What do you do with your old smartphones?

This post is  inspired by a question posed by a reader on Slashdot - what do you do with your old smartphone when you buy a new one?

Time was when I would exchange my old phones while buying a new one in order to save a new  bucks on the new purchase. I remember that dealers would endorse buying Nokia phones because they had the highest resale value.

Now life has changed. I have not exchanged a phone since the last 4 years - I have given away some phones and kept some with me. Resale values are pathetically low thanks to the general drop in cell phone prices. I would rather keep the phone for an emergency or hand it over to someone who wants to use it.

Cellphone recycling is an industry that is waiting to happen. This article in GreenBiz estimates that 140 million cellphones will end up in landfills this year. Cellphone recyclers buy your old phone and dispose of it in an environmentally friendly way. Incidentally, cellphones like most electronic devices contain a small amount of valuable metals like gold, silver, copper, aluminium etc. in addition to significant amounts of toxic substances like lead, mercury etc. This demands responsible and safe recycling, yet it's hardly on the horizon in India.

I have no idea what a retailer does after buying my second hand phone and I have never asked.

What have you done with your old smartphones?


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

FastTAG woes on Mumbai Pune Expressway

Image
Since December 1, 2017, it has been made mandatory for all vehicles sold in India to have a FASTag fitted on the windscreen, either by the manufacturer, or an authorized dealership at the time of sale. The FASTag is a simple to use, rechargeable tag which enables automatic deduction of tolls at toll plazas across the country. The Tag employs RFID technology and is linked to a prepaid account to facilitate recharge. You can link your FASTag to your PayTM, ICICI or HDFC bank account, but will eventually be bank neutral. The FASTag is being promoted actively in India by multiple agencies including NHAI (National Highways Authority of India) and the Indian Highways Management company. Currently it is claimed that FASTag is operational at 400 toll plazas in state and national highways. In a bid to increase adoption, the NHAI recently made FASTags available through petrol pumps. There are obviously multiple benefits of FASTag for a motorist – a faster, more convenient way to p
Read more

5 budget MP3 players to replace your iPod Nano

Image
With Apple finally discontinuing the Nano and Shuffle in 2017, three years after killing the iPod Classic, many people felt that the MP3/DAP (Digital Audio Player) era was finally coming to an end.  The short answer – it’s not true. Unlike the compact Digital Camera which has died a natural death, bowing to the equivalent (or increasingly, better) cellphone camera, Digital Audio Players have survived the onslaught of smartphones. They are no longer as cool as the Walkman and Discman were amongst an earlier generation of youngsters, but they are staples amongst a small but passionate community of audiophiles. Even Apple has chosen to retain the iPod Touch in its product lineup, with options of 32GB or 128 GB capacity. Quite a few friends have pinged me after the demise of Apple’s mid-priced and budget priced DAP offerings, asking for alternatives. Here is a list of products that you can look at, across price points. Do note, that the devices listed here are Nano/Shuf
Read more

Google Map and confusions on Indian Highways

Image
I rely 100% on Google Maps for accuarate navigation within the city, whether its my home town commuting, or a walk to nearby restaurants when I am a tourist in a new place. This year, when my family and I made two long road trips, covering nearly 4000 km in the span of a few days, I naturally turned to my old ally to plan the journey. This is a big transition compared to our earlier journey planning. I still have the physical maps (anyone remember map of Maharashtra? South India?) that we used in my school days to plan trips. Dad and I would trace the routes, calculate the distance and then write down in a notebook where we would make a halt each day. Against each day, we would also write down the petrol consumption, mileage and expenses. Of course, life does not operate according to a map. We still needed to check signboards, ask people when we got lost and take Uturns because we went down the wrong road. Does this change because of Google Maps? Actually, it does
Read more