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A phone that will last for 10+ years. Easy change of battery, glass, display, connectors, etc without specialist tools. Doesn't matter if it's a bit bigger than

by exDM69 9y ago

A phone that will last for 10+ years. Easy change of battery, glass, display, connectors, etc without specialist tools. Doesn't matter if it's a bit bigger than a nice form factor phone, I'm just sick and tired of phones dying on me and not being able to service them.

dh-g 9y ago
You can do this with older iphones (I have a 5s made from parts). You will need about a dollars worth of tools.
nickjj 9y ago
If you're cool with only using your phone as a phone + texting device you can get 5+ years out of current day non-smartphones and it only costs like $30 to fully replace it, so there's no need to swap individual components. My current phone's battery goes 3-4 days before I need to charge it, cost around $30 and it's currently been in use for 3 years with no signs of getting worse or breaking.
- exDM69 9y ago
  I'm not. I do need a browser and maps. I've been considering moving to a dumb phone, but I do need some basic features.
Klathmon 9y ago
I'm convinced this is basically impossible currently. Promising software updates alone for 10+ years is going to be a difficult sell, even if you really intend to. And it's going to cost a significant amount of money. And 10 years is a LONG time. 10 years ago android didn't exist, iOS had JUST come out, basically every "smartphone" out there was called a "PDA" and used windows mobile with a stylus. Even getting connectivity hardware that would work on those timescales is starting to get hard. And let's be honest, the market would be extremely small. Most people want the newest device every year, because hardware is still improving, new features are added, form factors change, and styling is important. Trying to sell a device which looks worse, costs more, is larger and has less features to the general public just isn't going to work. I get 5 years, but 10 seems to be really pushing it.
- exDM69 9y ago
  Smartphones stopped being status symbols years ago and the development of phones has stagnated. I could not tell the difference between my old and my current phone apart from battery life. Looking back 10 years doesn't make sense because development was rapid then. But look back 5 years and there isn't a huge difference. A phone from 5 years ago would be fine in 5 more years. Software updates and hardware serviceability are the bottle necks in phone longevity. The challenge is economical, cultural and political, not technical.
  - Klathmon 9y ago
    While i disagree that phones aren't status symbols any more (they absolutely are!), I agree with >The challenge is economical, cultural and political, not technical. While there are some technical hurdles to overcome to make a phone that lasts 10 years, they aren't that big comparatively. The real problem comes when you need to support software for a decade, getting people to buy a phone that's more expensive, larger, and slower than the competitors, selling enough to make the whole thing economically feasible, and getting people to be okay with a dated looking device. I just don't see that being possible right now, especially while phones are still getting higher resolution, more capability, larger batteries, and smaller form factors. Maybe when phones hit the same plateau that laptops did a few years ago it will be possible, but I would not want to be part of a company attempting it right now.
    - scarface74 9y ago
      While i disagree that phones aren't status symbols any more (they absolutely are!), I agree with How is a phone a status symbol? When most people say that, they are referring to iPhones. But when 40% of all phones in the US are iPhones how is it a status symbol? Even if you refer to the price, almost anyone can afford any iPhone - all of the carriers offer monthly 0% interest payment plans. Once anyone can afford it, it's no longer a status symbol.
      - Klathmon 9y ago
melvinmt 9y ago
I believe the Nokia 3310 was just relaunched this year that has 22 hours talk time, 31 days standby for just $52 https://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2017/04/13/nokia-3310-2017-vs-nokia-3310-whats-the-difference/#59cd6adb586a https://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2017/04/13/nokia-33...
- GFischer 9y ago
  Sounds great, I wonder about the maintainability, sounds like what the OP asked: http://run-belay.ru/to-completely-disassemble-the-nokia-3310-2017-it-is-sufficient-to-unscrew-six-screws.html http://run-belay.ru/to-completely-disassemble-the-nokia-3310...
GFischer 9y ago
Do you want it to do something besides calls? I've got 2 phones that have lasted 10+ years: Nokia 1100 and Nokia 5110 (the 5125 variant). I actually had to stop using the 5110 because the technology wasn't supported anymore (the frequencies were re-purposed for something else), and that's probably what will happen to your 10+ year phone. You can still purchase a Nokia 1100. It's the world's best-selling handset because you can do all you mentioned. I still have both in a drawer, and they boot when charged. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_1100 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_1100 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_5110 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_5110

by exDM69 9y ago

dh-g 9y ago

You can do this with older iphones (I have a 5s made from parts). You will need about a dollars worth of tools.

