My wife has bought a new cell phone for the first time in at least nine years! She bought a new one after the old one's reception began to falter and on two separate occasions this year, waiters in restaurants marveled at her phone sitting on the table, wondering aloud that such phones still exist and work. Her new phone even includes a camera -- the most basic of features these days that the old one nonetheless lacked. Even for someone who rarely buys new technology, I was pretty astonished how long her phone lasted. Then again, I don't understand many people's urge to continually buy new gadgets: Why the regular need for the upgrade? What does it genuinely improve? Isn't obsolescence much further away than we typically claim for these products?
Above is a photo of the ancient phone, taken with the camera on my relatively rudimentary cell phone.
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