My Opinion - When to change your Mobile Phone -

When to change your mobile phone? Now days, with telco tying up contracts for an average of 24 months, most of us will probably change our phone after our contracts end. A contract will indicate that it'e time to ditch the current phone for a newer model. Well, we are not alone. According to the data from Recon Analytics in 2011, Americans change their phone on an average of 21.7 months, making them the most often users that change their mobile phones in the world. As for the Indians, the keep their phones for an average of 93.6 months before the get a new one.

For more data on the handset replacement cycle, refer to the Table 1 below.

What about you? How often do you change your phones? Do you also wait till your contract ends or you change it every time there is a new model available? I do come across people who used to change their mobile phones every time a new model released. As for myself, i try to change it before the end of the warranty or if I really likes the phone, I will change it before my battery drop dead.

Things I consider before I change my phone.

1. How long my warranty left? This is the most important aspect as once the warranty expired, the value of the phone will drop at least 20% - 30% than those still under warranty. Every RM100 drop RM30! 

2. Resale Value. With new models keep launching, it's difficult to sell an used phone at a high price. Currently, only Apple hold the highest resale value as the design only change every 2 years despite new model being launch every year. So, even if you are holding an iPhone 4, it still looks the same as iPhone 4S thus the price for iPhone 4 still remained higher than other models. Do remember that, the earliest you change your phone, the higher resale value will be higher. Classic example, I bought a phone today at RM2000. After 3 months, I sell it for RM1600. Another scenario, my brother bought a phone today at RM2000 and keep it for a good 1.5 years before the battery began to have problems. Knowing the problem, he decided to sell it away but unfortunately, the model is outdated, out of warranty and got battery issues. So, he might only able to sell it around the price of RM400 - RM500 depending on phone models. If the phone do not have replaceable battery, then good luck. You consider yourself lucky if people are willing to pay even RM300. So the next time you buy a phone, check if the battery are replaceable or not. 

3. Battery life cycle. With an average of 500 charge cycle for a lithium ion battery (standard battery type for most mobile phones). A smart phone battery can only last approx. 16.4 months if you charge it on a daily basis if your battery was lower than 20% capacity. More details on battery life cycle. Refer to: Battery Life Cycle. 

Those are things I consider before getting a new phone. What about you? Share your comments here. 

Credit to Recon Analytics for the data.