone

First Phone (@ 2005) > N70 music edition - hacked by mom :p, once she liked it she captured it
Xperia X10i> Stolen during exams after using 2 yrs++ :(
Xperia Z> Current i am using, and hope to use it for next 4-5yrs minimum :)
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what about the iphones and nexuses which you keep for SPECIFIC purposes..
check your sale threads once again.. http://www.techenclave.com/communit...earance-sale-3xnexus-htc-one-iphone-5.153113/

Ref:
Being.smart said:
1)Product Condition: 9.5/10 never used, was a backup phone
2)Product Condition: 9.5/10, almost never used, kept in biz place
3)Product Condition: 9.5/10, almost never used, was given to mom
4)Product Condition: 9/10, no scratches, used for business calls only since 1 month (daily max 1-2 hr)
5)Product Condition: 7/5, marks on bezel, light scratches on back, used during college time, hence used
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_______________

Coming back to OP's question.. I usually upgrade my phone only if its high time I keep on tinkering to achieve best performance out of it till it dies. the current phone I'm using is motorola RAZR which I got in 2011. before that had been using motorola DROID.

Although there are few luxury phones in my collection which I don't use on daily basis. They may cost thrice of latest phone but they are vintage & we all know old is gold (sometimes literally)
 
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rdst_1 said:
It's all about gratification. Buying new tech provides instant gratification to many. Earlier it used to be PC hardware, then I turned to IEMs and then on to phones and tablets. In phones I haven't lost any money in the past 1 year.
You perhaps don't realize this but many people have lots of expendable funds at hand. Also a lot depends on the age and at what stage one is in his life. Lots of my friends are getting married these days so all they talk about is buying houses and stuff. I however have no such plans so I am thinking of getting a Harley/Custom chopper instead. To them and nearly 95% people, my choice will seem insane as that would burn up nearly 2 years of my savings. But I currently have no responsibilities or expenses to speak of. I however have very different outlook in life, all thanks to my Dad. He likes to spend his money instead of saving it all up for the future. He does have savings but he doesn't save too much. I also have the same attitude, as in I would rather live in a 1 bedroom house with a custom built muscle car outside the door than a bungalow with a normal sedan. Just because I really only need one room for myself and the car outside the door will fulfill my desires more than empty rooms in a big house will.
Yes, we should be a little conservative but after ticking off all the checkboxes one should be able to spend as much he wants on what he craves or is passionate about. Money sitting in vaults is neither good for the economy nor for one's health.:D
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Yes ok, nice.

But how do ya deal with the public...dem people that got to buy yo stuff so you can spend on the next latest & greatest.
 
blr_p said:
Yes ok, nice.

But how do ya deal with the public...dem people that got to buy yo stuff so you can spend on the next latest & greatest.
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I sell them off to people like myself/OP's friends, but who still haven't learned to buy stuff from US and are looking for cheaper pricing.

Like the OP has pointed out, until you get bored with changing phones(like I have), people will be looking for a new phone every 2-3 months. I met a guy who bought a Red HTC One off me locally even when he had an Indian Silver HTC One. He sold off his Silver One for around the same price he purchased mine. He said that he loved the One but the Red one looked much better to him. Practically he didn't need to do that. But this gave him more gratification and frankly that is what money is for IMO.
 
Ah, you've found a niche. This will work as you've got next to no competition :D

phoren stuff always has its allure especially in India. The market is distorted and you can exploit it.
 
blr_p said:
Ah, you've found a niche. This will work as you've got next to no competition :D

phoren stuff always has its allure especially in India. The market is distorted and you can exploit it.
Click to expand...

It is not the allure of phoren stuff but rather the phones being 10 grand cheaper is what leads people to buy them.:D Since they only want to keep them for a few months warranty doesn't matter to them.
All the phones I have gone through or sold in the past 2 years, I haven't had a single phone with a hardware fault so better reliability these days is also a factor.
 
evilwit said:
No I am not jealous.If I was,I rather would have created a buying thread or a show-off thread.I think this is just waste of time and money.I just created this thread know other people's opinion.And till now everyone have agreed with me.:)
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No you are clearly jel. Why are you bothered what your friends are buying? Why are you trying to judge them? and who are you to say anything if they spend their parents' money? Just because you cannot afford a new phone for every 4 months, don't go around telling people that they are stupid.

Go to jelly school.
 
I just bought Lumia 525 and use it only for navigation and whatsapp. Don't feel like carrying it with me. Love my Asha 210 for calls as the standby time is real good. Battery of smartphones is a joke. I buy phones after average 2 years.
EDIT: 525 yeah.
 
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