Stepping off the mobile phone upgrade cycle

Nokia 6310i
Best-kukkest-phone-ever. Nothing beats it for battery life!
 
I figured this article would have some more ...em...flesh to it.

If people took proper care of their phones (instead of letting it lie around in public places easy to steal) and/or used their conscious brains to not accidentally drop it in a few liters of water, then you'd soon realize if your phone (after the "upgrade" and 24 month contract) isn't missing a few buttons or soggy because of the constant cat piss on it, you can actually use it and save a lot of money in the long run.

With the average cellphone contract bill for a nice phone sitting at around R850 (from personal experience), once you sign another contract and DONT opt for the upgrade option, you save quite a chunk of money. For example, I got myself the iPhone (bought it cash) about 2 years ago. Since then my contract expired and I renewed it with a prepaid contract where I only pay R73 a month but receive R200 airtime and 25 free SMS'es. Sure as hell beats my previous monthly average!

This saves me enough money to actually buy a new phone cash if I wanted to over the same period some drunkard loses his phone twice/drops it in the ocean or just generally abuse it (since hey, I'll just get a new upgrade in a few months anyway...right?)

New bells & whistles are always awesome... you just need to do a bit more research on what YOUR needs are when it comes to a cellphone and what you'd be using it for (and what you WANT to use it for going forward). Taking care of your cellphone pays off a lot more than upgrading every few years to new tech just for the hype where you sit there not even using half of the features it comes with... people are sheep and they will continue this trend because it's easy and "wow so cheap for a new phone". I'm laughing all the way to the bank and get exactly what I need every month... with the nicest tech...for R73!
 
Had it not been for my 3310's limited SMS inbox space, I'd still be using it today.
 
lcbxx said:
Nokia 6310i
Best-kukkest-phone-ever. Nothing beats it for battery life!
Click to expand...

Well, I had that phone, I think 8 years ago. I gave it to my dad.
I had 5 phones later, and my dad is still using the 6310i, and don't want any of my other phones! I think his battery still outlast, my current phone.
 
Enjoyed this article :)

Have been wondering about this for a while now. I've always had reason to upgrade, as I was in transitional periods of life: school->vasity-->corporate slave. Now I have what all I need, and can see myself being happy with it for longer than the 24 month contract.

I suspect I'll do something like this:

AcidRaZor said:
I figured this article would have some more ...em...flesh to it.

If people took proper care of their phones (instead of letting it lie around in public places easy to steal) and/or used their conscious brains to not accidentally drop it in a few liters of water, then you'd soon realize if your phone (after the "upgrade" and 24 month contract) isn't missing a few buttons or soggy because of the constant cat piss on it, you can actually use it and save a lot of money in the long run.

With the average cellphone contract bill for a nice phone sitting at around R850 (from personal experience), once you sign another contract and DONT opt for the upgrade option, you save quite a chunk of money. For example, I got myself the iPhone (bought it cash) about 2 years ago. Since then my contract expired and I renewed it with a prepaid contract where I only pay R73 a month but receive R200 airtime and 25 free SMS'es. Sure as hell beats my previous monthly average!

This saves me enough money to actually buy a new phone cash if I wanted to over the same period some drunkard loses his phone twice/drops it in the ocean or just generally abuse it (since hey, I'll just get a new upgrade in a few months anyway...right?)

New bells & whistles are always awesome... you just need to do a bit more research on what YOUR needs are when it comes to a cellphone and what you'd be using it for (and what you WANT to use it for going forward). Taking care of your cellphone pays off a lot more than upgrading every few years to new tech just for the hype where you sit there not even using half of the features it comes with... people are sheep and they will continue this trend because it's easy and "wow so cheap for a new phone". I'm laughing all the way to the bank and get exactly what I need every month... with the nicest tech...for R73!
Click to expand...

As an aside, then new govt. regulations around this kind of thing are supposed to force the MNOs to tell you the cost of the phone vs contract you pay each month. You can then decide if a 'free' phone on (what amounts to) hire purchase is actually worth it. I suspect not. Phone up front, with R73 for R200 airtime? Awesome!
 
I still have and use a 6310i for an office phone. Battery life is still something like 20 days, with a few calls in that time. This is the original battery from 2002. It's a great phone from yesteryear.
 
I've had the same phone for 5 yrs now HP iPAQ 6915 so yes one can look after a phone and I am actually still very happy with it and it still performs well.
 
