Stick with Last Year's Model
Choose to hang on to a great gadget or technology product that you own, instead of just buying a new one. And tell your story on Facebook or Twitter using the #lastyears tag. Learn More
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My stereo is easily a decade older (maybe more) than me, It's a hand-me-down from one of my dad's friends, who had in his college apartment back in the day. It has 2 large no-name speakers, a record player, and an ancient Kenwood receiver. (I threw the reel-to-reel out a few years ago.) It sounds great plugged into iTunes-- and even better, the volume goes from 1-10, but anything over 1 is too loud for an apartment dweller. I'm sure 2 would register as a 4 on the Richter scale to my neighbors. I look forward to cranking up futuristic music in my future home on this thing.
Also, my Pontiac has about 180000 miles and it's still going strong! (Knock on wood)
I'm tired of the pressure to get the latest and greatest. I have a 2+ year old phone (kept last one 4 years till the screen started to degrade), drive a 14 year old Neon sport and have a W2000 tiny Vaio laptop - the size of today's notebooks. The car and laptop probably need upgrading soon (likely will buy a pre-owned vehicle again for the best value), but I generally keep things a LONG time (I've only owned 3 cars in my 52 years, since I generally keep them 10+ years). Nice to see other folks do too.
Buy used! Keep it cleaned & working! Repair what you have! It can be a dignifying way to live... As in the old Yankee saying(?): "Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without."
I have a first generation 4GB iPod Nano - use it for about 4 or 5 hours a week total, on original battery, and it's still going strong. It was second hand when I bought it. Why do I need any more storage space for photos? Why do I need video? I have a camera that does both tasks for me.
Also have a naff Nokia 2680 - or something - I bought second hand. It had hardly been used. It doesn't do most things modern phones do, but I can text, I can call, and I can send very basic picture messages. And the battery life lasts over a week - it hasn't let me down! No probs there.:)
Also have a bitsa of a PC - I bought a new case, but virtually all bits inside are used or second hand - hard drives from my old computer have been moved across.
As regards video gaming - I did buy a Nintendo Wii - but second hand, and I sold my Gamecube and have kept most of my old Gamecube games and one controller so I can still play them and get my Prince Of Persia fix. I still have a Super Nintendo and a Megadrive too! :)
I finally upgraded my SonyEriccson phone in January - but only because my husband bought me a new phone for my birthday! He's now seeing it was kind of pointless - due to my job, the phone spends every business day switched off inside a locker as I can't take it into my office for security reasons :) On weekends, people contact me at home or online so I can see this phone lasting a really long time... My old phone is still sitting in a drawer at home until I can sneak it out to be recycled or give it away to someone who needs one.
I bought my Palm M130 used on Ebay 6 years ago. I still use it today! Changed the battery once. http://bit.ly/7pLdi
Hi all ! I've been sticking to:
- a 1983 Technics stereo HiFi system
- a 2001 DigiTech RP300
- a 2005 Sony DSC-T1
- a 2005 30GB iPod
- and a 2007 MacBook 2,1 (well, not the HDD, RAM, and SuperDrive, though)
.. Although they're neither the best nor most expensive (even at their respective times), they're indeed awesome when you use them to their maximum capabilities.. viva oldskool !!
I hold onto old cars instead of getting new ones. What bigger gadget is there than that! (And I rock a first gen iPhone)
My PowerBook G4 & 2. gen. iPod nano are both still up to the task. No need to replace them. BTW, I'm typing this on an Apple Extended II which was made in 1989.
I repurpose old computer hardware to create music!
And always purchase stuff that's 1 or more years old.
Basically I am a poor south american monkey :P, but a cool gadget is a cool gadget :)
As for personal audio, I'm sticking with the combo Cowon D2 + big SDHC card (2.5 years) + Shure SE530 headphones (almost 1 year). I can't imagine any change in the near future. D2 rocks in sound quality and levels and has FLAC support which is everything I need in a portable player.
This is probably some kind of record for me and possibly others but I've owned my laptop bag for over 6 years now and it's as good as new. It's a Brenthaven basic black backpack. It's all ballistic nylon an not *one* of the seams is coming undone. It is like new. Amazing. It's not fancy or chic but it's somehow bigger on the inside than it is on the outside and built to last.
I love old gadgets--the older and sturdier the better. My friend recently gave me an old AT&T phone to use when the lightning fries the radioshack version or it just fries itself out of boredom...
I haven't replaced my Nokia 5300 yet even if it hangs almost every day because no matter how much I'd love a new iPhone or some other glossy phone, my old one still works. That and I can drop my phone hundreds of times and it'll still work perfectly fine.
I just replaced my 7-year old Kodak Advantix with a digital camera. I really hope it lasts as long as its predecessor -- or longer!
my power book g4 was used when I bought it over 5 years ago and still fine- replaced the hard drive, dvd, video ram, but that still counts, right?
I love my Powerbook G4 - besides, there's something not quite right with the intel models. However for a server, I'm conflicted. I have an old rackmount HP which is a power hog. At what point does the carbon footprint of the old balance with the e-waste and carbon of the replacement?
I find this habit of constantly replacing gadgets a proof of stupidity and bad taste. And i am proud to consider that I know how to choose my gadgets so that they never betray me. It's a smart way to save money, and to express my personality :) And i think age actually adds value to a gadget.
I have been using my Nokia 5510 ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nok... ) for 5 years, until the battery just died and it was too late to find that type of battery replacement in any store. I just loved that phone! An amazing piece of hardware. Looked ugly like hell, everyone was making fun of me, but i loved it. I would still be using it if i had a battery :) Now I've replaced it with a HTC P3300 which i think I'll be using for another 2-3 yrs or so. AND i bought the HTC in perfect condition, from someone who didn't use it anymore, because he had replaced it with a new shiny iPhone - have no idea why.
But my most valuable gadget is a superb traveling alarm clock made by Toshiba around 1978. My dad bought it from Japan in 1979 (!!!!) and the damn thing still works perfectly. Toshiba LQ-100A. There's no greater toy in any store today :)
I don't think a gadget is good because it's new and modern, but because it was good right from its conception and it will always be good, until it dies. It just stops being modern. Like a human being.
People who love gadgets are not the ones who can't live without the latest gadgets. People who love gadgets are those who love THEIR own gadgets first.
Franco
I still have my old 5th gen ipod from 2005, and cope with putting new batteries and constant restores so I don't need to spend another 300 dollars. It's on its way out, though, and I'll end up using it as an external hard drive and maybe try to find something cool to do with the rest of the stuff
I repaired the busted backlight on my laptop with a $20 bulb and access to a soldering iron! Oh, and I've had said laptop for over 3 1/2 years now. ;)
I'm choosing to stick with my two-year-old 4GB Zune, instead of buying a new iPod Nano. It doesn't work with my iMac, which is a huge inconvenience (I upload music through my other laptop), but I like the interface and it has FM radio. I think I can hold on to it a bit longer.