About two years ago, I put up a poll here asking readers how often they change their mobile phones and based on the feedback, it seems like 9 months is the median. That time there were very few selection of smartphones unlike today.
With smartphones coming in from entry-level to high-end models, the focus has changed from the hardware to the operating system and the apps that go along with it.
So we could be seeing mobile phone users keeping their smartphones longer than usual. With powerful phones, users can now stick their their handsets much longer (probably 18 months to 24 months which is usually the lock-up period) compared to the time they were just using feature-phones.
Let’s see a show of hands — those of who have been using smartphones (iOS, Android WebOS, etc.), how long have you been using them or when do you plan to eventually replace them?
My first cellphone in 1997 was a motorola microtac, after a year I got JV(a smart billcrusher) in 1998, then an ericcsson in 1999 and then a nokia 3210 also in 1999, a nokia 3310 in 2000, nokia 6510 in 2001, nokia 6550 in 2002, nokia 2100 in 2003, nokia 3230 in 2005, nokia 5700 in 2007 and last is nokia 5800 in 2009, which i still use today and since I have a pc and a laptop, it keeps good company. I will replace it when it finally wears out which I think is still good for a year or two. I like an iphone to do that.