Does not work for all simulations...
i have a BC 400@R650 Cellc...400 minutes inclusive...lets say at R1,50 a minute peak that's R600 worth of calls a month(yes you can get cheaper but i'm not swapping sims etc etc to save a few cents)
So with that contract i get a brand new R6000 phone with all bells and whistles...the contract pays for itself!!!
let's say you can get the phone for R5000 prepaid...5000/24 = 204/pm
R650 p/m-200 = R400/pm just for the 400mins.....R1 a minute....bargain!

What are you guys on about? :)
 
drukkie said:
Does not work for all simulations...
i have a BC 400@R650 Cellc...400 minutes inclusive...lets say at R1,50 a minute peak that's R600 worth of calls a month(yes you can get cheaper but i'm not swapping sims etc etc to save a few cents)
So with that contract i get a brand new R6000 phone with all bells and whistles...the contract pays for itself!!!
let's say you can get the phone for R5000 prepaid...5000/24 = 204/pm
R650 p/m-200 = R400/pm just for the 400mins.....R1 a minute....bargain!

What are you guys on about? :)
Click to expand...

It's a contract. I'd be surprised to see if your average spend in a month over 12 months would be the R650 flat out on contract. You also forget that the 400 minutes inclusive expires each month.
 
AcidRaZor said:
If people took proper care of their phones (instead of letting it lie around in public places easy to steal)
Click to expand...

I am generally a very careful guy, but have lost a lot of phones over the years, each one with an interesting story behind it.

You don't have to "leave a phone lying around" for it to get stolen, that's just a dickish way of pretending that the victim of crime is at fault, and that you're somehow superior because (actually by pure luck) it hasn't happened to you yet: Two of my lost phones were stolen, one when I was attacked by a gang of armed knife-weilding tsotis who pinned me down while holding a knife against my throat and literally ripped my clothing apart to get my phone out my pocket --- which can happen to you too. The other one was also basically stolen by a girl I trusted --- and I didn't leave it "lying around", it was literally pickpocketed. These things can happen to anyone, you too, you've just been lucky, not smart. Other cases of lost phones involve a girlfriend losing a phone, and destruction by another girlfriend (perhaps these types of things don't happen to you as you don't have a girlfriend). Another phone, my first, actually never stopped working, but it was a ginormous brick and just ended up in a cupboard until I finally threw it out. I've left out some of the more interesting details of some of these.

once you sign another contract and DONT opt for the upgrade option, you save quite a chunk of money.
Click to expand...

Actually, for most cases this is false; the cost of a phone is pretty much already worked into the majority of contracts, to the point where they literally penalise you if you don't take an upgrade option, because that's how it works --- there is litle/no competition, and they're in cahoots with the phone providers to sell more (cahoots is probably generous, since the phone manufacturers push the networks onto the upgrade churn, they can do this with e.g. selective pricing/discounts). Contract options that don't include a new phone built into the price are only a recent development on the market. I initially hated being 'pushed' into regular upgrades, but over the years I've come to like it and look forward to my next upgrade, my current phones are a little the worse for wear.
 
Well, I canned my contract and went prepaid a while ago. Ended up using my old phone for a total of 3 years. (Sony Ericsson W890i). Still have it in fact, and it's still usable (amazing how you can make something last when you know you won't just get a new one.
Anyway, eventually decided I needed a new phone, but ended up getting a contract! Got the Xperia Mini X10 on Vodacom for R99/month, for a total of R2500. Phone costs R3500. BUT, then I put my Virgin Mobile SIM in, so I'm still on prepaid.
Now, I get that satisfied knowing Vodacom's subsidising me for a change, instead of vice versa (not that they're actually losing, just not making as much as they would've if I used the contract the way the average user does. Also, I won't be renewing, of course)
 
@ AcidRaZor, I am on Vodacom top up 315, I pay 315 Rand per month and then R315 airtime every month my airtime also carries over for a period of 3months IIRC. I also get a new phone every 2 years and then just sell my old phone or store it at home. My monthly Vodacom bill is R404 that's with insurance and call id etc.

It works out cheaper for me because I get a free phone every 2 years and R315 airtime per month.
 
AcidRaZor said:
I figured this article would have some more ...em...flesh to it.

If people took proper care of their phones (instead of letting it lie around in public places easy to steal) and/or used their conscious brains to not accidentally drop it in a few liters of water, then you'd soon realize if your phone (after the "upgrade" and 24 month contract) isn't missing a few buttons or soggy because of the constant cat piss on it, you can actually use it and save a lot of money in the long run.

With the average cellphone contract bill for a nice phone sitting at around R850 (from personal experience), once you sign another contract and DONT opt for the upgrade option, you save quite a chunk of money. For example, I got myself the iPhone (bought it cash) about 2 years ago. Since then my contract expired and I renewed it with a prepaid contract where I only pay R73 a month but receive R200 airtime and 25 free SMS'es. Sure as hell beats my previous monthly average!

