How old is your mobile/smartphone?

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

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.

Iphone 4 here. Work's phone and they pay. Nice deal.

[Tabs]

MotoX 6 months.

How do you like the voice command feature? Is this something you use often or if at all?

Would love to hear more about it.

As for me, I don't remember, but I just got a new phone last year when I switched provider from Verizon. It was costing me way too much money to stay with Verizon. I originally needed them because they were the only ones that had coverage at my job site, but I have moved on since then, and so I dropped Verizon as well.

[dawnwes]

I have an iphone 5 I purchased off of CL for $300 about 4 months ago. It works flawlessly.

I went from an iphone 4 to a Moto X (with Republic Wireless's plan for $25/mo). Great phone, great plan, I just couldn't get used to a non-iphone.

Now that Republic Wireless will reactivate used phones, I plan to sell my Moto X to help pay for the iphone 5.

Dawn

PS: Our current cell plan: ATT Family plan (4 phones for $160.) DH's work pays $50 of it. ATT gives us a 25% discount, so all 4 phones are about $90 with tax OOP.

[LizfromtheBronx]

I'm guilty of upgrading when my plan allows (used to be every year, now it's every 20 months with Verizon). I cannot live without my smartphone. I need it for work, my sanity, and therefore the sanity of anyone in my vicinity.

My current phone is the iPhone 5S. Upgraded from a 4S the day they were released - I'd been holding on to the upgrade for a few months in anticipation of the release. Verizon bought back my 4S for the same amount that I needed to pay out of pocket for the new phone, so it was free, in exchange for renewing my contract, which is fine with me (I have no intention of changing carriers). I might have been able to make slightly more selling it privately, but I don't have the time or patience for that, so I consider it well worth it.

[mmmlb]

I'm guilty of upgrading when my plan allows..

If you plan on staying with the same carrier, you really should upgrade every chance you get. Even if you just sell the new phone and keep using your old one. If you're out of contract, you're still paying for the subsidy anyway so might as well take advantage of it.

[HappySaver]

I need to update my post now.

Turns out with my husband's new iPhone he went on the AT&T Family Share plan - we had no idea what that meant when he signed up last month. We finally figured out that data is shared for both of us (duh) and that a smartphone plan for me would only cost about $8 more (after taxes) than we were paying for my feature phone.

Not only that, but I didn't have the option of just switching my phone to his plan at a lower rate because my phone is so old (pre-sim card at Verizon) that it won't work across carriers. I called Verizon and tried to lower the rate or increase minutes, and they had no interest whatsoever in trying to keep me.

So I'm the proud new owner of a shiny new iPhone. Phone = 6 days old.

I also have a vintage Nokia, with a brand new still in the package battery, for posterity. I'll keep it next to my Polaroid and vintage typewriter.

[falboe]

Still one of the few people who is actually phoneless

[FrugalTexan75]

My current phone - an iPhone 4S I've had for almost a year. My previous phone, an iPhone 3GS I had for about 4 years. Before that, I upgraded my phones pretty much when they broke or stopped working - sometimes they lasted a full two-years, more often, they didn't.

I may be switching carriers in a few months (to Ting) so that will mean replacing my phone. Most likely I'll get a refurbished iPhone 4S and sell my ATT iPhone 4S to offset most of the cost. I'll keep that until too many of my most used apps don't work on it well (that's part of why I finally did upgrade. A feature on one app I use daily would not work on my 3GS.)

[aukxsona]

I have no such device. I do have Google for text messages, since everyone assumes I have a cell phone.

[normajean]

I used to keep the old flip phones for many years, but since switching to smart phones I am noticing the life expectancy going down. I would say 5-6 years for these now, which is probably longer then most people, right?

[carmela1]

I got a Huawei phone and it's already a year since I brought it

[NetSkyBlue]

My phone is a 3 year old model which I bought used last year when I switched to Ting. I would have continued using my then-three year old phone (now 4), except it wouldn't work on Ting's network.

I spent a good bit on it, somewhere between 150-200 IIRC, but I saved that in less than a year just by switching from a contract carrier to Ting. So it's paid for itself, and I plan to keep it for several years yet, unless I damage it to the point where it won't work.

[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 an iPhone that will be obsolete in just a couple years.

Time for an update:

I finally went ahead and purchased a new (to me) iPhone 5 from Glyde for use on Ting. It took me two tries to get a phone that actually worked. The first phone I bought kept randomly crashing, but I was able to return it. The second was a bit more expensive, but it looks like it came from a professional reseller rather than just some guy. It's in great condition, works well, and even came with a bonus car charger adapter. I've had it 3 days, and I'm pretty happy.

[cyreneq]

I didn't have a smartphone until I was 22 years old. I've had a palm centro for 3-4 years.

Now I work for a cellphone carrier and have the latest smartphone.

[QuarterMillionMan]

According to the talking heads on CNBC, they estimate that the new iPhone 6 will be released around September 19. Prior to learning about this I was somewhat leaning in and intending to get the iPhone 5c or 5s. Since it's only a few months away (if they are correct) patience may be a virtue.