Re: One likely reason why our cell rates will never improve.
 

The only reason I have ever changed a cellphone (since I bought my first one in 1997 or so) is because the battery failed. I have bought replacement batteries several times, they have all without exception been as bad as the original one, and thus forced me to get a new phone instead.

I believe this is what the phone makers want, and that's the main reason for them to constantly changing the battery form factor: They're never producing new batteries, so anything you can buy for your phone is as old as the phone itself, thus, being Li-Ion or Li-Poly batteries, the shelf life and the non-optimal storage (some hot shop wall for years) makes sure that replacement batteries are useless. (And expensive. Did I mention expensive?)

Despite this, I have still managed to hold on to a phone for some three years or more. If it wasn't for the battery issue my current phone would still have been an old, but small, easy, nice, semi-water-proof Nokia phone. Instead I was forced to get a new one, so I bought a S-E one from work.

Re: One likely reason why our cell rates will never improve.
 

My 5110 lasted 6 years and even after that had a week worth of idle time. Of course back then it was still using NiMH. But a replacament Li-Ion nokia original my mom bought worked without a problem. The cheap knock-off lasted ~6 months :)

Re: One likely reason why our cell rates will never improve.
 

Dang. The only time I've seen standby times like that is when I've gone to Los Angeles for conferences. The rest of the time, I'm impressed when my phone manages to idle for eighteen hours.

My next phone change will likely be forced by the shutdown of the network upon which my current phone runs.

Re: One likely reason why our cell rates will never improve.
 

Let me guess... Sprint?

Re: One likely reason why our cell rates will never improve.
 

Worse, a Sprint subsidiary.

The eighteen hour max standby time seems constant across networks though. I've had it with a Nokia analogue phone on CellularOne AT&T, with an LG phone on Verizon, and with a Motorola iDEN phone. Take them to LA though, and suddenly they last a week or more.

I enjoy living in the country and working in a converted coal bunker, but mobile phones don't.

To keep somewhat on topic: I don't change phones often. The Nokia analogue was actually my wife's phone. The LG on Verizon was my own first mobile phone in 2001. ($250 on a 1 year contract!) I then stopped carrying a phone for several years before getting my second (and current) phone.

I am considering jumping back to Verizon (prepaid this time) for better tethering.

Re: One likely reason why our cell rates will never improve.
 

quote: I bet that an analysis of people's cell phone usage shows that they pay for much more than they actually use.
geneven: studies have indeed shown that, and the fact that therefore the average cellphone minute costs users about 30cents.

Re: One likely reason why our cell rates will never improve.
 

Uh, my VoIP I've been using for around 5$ a month for the past 2 years has been working great and I can even use it from anywhere!
It definitely isn't a joke :-)
(And much much better than the 30$ my monopolistic telco charges for copper!)

As for TV, well everything is there to make it work, ever tried Democracy Player or some such?

Re: One likely reason why our cell rates will never improve.
 

I'll go with Jay's observation, although I am also an exception. I hang onto stuff.

Manufacturers want you to replace your phone up to twice a year. Cell service providers are good with that, as new phones require less servicing and drive constantly renewed interest.

So there you have it in a nutshell.

Re: One likely reason why our cell rates will never improve.
 

I've still got the the same cell phone that I got for free back in 2004. Before that, I had that phone since 1999. :P In my WHOLE lifetime, I've only ever had three cell phones. :P

Re: One likely reason why our cell rates will never improve.
 

And, also, in fairness to manufacturers, its hard to keep up enthusiasm for your older products when all your efforts are going to creating NEW phones that you're enthusiastic about.