Nearly 30% of Apple's first-gen iPhones are still in use - report

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  • Reply 41 of 74
    My 1st gen iPhone has been notoriously abused by me. I got a Vaja case for it a few months after i got it just for safety's sake. I routinely demonstrate the hardness of the tempered optical glass to my Blackberry friends - and invite them to join me in swiping car keys back and forth across their screens - hundreds of time (for me) by now I think. Most demur - but one took me up on it (after he had bought his new 3GS ) and he delightedly scored his Blackberry screen with his keys.



    I toss mine some distance onto tables and desks with the occasional collision with other objects, drop it, and otherwise behave very badly towards it - and it keeps working. My battery still manages a full day and some before recharge.Since it consolidated my PDA, iPod and cellphone into one device - the price I paid for this resilient kit was well worth it and more. I may, just may, upgrade this summer with the new OS and hardware, depending on the final config of the new model. I never imagined that one device like this could so readily handle my mobility needs so well.
  • Reply 42 of 74
    lilgto64lilgto64 Posts: 1,147member
    I wonder how much of a correction factor they have included for original iPhones that just happen to not have any software loaded that would cause them to show up on in that measurement?



    With the higher speeds and capacities of the newer phones - I would expect there to be on average more apps loaded and more time spent on line that with the older slower lower capacity phone.



    how many folks use there phone as gasp of all things a phone primarily rather than a mobile gaming platform could also be a factor.



    i still se my first gen iPhone - and will most likely replace it with whatever new model comes out this summer - and my old phone will most likely end up as an iPod touch for my son to play with - or I could sell it on eBay in which case it might well end up over seas - or unlocked to work on some other network - and I wonder how much of those cases are captured by this statistic.



    Perhaps it would be better to say something along the lines of at least 30% of the 1st gen are still used on the web (or from whatever the source of the metrics happens to be).
  • Reply 43 of 74
    bkerkaybkerkay Posts: 139member
    I still have my 1st Gen iPhone and love it. But I also plan on upgrading and getting the new iPhone this summer. Not because it's out of date, but I would like to take advantage of some of the features that the newer models offer.



    I have not decided on the fate of my iPhone. Maybe I will pass it along to someone, keep it as a home remote or sell it.
  • Reply 44 of 74
    I know a couple of friends who use first-gen iPhones. One got hers from her brother who upgraded to a 3GS. The other got it from a friend after it had been deactivated (he uses it as an iPod Touch). I'll be coming up on the 2-year upgrade cycle for my 3G this August - I hope something great comes out this summer!
  • Reply 45 of 74
    hillstoneshillstones Posts: 1,490member
    My wife and I still have our original 16 GB iPhones and the batteries show no signs of degradation (we have had them for two years). The best part of the original iPhone is the increased durability of the aluminum backing and the cheaper data plan that includes text messages. Apps run just fine on the original iPhone neither one of us care about multi-tasking multiple applications on a phone. So we have no plans to upgrade the phones.
  • Reply 46 of 74
    bkerkaybkerkay Posts: 139member
    I also no several other people with original iPhone, but also plan on upgrading.
  • Reply 47 of 74
    welshdogwelshdog Posts: 1,897member
    Bought my wife a 1st gen iPhone for Christmas a couple of years ago. Late last year it failed and she had to get a 3GS. There was not dropping, no immersion, nothing but gentle use. It failed after she finished a Bluetooth phone call in the car. She went inside here office and it was dead and presenting the restore screen. I tried everything I could - even using jailbreak tools to try to snap it out of it's funk. Nothing worked. The guy at the Apple store was helpful, but had no solution.



    Our previous Samsung flip phones (very primitive) were still working after 5 years. And they were dropped and mishandled fairly often. We treat our iPhone differently because they are so expensive and we assumed more delicate. Who knew that it would fail due to internal component failure and not mechanical damage?



    I still have it. I take it out every now and then and try to wake it up. Sad.
  • Reply 48 of 74
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,092member
    I am a happy first-gen user as well. However, I will be upgrading to the new model this summer simply because my current iPhone - while usable - is beginning to show its age and the battery life is getting short. It's been the best phone I've ever owned. The close 2nd would be my old Motorola StarTac.