nickjj 9y ago

If you're cool with only using your phone as a phone + texting device you can get 5+ years out of current day non-smartphones and it only costs like $30 to fully replace it, so there's no need to swap individual components. My current phone's battery goes 3-4 days before I need to charge it, cost around $30 and it's currently been in use for 3 years with no signs of getting worse or breaking.

exDM69 9y ago
I'm not. I do need a browser and maps. I've been considering moving to a dumb phone, but I do need some basic features.

Klathmon 9y ago

I'm convinced this is basically impossible currently. Promising software updates alone for 10+ years is going to be a difficult sell, even if you really intend to. And it's going to cost a significant amount of money. And 10 years is a LONG time. 10 years ago android didn't exist, iOS had JUST come out, basically every "smartphone" out there was called a "PDA" and used windows mobile with a stylus. Even getting connectivity hardware that would work on those timescales is starting to get hard. And let's be honest, the market would be extremely small. Most people want the newest device every year, because hardware is still improving, new features are added, form factors change, and styling is important. Trying to sell a device which looks worse, costs more, is larger and has less features to the general public just isn't going to work. I get 5 years, but 10 seems to be really pushing it.

exDM69 9y ago
Smartphones stopped being status symbols years ago and the development of phones has stagnated. I could not tell the difference between my old and my current phone apart from battery life. Looking back 10 years doesn't make sense because development was rapid then. But look back 5 years and there isn't a huge difference. A phone from 5 years ago would be fine in 5 more years. Software updates and hardware serviceability are the bottle necks in phone longevity. The challenge is economical, cultural and political, not technical.
- Klathmon 9y ago
  While i disagree that phones aren't status symbols any more (they absolutely are!), I agree with >The challenge is economical, cultural and political, not technical. While there are some technical hurdles to overcome to make a phone that lasts 10 years, they aren't that big comparatively. The real problem comes when you need to support software for a decade, getting people to buy a phone that's more expensive, larger, and slower than the competitors, selling enough to make the whole thing economically feasible, and getting people to be okay with a dated looking device. I just don't see that being possible right now, especially while phones are still getting higher resolution, more capability, larger batteries, and smaller form factors. Maybe when phones hit the same plateau that laptops did a few years ago it will be possible, but I would not want to be part of a company attempting it right now.
  - scarface74 9y ago
    While i disagree that phones aren't status symbols any more (they absolutely are!), I agree with How is a phone a status symbol? When most people say that, they are referring to iPhones. But when 40% of all phones in the US are iPhones how is it a status symbol? Even if you refer to the price, almost anyone can afford any iPhone - all of the carriers offer monthly 0% interest payment plans. Once anyone can afford it, it's no longer a status symbol.
    - Klathmon 9y ago

melvinmt 9y ago

I believe the Nokia 3310 was just relaunched this year that has 22 hours talk time, 31 days standby for just $52 https://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2017/04/13/nokia-3310-2017-vs-nokia-3310-whats-the-difference/#59cd6adb586a https://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2017/04/13/nokia-33...

GFischer 9y ago
Sounds great, I wonder about the maintainability, sounds like what the OP asked: http://run-belay.ru/to-completely-disassemble-the-nokia-3310-2017-it-is-sufficient-to-unscrew-six-screws.html http://run-belay.ru/to-completely-disassemble-the-nokia-3310...

GFischer 9y ago

Do you want it to do something besides calls? I've got 2 phones that have lasted 10+ years: Nokia 1100 and Nokia 5110 (the 5125 variant). I actually had to stop using the 5110 because the technology wasn't supported anymore (the frequencies were re-purposed for something else), and that's probably what will happen to your 10+ year phone. You can still purchase a Nokia 1100. It's the world's best-selling handset because you can do all you mentioned. I still have both in a drawer, and they boot when charged. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_1100 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_1100 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_5110 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_5110