This saves me enough money to actually buy a new phone cash if I wanted to over the same period some drunkard loses his phone twice/drops it in the ocean or just generally abuse it (since hey, I'll just get a new upgrade in a few months anyway...right?)

New bells & whistles are always awesome... you just need to do a bit more research on what YOUR needs are when it comes to a cellphone and what you'd be using it for (and what you WANT to use it for going forward). Taking care of your cellphone pays off a lot more than upgrading every few years to new tech just for the hype where you sit there not even using half of the features it comes with... people are sheep and they will continue this trend because it's easy and "wow so cheap for a new phone". I'm laughing all the way to the bank and get exactly what I need every month... with the nicest tech...for R73!
Click to expand...

What provider are you with exactly? Sounds like a package I could work with.

I'm currently on Vodacom's R135 @ R79/month. Got a Samsung J750 with it that I sold, and I've got my oooold K800i and HTC Dream.

The K800i was almost relaxing after the time I had the G1. The K800i I can just pop in a pocket and if it doesn't ring I don't care. The Dream almost forces you to have a look at it every now and then :/

I'm due for another upgrade, and honestly, I'd rather go for something that provides 'free' data, than this weekender crap I'm currently on.

I don't make voice calls much, and when I need to it's usually not after hours anyway. I can do with around 100MB/month though, and some free SMS's would be awesome.
 
AcidRaZor said:
It's a contract. I'd be surprised to see if your average spend in a month over 12 months would be the R650 flat out on contract. You also forget that the 400 minutes inclusive expires each month.
Click to expand...

uhm yes it does....it rolls over 2 months...another mybb user not knowing what he is talking about....i actually never go over my R650. with the rollover i can budget. no probs.

look somewhere in the middle or search for "Roll"...and it is 2 months not 3 months as the incorrect MYBB article. i can only max my free minutes to 800. 400 from last month and 400 from current month.
http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/251068-How-cellular-operators-rip-you-off
 
AcidRaZor said:
I figured this article would have some more ...em...flesh to it.

If people took proper care of their phones (instead of letting it lie around in public places easy to steal) and/or used their conscious brains to not accidentally drop it in a few liters of water, then you'd soon realize if your phone (after the "upgrade" and 24 month contract) isn't missing a few buttons or soggy because of the constant cat piss on it, you can actually use it and save a lot of money in the long run.

With the average cellphone contract bill for a nice phone sitting at around R850 (from personal experience), once you sign another contract and DONT opt for the upgrade option, you save quite a chunk of money. For example, I got myself the iPhone (bought it cash) about 2 years ago. Since then my contract expired and I renewed it with a prepaid contract where I only pay R73 a month but receive R200 airtime and 25 free SMS'es. Sure as hell beats my previous monthly average!

This saves me enough money to actually buy a new phone cash if I wanted to over the same period some drunkard loses his phone twice/drops it in the ocean or just generally abuse it (since hey, I'll just get a new upgrade in a few months anyway...right?)

New bells & whistles are always awesome... you just need to do a bit more research on what YOUR needs are when it comes to a cellphone and what you'd be using it for (and what you WANT to use it for going forward). Taking care of your cellphone pays off a lot more than upgrading every few years to new tech just for the hype where you sit there not even using half of the features it comes with... people are sheep and they will continue this trend because it's easy and "wow so cheap for a new phone". I'm laughing all the way to the bank and get exactly what I need every month... with the nicest tech...for R73!
Click to expand...

Sorry for trolling :)

What you are missing is the R6000 you shelled out for that iphone 2 years ago in the first place?...somehow in the equation it got lost :)
Also R200 for R73 what deal is that? links please :)
Your phone is 2 years old and since you got an iphone, I'd guess that you like showing off your phone, that new app...that innovative game?
Let's see how you feel about that same phone in another two years when they launch the iphone 6 :)

PS i get free insurance with my package....
 
Last edited:
I wonder if the writers Ericsson GA628 still works? Cause my '96 Nokia 1610 still works :
22544_337224435663_579845663_5229921_1937317_n.jpg

I guess thats one thing Nokia still does - quality that lasts for decades.
 
DigitalSoldier said:
@ AcidRaZor, I am on Vodacom top up 315, I pay 315 Rand per month and then R315 airtime every month my airtime also carries over for a period of 3months IIRC. I also get a new phone every 2 years and then just sell my old phone or store it at home. My monthly Vodacom bill is R404 that's with insurance and call id etc.

It works out cheaper for me because I get a free phone every 2 years and R315 airtime per month.
Click to expand...

Jip, I have the same setup.
 
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