Remember this? How could we forget, it was only two years ago! Yet to some of us, the G1 is an ancient artifact. Maybe that is a bit of an exaggeration, but there seems to be a stigma attached to hardware –namely cellphones– of yesteryear. With so many Android phones in the market since the G1, do you look at this founding handset as old news? To a lot of users, “old phones” still have some life in them.
Still Kickin’
You might’ve seen this little logo splashed around the internet. It is from CyanogenMod, a community built distribution of Android 2.2 which famously or infamously breathed new life into a rapidly aging G1. Suddenly that early upgrade itch has subsided…
“While this build is heavily optimized, it is also capable of pushing your G1 much harder. I am not responsible for bricked devices, dead SD cards, thermonuclear war, or the current economic crisis. Please do some research if you have any concerns about features included in this ROM before flashing it! YOU are choosing to make these modifications, and if you point the finger at me for messing up your device, I will laugh at you.” -cyanogenmod.com
Most G1 owners I talked to however are happy without the rooted mods. They seem content for the time being with the abilities of their phones. The applications they use everyday still work just as well as they would on newer Android Phones. “When my contract is up, that’s when I will think about what phone I want to get next”, one of them said.
“The new features on 2.1 or 2.2 haven’t made me want to buy another phone yet,” another said.
Remember this one too? Yep the iPhone 3G is still swinging. With unlocking and jail-breaking common practices for the iPhone some of them feel they will get another iPhone, but not until they are eligible for upgrade or another device appeals to their personal needs. I asked one 3G owner did she want the iphone4. “I haven’t really paid that much attention to the new one. By the time I am ready to get another phone, iPhone5 will be out.”
Another Reason to Stay Put
“One possible reason for the significant increase in the length of mobile phone ownership is that more customers are delaying an upgrade purchase due to the general economic downturn, in which the expense of purchasing a new device could outweigh the added benefit of owning it.” – Kirk Parsons, senior director of wireless services at J.D. Power and Associates.
Also we might add that some aren’t that drastically different than the other. Owners of the original Droid do not feel the sudden pangs of child birth in sight of the Droid 2. Droid Incredible owners aren’t looking at Droid X owners green with envy and Motorola Backflip owners are not doing somersaults when they see a Motorola Cliq. So the added costs of early upgrades, as well as the cell phone service plans themselves, to some do not seem worth it.
What phone are you rocking right now? And why?
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3Gs. bought days before the 4. and boy I’m glad I did.
I am using an iPhone 4. I plan on keeping it for a couple of years. I love it.
My irreplaceable Nexus One!
I still have my first gen iPhone. “Ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Some apps are a bit taxing, and it doesn’t run iOS 4, but it does what I need, and want, it to do. Perhaps when iPhone 5 comes out, I’ll upgrade.
Funny this article should appear right when I bought a 1-yr old HTC Diamond2. Powerful, solid, quality product that serves all my business communications needs in a way that no current Android or iPhone device could. Old school, yay.
I have a G1. I have looked at and tried out all the other Androids are replacements. They are all just faster versions of the G1 with better cameras. I am looking for something ridiculous. At this point, my favorite AndyPhones are the Sprint EPIC and the Dell Streak. Unfortunately, neither are on T-Mobile, and therefore I am staying with my G1 until a suitable donor is found.
I still have a G1 running cyanogemmod 4.2.15.1 with adw and it’s still blazing fast and does what I need. I found that cm6 is to much for the g1. But for now, I have no contract and I am keeping it that way. (I’m on simple mobile). If I do get a new phone it will be bought off craigslist. By doing this I am saving a ton of money!!!!
I have a Sanyo S1. It is just a phone. It does not fold or flip or slide. It has no camera or keyboard. It is not web enabled. It is just a phone. I make audio calls on it. I guess this makes be a phone Luddite.
My goodness an S1! impressive. I think if you don’t have a smartphone now, you will inevitably. Even if its just a simpler one. Eventually we wont even call them phones..
@ h-bomb I still want a G1 just to have one. I think i will find one soon. And Craigslist is the place to get phones. You really do save a lot of money.
I am currently rocking the Droid X. Before that I carried a simple message phone, the original eNV. I had that for over 3 years before making the Android plunge.
I just bought a “broken” g1 on eBay for $25. One of the prevoius owners tried to root it and failed. I succeeded. Great features like wifi tethering, and 3d gaming which the officials rom can’t handle. Much better than getting a new handset like the g2 on contract for $200. When you think about it, the G1 has some pretty good specs when compared to the “value” android handsets today.