Technology Life Expectancy

QuackersQuackers Posts: 4,830
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Just curious as to how long people expect out of a product before it breaks and not be unhappy having to buy a new one

For me,

TV: 10 Years
DVD Player: 10 Years
Laptop: 5 Years
MP3 Player: 4 Years
Mobile: 4 Years
Games Console: 5 Years

Comments

  • JulesandSandJulesandSand Posts: 6,012
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    I generally replace all those things before they break, the Sony TV I bought last year has unbelievable picture quality compared to the 5 year old one it replaced.

    EDIT - Most, not all.
  • zoepaulpennyzoepaulpenny Posts: 15,951
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    WE all know today is a throw away society, but to replace any item if it is still working fine is IMO stupid and a waste of money .. if you have the cash to throw away do go right ahead . and contribute to the endless mountain of consumables. throw away needlessly
  • JulesandSandJulesandSand Posts: 6,012
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    I buy a new car every 2 or 3 years, the old one isn't worn out so I guess I'm really stupid.
  • soulboy77soulboy77 Posts: 24,488
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    I guess I must be very lucky as all my 'tech' has lasted years until I have finally decided to update them. I always end up giving items away in the end, usually to family.
  • ironjadeironjade Posts: 10,010
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    My Blu-Ray player lasted les than a year.:cry:
  • fastest fingerfastest finger Posts: 12,872
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    Quackers wrote: »
    Just curious as to how long people expect out of a product before it breaks and not be unhappy having to buy a new one

    For me,

    TV: 10 Years
    DVD Player: 10 Years
    Laptop: 5 Years
    MP3 Player: 4 Years
    Mobile: 4 Years
    Games Console: 5 Years

    10 years for a TV :eek: I've had 6 in the last 12 years. None of them were broken, I just wanted something bigger / better.

    Started with a 28 inch 4:3 CRT, followed by 28 inch 16:9 CRT, 40 inch Rear-projection, 42 inch Plasma, 46 inch HD LCD, and now a 50 inch 3D Plasma.
  • OrbitalzoneOrbitalzone Posts: 12,627
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    Modern consumer electronics will likely be scrapped far quicker as they get 'smarter'
    Manufacturers won't update smart devices forcing you to either put up with less features or buy a new model every couple years to get the latest things. This has happened in the short time we've had network connected blu ray and smart TVs.

    Many 1 year old smart devices won't ever get support for Netflix for example so it's fair to assume this trend will continue as manufacturers want to sell us more and more items, giving less and less support for older models.

    As new must have apps (also known as dross) appear it'll only get worse.
  • alan1302alan1302 Posts: 6,336
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    WE all know today is a throw away society, but to replace any item if it is still working fine is IMO stupid and a waste of money .. if you have the cash to throw away do go right ahead . and contribute to the endless mountain of consumables. throw away needlessly

    You have just bought a new TV - you could have bought a still working used one instead
  • JulesandSandJulesandSand Posts: 6,012
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    WE all know today is a throw away society, but to replace any item if it is still working fine is IMO stupid and a waste of money .. if you have the cash to throw away do go right ahead . and contribute to the endless mountain of consumables. throw away needlessly

    Oh and FYI nothing I replaced was thrown away - it was either sold or given away to family members.
  • ProDaveProDave Posts: 11,398
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    I buy a new car every 2 or 3 years, the old one isn't worn out so I guess I'm really stupid.

    Yes I think you are, or have more money than you know what to do with.

    I buy a 4 year old car, every 10 years. MUCH lower cost of ownership, yet still new enough to be reliable :D
  • call100call100 Posts: 7,278
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    I get a new Wife, on average, every 10 years........................They were all still working when traded in!!!!!!!!!!!!!;)
  • JulesandSandJulesandSand Posts: 6,012
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    ProDave wrote: »
    Yes I think you are, or have more money than you know what to do with.

    I buy a 4 year old car, every 10 years. MUCH lower cost of ownership, yet still new enough to be reliable :D

    Aye, but you're a tight teuchter. ;)
  • zoepaulpennyzoepaulpenny Posts: 15,951
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    alan1302 wrote: »
    You have just bought a new TV - you could have bought a still working used one instead

    might not last long.. prefer a new one. if i need one....
    i dont throw away a working one, just to buy a newer one.
  • zoepaulpennyzoepaulpenny Posts: 15,951
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    :D
    Aye, but you're a tight teuchter. ;)
    :D:D:D:D:D
  • JulesandSandJulesandSand Posts: 6,012
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    call100 wrote: »
    I get a new Wife, on average, every 10 years........................They were all still working when traded in!!!!!!!!!!!!!;)

    Where is this place you speak of where wives can be traded in?

    :p

    Edit - I'm into the 4th decade with my wife so that offsets my technology profligacy.
  • call100call100 Posts: 7,278
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    Where is this place you speak of where wives can be traded in?

    :p

    Edit - I'm into the 4th decade with my wife so that offsets my technology profligacy.
    :D
    Best get a try before you buy deal before making the final decision........I just kept getting error messages so decided on a clean break before it turned into something fatal......:)
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 4,856
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    1988 - The Portable in the family home
    Nineties - The Toshiba Telly here

    2000-2009 Tower PC working fine but not compatible with Vista or 7 so I had the hard disc cleared and reformatted and donated tower, CRT, keyboard and mouse to charity
    2009-present Dell Laptop doing fine.

    DVD Recorder from noughties still working. My general ruleis If it ain't broke, I'm not fussed about upgrading and if it is worth epairing, I get it repaired.
  • treefr0gtreefr0g Posts: 23,655
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    I buy a new car every 2 or 3 years, the old one isn't worn out so I guess I'm really stupid.

