What would be wrong with buying a new but discontinued model cellphone?
Asked by
Jeruba (
56031)
September 10th, 2013
Now that it’s all about smartphones, if I just want a “basic” phone I have pretty limited choices. Right now I’m looking at this, which isn’t ideal but would do.
My question: Is there a significant risk in purchasing a model that isn’t current? It’s a lot newer than the phone I have now.
Aside: This seems weird to me: the wide variety of styles and colors of a few years ago seems to have gone away already.
I remember when our phones all looked like this (installed by the phone company, which owned the handset and fixed it in place—no unplugging and moving around except by the phone service guys, for a fee). Color was a big deal when it came along in the sixties—very exciting!—and how about those pushbuttons? Wow!
Now, all of a sudden, in 2013, here I am back to a choice of black or black (or gray or silver, which are essentially the same thing). Unless I want to carry an Internet connection in my pocket day and night, I’m out of date and my options are drastically limited. Does this make sense to me? No, it doesn’t.
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15 Answers
I’m like you. I want a no-frills phone. No Internet, just a cell phone for calls. Maybe texts, but they are not important. To do this, apparently I have to pay for a plan that offers bells and whistles and an expensive phone. I don’t want to pay by the minute, just a straight monthly cost, with a limited number of minutes. Haven’t found it yet.
Response moderated (Unhelpful)
Nothing.
All consumerism is based on individual need not being a sheeple.
Us middle aged boomers do not need to be slaves to the latest and greatest technology.
Middle of the road, functional, and meeting individual needs and skill is all that is needed.
I don’t need 500 apps…fuck..I’ll just forget what they are and why they are on my phone. lol
Response moderated (Unhelpful)
As long as it works I don’t see what risk there would be.
I also have no need for a smartphone and I’m very disappointed in the very few choices I have these days. I have an upgrade available to me right now, but I only have a choice between 6 phones that don’t have internet access. This is what I have right now. I would love more options.
Yeah, I thought I got a decent phone but when I showed it to my daughter her comment was “Oh, you got a Samsung POS!” (Piece of Shit)
If you are not buying from them, be sure to check with your carrier to see if they can provide you service with the type of phone you choose.
Response moderated
Ok—I guess nobody thinks the fact that it’s no longer supported by the maker is important or that it might be out of sync with the latest software. I just wondered if anybody else had run into these issues. Thanks for all comments.
(Naturally I didn’t mean morally wrong—I just meant would it be a bad idea.)
Response moderated (Spam)
You’ll have more problems with an outdated smartphone than an outdated feature phone or talk/text phone.
I went prepaid five years ago and ill never go back to contract.
The prepaid networks offer service on the same towers as the big companies, for a fraction of the cost. Most have an auto draft program so you don’t have to go looking for a card every month. I choose to top-up my virgin mobile account online, without storing my card information. This way, if I can’t afford to top up on day of, I can wait a few days and go without.
Straight talk, (verizon) and go phone (sprint) both still have Selection of talk phones. They do come in black and gray, but most phones do now. You can easily purchase pretty cases on Amazon.
@Jeruba I believe @glacial has an important point. Make sure your service provider will allow you to use that phone before purchasing it.
Aside from making sure your provider can give you phone service on that model, the only problem I can foresee is getting a battery for it, should the one it comes with die on you.
See. You don’t have to worry about how your new phone must look. because you just don’t have many choices. I can guess, you must be short on your pocket. And that’s very okay! Just go for the best phone at “Your” budget and make sure you feel equipped enough when you carry it. Like, It must have important applications and facilities. And if your budget allows you an Internet enabled phone, I would suggest you to go for it.
Hope that answers your question.
God bless.
MAY PEACE BE UPON YOU.
If you can, buy an extra battery when you get the phone. They won’t have one for it later.
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