RSS FeedThu 8 Jan 2009
Awhile back, a coworker and I had a brief discussion regarding the construction of cell phones. It started as he was telling of a problem he was having with his cell phone and ended with both of us sharing stories of previous cell phones being much more durable than our current models.
My first cell phone was a Nokia 5160. If you’re not familiar with this model, it was a “candy bar” style phone produced in the mid to late 1990s. As was the common thing to do back then, I kept it in a leather case with belt-clip. It was a great phone in that it worked good and was quite durable.
That phone got dropped, kicked, thrown, and abused in more ways that I can count but always continued to work. The only problem that ever evolved with that phone was the fact that after using it for 2 or 3 years, the battery life began to significantly decrease. At which time I renewed my contract with my cell phone company and got a new phone.
Since that time, I have had Motorola flip phones. First, a V60, then a V710 followed by an E815 and now currently a V9m. While all of these phones have worked quite well for me and I am a fan of the Motorolas, they don’t make phones as durable as they used to.
This isn’t something I’ve noticed with just the Motorola brand, but also several reports from people using all variety of different brands and models of phones. Many of the more common reports, as well as things that I have experienced, include parts breaking off (antennas, the flip part, battery covers, etc), screens that quit working properly, and a variety of other issues.
It seems to me that perhaps there is a bit of planned obsolescence by the cell phone makers. Heck, it’s simple enough for people to get a new phone every year or two through their service provider and always have the newest features on their phone and everyone should be happy right? By this thinking, it’s understandable that the phone be made a little crappier (cheaper) and less durable (it only has to last two years right) and thus the reason that the current cell phones are not as well-built as their ancestors.
However, just because a person can get a new phone every two years doesn’t mean they are going to want to. Many people (myself included) grow attached to their phone and unless there is some new feature that they want, would rather keep their current phone. This is made difficult if their phone is breaking because it wasn’t built to last. Also, because the phones are built to only last a limited amount of time, they are much more susceptible to breaking.
It is this cheaper construction and the fact that the phones are only intended to last a limited amount of time that I feel is the cause for the increase in broken cell phones. Why can’t they build them to last and be more durable like the older ones were. Yes, the designs are much sleeker now and the features are awesome, but what good is all that if the phone is broken and/or doesn’t work.
How about you? Do you have any similar experiences? Does it seem like phones do not stand up to as much abuse as they used to or do they just get abused that much more? Subscribe to my feed, then share your thoughts in the comments below.
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I can totally identify with what you mean. my first cellphone was indestructable. before the phone I have now, i had a hot pink (naturally) razr. It was great and all but it wasnt as durable as my previous phones.
My phone now is pretty tough. ive dropped it, (accidentally) kicked it, sat on it, spilled drink on it and has been in the hands of my two yr old. and it is still as good as gold. of course i have a (pink) case and a screen protector on it, so that helps.
Wow, you certainly are putting that phone to the test. Is that case that it is in a hard shell-like case or is it more of a fabric/leathery type or something completely different? I’ve often wondered how much protection the different case actually provide.
In the past, it seemed that 98% of people kept their phone in some sort of case, these days it’s more like 98% don’t and phones seem to break a bit easier these days…is it just the things I’m noticing/paying attention to/hearing about or is there actually a correlation here? If there is a correlation, is it cause-and-effect or just correlation….hmmmm.
the case I have is like a hard rubbery case, its made by incase. i like it, my only prob with it is that it cracked in the corners from taking on and off too much. but its a great case and i would def recommend it to others, maybe not so much on the color. :p
case:
http://store.apple.com/us/product/TU065LL/A?fnode=MTY1NDA0NA&mco=MjQzNTE3OA&p=3&s=topSellers
I think a lot of things are no longer made to be as durable as they used to, so it’s not just limited to phones.
Some of my older phones were almost indestructible - the only thing that let them down was the battery life.
I think one of the reasons phones are getting more fragile is because manufacturers are trying to make them smaller, lighter and cheaper, and that definitely contributes to the lack of robustness of modern phones.
I’m sure that the lack of robustness is due to the changes in the manufacturing process. However, as far as style and design are concerned, if I could get the features and functionality of my current phone in with the form-factor and durability of that 5160 I’d take it in a heartbeat. It’s not like the style (sleek, slim, etc) is THAT huge of a deal…
All of the mobile phones I have ever used have broken at one time or another. Only my first Ericsson phone broke so that it wouldnt ever power on - the rest just had some minor problems (like not working keys etc).
To tell the truth - my only phone that hasn’t broken yet is my iPhone - its been working great for almost 1,5 years. It even handles dropping - but i guess Ive mainly been just lucky
You have my sympathies that you were never able to experience an old-school indestructable phone. I actually saw a Motorola Startac in use the other day!
Sounds like the iPhone is pretty durable, this is somewhat surprising given all the features, and what-not and the fact that they look so fragile.
I know not ALL the newer phones are so this way (I had a V710 go out a car window at 60 MPH and still work and I’m sure some older phones no longer worked after the second time they were dropped) but as a generalization they seem to be more breakable than the older phones.
ok, your comment made me laugh and curious at the same time….how does a cellphone go out a window at 60mph? please do tell the story behind it…lol
Well, it was summertime and the car I was riding in did not have air conditioning (actually I think the air conditioning just didn’t work) so we were driving with the windows down. My phone was sitting on the dash and that car had the unfortunate design that the dash ended at the window it just lined up perfectly that when we went around a rather sharp curve my phone slid from where it was sitting to the end of the dash and out the window.
So as Nick already knows but others may not. He wrote about phones on the same day mine breaks. I have had my phone since May of 2008 and i have the Motorola V9M and it worked just fine. But yesterday i reached in my pocket to answer my phone and the displays were not working at all. It was ringing but nothing was displaying. Long story short i had the phone for 8 months, no signs of breaking and then all of a sudden stopped working. I have been through so many phones its just plan silly. But anyway, i hope i hear back from motorola soon so i can send my phone in, wish me luck.
Best of luck on that. I did make mention of this in the comments of a post on Derek’s site, so we’ll see if anyone notices the comment and stops by to check it out (or your site to check that out)