    I did this for a while. imo, it worked out very economical.

    Unfortunately when my current car got to 3 years old I couldn't find anything better and kept it and now I'm paying fortune in repair bills.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,151
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    Quackers wrote: »
    Just curious as to how long people expect out of a product before it breaks and not be unhappy having to buy a new one

    For me,

    TV: 10 Years
    DVD Player: 10 Years
    Laptop: 5 Years
    MP3 Player: 4 Years
    Mobile: 4 Years
    Games Console: 5 Years
    10 years for a TV :eek: I've had 6 in the last 12 years. None of them were broken, I just wanted something bigger / better.

    Started with a 28 inch 4:3 CRT, followed by 28 inch 16:9 CRT, 40 inch Rear-projection, 42 inch Plasma, 46 inch HD LCD, and now a 50 inch 3D Plasma.

    Id say 10 years was reasonable to expect a DECENT tv to last for... maybe not your tesco "logik", of "funai" TV to last... but a good panasonic or sony would hopefully last that long.

    Saying that, I did upgrade my 22" tv (LG, lcd, about 3 years old) for a bigger panasonic 32" TV.
    But that just means Ive now got a tv for the kitchen too!

    I don't really use dvd or blu ray players, but I'd say 5 to 10 years.

    Laptop... well, I kept my previous laptop until it because so slow and unstable that I couldn't really put up with it any more.. it didnt make 5 years, more like 3-4... but I managed to trade it in for £150 off a new laptop... (which I was happy with)

    Mobile phone, Ive had my nokia 5800 since early 2009... and its still going strong. I will not buy a new one until it breaks.

    These electronic companies millions on advertising to make us feel like we cannot possibly live without their latest, "must have" product in our lives..... Personally, I am not having any of it.

    I am not a luddite... when something new comes along, that I feel will benefit my life, then yes, I will consider getting a new product... ( i may not jump in straight away though, as I know early adopters often pay more, and can have early, troublesome devices)
  • 56up56up Posts: 839
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    10 years for a TV :eek: I've had 6 in the last 12 years. None of them were broken, I just wanted something bigger / better.

    Started with a 28 inch 4:3 CRT, followed by 28 inch 16:9 CRT, 40 inch Rear-projection, 42 inch Plasma, 46 inch HD LCD, and now a 50 inch 3D Plasma.

    In the same time my purchasing has followed almost the same route.
    26" CRT 4:3
    32" CRT 16:9
    44" DLP Rear projector (HD - 16:9)
    46" Plasma
    60" Plasma smart 3D

    Slightly longer time, that's since 1994 so I have kept them for a little longer. The 60" is new.

    We've always adopted new technology early.
    16:9 when there was no widescreen material just the odd letterbox film
    HD before it appeared anywhere
    And now 3D, but I think that is a bit of a gimmick and cannot ever see universal adoption with the present technology. We bought this set because of the size. 3D is a bonus and I intend to buy a wireless keyboard to make better use of the smart facility.

    I love technology even though I am much older than most.
  • jjnejjne Posts: 6,580
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    treefr0g wrote: »
    I did this for a while. imo, it worked out very economical.

    Unfortunately when my current car got to 3 years old I couldn't find anything better and kept it and now I'm paying fortune in repair bills.

    Unlucky.

    I have a 5 year old car that I bought at 3 years old with 70,000 miles, now on 105,000 and not giving any trouble at all. The last one managed 265,000 miles over 10 years and was only sold because the bodywork was looking tatty.
    Id say 10 years was reasonable to expect a DECENT tv to last for... maybe not your tesco "logik", of "funai" TV to last... but a good panasonic or sony would hopefully last that long.

    Logik yes, but not much wrong with Funai ... they are a large Japanese company, and the reliability, despite the price, is generally pretty good. Same goes for Orion.
  • 2Bdecided2Bdecided Posts: 4,416
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    Quackers wrote: »
    For me,

    MP3 Player: 4 Years
    You're not using it enough ;)
  • ngc1967ngc1967 Posts: 72
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    I usually don't replace things until there are signs of malfunction and then I decide on how old the item is and how likely it is to go wrong again. Sometimes though when things go wrong I start looking around at what else is available and even if I can repair the faulty item I've already decided to move on.

    Car is 10 years old (bought it at 8 months old) - no plans to change.
    TV is 5 years old - starting to malfunction (I can repair to get another few years but will probably upgrade to a more modern set)
    MP3 - had an iRiver H340 with bad sectors on the hard drive. Instead of replacing the hard drive I bought a new Cowon X7
    PVR - Topfield TF5800 - 6 years old and still going strong after replacing capacitors and upgrading hard drive. No plans to change
    Computer - 8 years old and still working OK but slow. Will upgrade soon.
    Oven - upgraded just to get a better one.

    A mixture of having to change and wanting to change.
  • Nigel GoodwinNigel Goodwin Posts: 58,515
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    jjne wrote: »
    Logik yes, but not much wrong with Funai ... they are a large Japanese company, and the reliability, despite the price, is generally pretty good. Same goes for Orion.

    Sorry, you are misinformed - Funai and Orion are two of the companies who make the crap for Logik, Matsui etc.
  • jjnejjne Posts: 6,580
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    Sorry, you are misinformed - Funai and Orion are two of the companies who make the crap for Logik, Matsui etc.

    They are -- but their quality is consistently higher than the true rubbish the home-brands also put out.
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