Durability

I like products with durability. I do not set out to abuse things I buy, but I do expect them to withstand "use".  On January 21 2011 I bought a new cell phone and on February 21 2011 it fell from my hand which was by my knee to the floor. The back came off, the battery fell out, I put it all back together and: it didn't work. I took it to ask about repair only to discover that I had abused it and the warrenty didn't cover abused phones. I also learned that for half the original cost of the phone, I could send the phone to be "looked at"... ah, that cost was for sending the phone, not for the "looked at".  I can look at a dead phone myself at no additional cost. The cost of having it "looked at" would exceed the original cost of the phone - and there was the shipping costs too, remember.

I left the phone, and all its perifials, and told the "service" department to trash it.

So now I am back to my old phone.  I will try to get it a new case, because the old case is chipped, cracked and that isn't nice.  But hey, this old phone has been chewed on by my dog, I've accidently washed it in the washing machine, I have long lost count of the number of times I've dropped it, seen it come apart and put it back together again only to have it keep working.

So how many years of life does a cell phone have before it is an antique?  By the old rules mine has fourty three years before it meets its fiftieth birthday.

I also have an old Sony Viao, fifteen years old, which has seen far more abuse than it took to knock out that ex new cell phone... I liked the "keep working" attitude of that Viao well enough to buy a new Viao seven years ago. Both work like dreams-come-true. I like that. That is what I paid for and that is what I got: tools that aren't afraid to work in spite of everything.

Yeah, I know: things do wear out, get used up, do not - or will not - last forever.  But I really think a phone ought to last longer than one month and that dropping is a normal thing to have happen to a cell phone... or, hey. I could get another new cell phone and treat it like an old land line. I could install it in a special padded cabinet and visit it from time to time.  Brilliant idea!  I think I'll leave it at the shop and just visit it there.  Cheap solution. Little or no danger of abusing the delicate thing. Also, new models come out constantly, so the latest and greatest will always be available there!  Yep, that oughtta do it!