Cell phones. I'm not (much) of a conspiracy thinker. But ........

[Joanne]

I do believe "big business" will make manufacturing decisions that help the business rather than the consumer.

 

I think cell phone batteries are deliberately made to decline in effectiveness/efficiency after a year. Mine (a year old) is not holding a charge. The cost of a new one is $40! That's crazy.

 

I'll keep going with my compromised battery. A new one will be on the list, but it's a long list!

[Kay in Cal]

Tell me about it... mine died for my old phone, and they had stopped making the battery anymore. So I couldn't even BUY a replacement. When I finally bought a new phone a couple of months ago, the guy at the store laughed at my old one, it was so ancient--almost 5 years old, ya know!

 

It's a conspiracy, I tell ya', a conspiracy!

[Mrs Mungo]

Tell me about it... mine died for my old phone, and they had stopped making the battery anymore. So I couldn't even BUY a replacement. When I finally bought a new phone a couple of months ago, the guy at the store laughed at my old one, it was so ancient--almost 5 years old, ya know!

 

It's a conspiracy, I tell ya', a conspiracy!

 

Yep, same here. I had to buy a new phone because my phone was too old to buy a battery for it. Boo.

[Jill- OK]

I think cell phone batteries are deliberately made to decline in effectiveness/efficiency after a year. Mine (a year old) is not holding a charge.

 

I've never bought a second battery for my (Nokia) cell phone.

 

And mine is so old...one of my dd's friends asked what it was, LOL! (Dh and I joke that they're our Star Trek phasers. :-)

 

Could it be a brand issue? Are some just longer lasting than others?

[JFSinIL]

Planned obsolesce. I think that is the word I mean. Few companies want to make stuff that LASTS anymore. Quality is kaput!

[Stacia]

Mine (a year old) is not holding a charge. The cost of a new one is $40!

 

Have you tried letting the battery go dead, really dead, on its own, then fully charging it? Try doing that a couple of times. Don't recharge when it's getting 'low', just wait until it is completely dead, fully recharge (for the total time), then let it run totally, completely out again & redo complete charging again. Do it a few times. That may 'bring' your battery back. (I know some of the newer battery technologies aren't supposed to do this, but I still think it is a problem. Some battery types do create a 'memory' effect & trying this other process will often 'fix' the battery.)

 

Just wanted to mention it...

[Lolly]

An older phone will have a better battery and last longer. A newer phone will have a battery that will not last and will be a bit flimsy. Hold onto that old phone until it dies. They don't make 'em like that anymore!

[Slartibartfast]

We just keep changing our contract and getting a new phone for free.

[Jill- OK]

Hold onto that old phone until it dies. They don't make 'em like that anymore!

 

Another reason I won't be getting a cool camera phone anytime soon, LOL!

 

At a birthday party the other day, a friend was mournfully showcasing her 'dinosaur', beating it on the table, etc., exhibiting how resilient it is...and it was the same model as mine!

 

I've left mine outside, picked it back up, covered with dew...and it started right up. :D

[Sandy in Indy]

Ebay! I bought my dd a new battery for her cell not long ago. With shipping it was under $10. Works great.

[freethinkermom]

It is not so much the phones being designed to die at a certain age as consumers demanding more and more from the cellular technology. There are several types of cellular networks out there and each requires different telephone technology. It is not cost effective or reasonable to expect the companies to maintain the old networks at a loss when consumers and governments are demanding that faster, higher bandwidth technologies come into place as soon as possible. Those new networks and new technologies require more from the phones thereby draining the battery faster, even if all you do is call. The batteries in newer phones are actually better suited to today's networks because they can handle being recharged often without developing any memory like the older batteries do. Remember when the internet first started to speed up? We could buy faster and faster dial-up modems every few months and then BAM there was cable. The cell phone networks in the US having been going through that same type of fast ramp up as the modems did and are just about to make that big jump to real broadband. Unlike pc modems where you can still use dial-up if you want to (or live in the boonies), cellular networks have to phase out the old to be able to bring in the new.

 

More information than you really want I am sure :tongue_smilie: Can you tell what industry puts food on my family's table?

[Jill- OK]

Those new networks and new technologies require more from the phones thereby draining the battery faster, even if all you do is call.

 

My artifact is simply a phone, lol.

 

Well, you can play bowling and a few other REALLY low-tech games on it, but...:)

 

I'm coming to terms with the fact that I may never get a camera phone. I probably don't need one, anyway. You know the commercial, where the girl sees Siegfried and Roy in a convenience store, and instantly calls a friend, sending the image on her camera? That's the kind of important thing mine would be used for, lol. Alerting buddies to the hilarity I see when out and about. (I never ran into Siegfried and Roy, though.)