    My phone will simply be used as an iPod Touch. It's served me well.
  • Reply 49 of 74
    nagrommenagromme Posts: 2,834member
    When my iPhone is no longer in daily use as a phone, it will become a nice iPod that happens to have a camera. (And the battery will last for many years when it comes to music playback?it?s got capacity to spare for such light use. Gaming use will eventually need a new battery, which is possible but I won?t bother.) Ultimately it will end up connected one of my stereos (or a friend?s)?possibly a car stereo?where it will continue to deliver iTunes long after the battery is gone. Luckily my 6-year-old hard disk iPod (with older battery technology) is still going strong and gets hours of use on a charge, despite the spinning motor, so I think it will be a VERY long time before this iPhone?s usable life is compromised. I figure around 2050 I?ll recycle it
  • Reply 50 of 74
    ediediediedi Posts: 22member
    Funny how appleinsider omitted to present the other, more interesting result, regarding Android's percentage in the US exceeding that of iPhone OS.



    Re: 1st generation iphones, I still think they look cooler and feel more solid than the actual 3GS (except the fact that the 3GS is thinner, which is nice).
  • Reply 51 of 74
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by RichL View Post


    What's happened to the other 70%? Recycled, I hope.



    You've said a mouthful.



    Back when I had a Phone, it was a device that made phone calls. imagine that I had it for the 2 year contract, and then for an additional 3-4 years. It did the job, I was happy.



    Now we have smart phones. Every year the iphone will be better. Now when your two year contract is up you have a much much better computer you can buy (yes, the iphone is a computer that happens to make phone calls). Heck, we even have people paying a penalty to end the contracts early to get a new iphone.



    So now more than ever before smartphones will be headed to the trash heap. Will Apple have a special recycling initiative as we all toss our iphones for 'new and improved'?
  • Reply 52 of 74
    So does that mean iPhones have a 70% failure fate within three years?
  • Reply 53 of 74
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by knappster View Post


    The real question is: what percentage of popular older phones (Razors, Ericsons, etc as of pre-2007) were still in use three years later? Does a better designed, more capable phone such as the iPhone keep it's value for longer than other phones?



    Is there a way of finding out how those other phones panned out?



    A key difference: Nokia, Motorola and other handset makers refer to their software typically as "firmware". Apple has always referred to the iPhone Operating System.



    How many phones out there allow you to easily upgrade the phone's firmware/operating system and add apps? This is what Apple did brilliantly by taking the OS upgrade to the cell phone and incorporating new features, new apps and an App ecosystem. Nokia and Motorola wanted you to buy a new phone to get new features. Firmware upgrades for existing hardware were for bug fixes -- not new features and apps and not easy for your typical non-techie to do.
  • Reply 54 of 74
    It states that 2% of iphones accessing the admob network are the 2Gs.

    This is incorrect... according to the chart 2% of iphones AND ipod touches are the 2G iPhones. the total iPhone usage is 60% of all usage while 40% is iPod touches.



    If you factor out the iPod Touches and focus ONLY in iPhones that 2% actually increases closer to 4-5% of total iPhone usage... which would make the number of iPhone 2Gs still in use be closer to 50-60%



    I could be wrong though...



    (Edit: after re-reading I see that the total number of units sold is including iPhone/iTouch not just iPhone sales... so the numbers extracted are correct. Not only could I be wrong... I was!)
  • Reply 55 of 74
    maestro64maestro64 Posts: 5,043member
    Did they ever think that the first gens are still out there but people are not access the web with them. Like ours, it was handed down to one of the kids which he mostly used it for texting, listening to music and playing games, he hardly surfs the web. Partly because we did not allow him to have a data plan, but he hardly surf when when at home on the wifi.



    I think their analysis is bit flawed, since it base on how many phones access ad content they provide so if you do not frequent their sites you are not counted in their numbers.
  • Reply 56 of 74
    It's not because they're good. It's because people still have those older cheaper contracts and they don't want to upgrade.
  • Reply 57 of 74
    williamgwilliamg Posts: 322member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ediedi View Post


    Funny how appleinsider omitted to present the other, more interesting result, regarding Android's percentage in the US exceeding that of iPhone OS.




    Android U.S. Ad Request Market Share Surges Past iPhone



    http://www.macrumors.com/2010/04/27/...-mix-detailed/



    It happened much more quickly than I would have imagined.
  • Reply 58 of 74
    Im still using mine (bought in Nov 2007 - the day it launched in the UK).



    Ive never though the 3G or 3GS offer a big enough leap to justify an upgrade but I will probably upgrade when the next model comes out - battery is starting to go funny and it wont run OS 4
  • Reply 59 of 74
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ediedi View Post


    Funny how appleinsider omitted to present the other, more interesting result, regarding Android's percentage in the US exceeding that of iPhone OS.



    I agree. Android OS has surpassed iPhone OS in mobile metric usage. This is completely expected with so many vendors making so many models at so many price points on all carrier in the US. It doesn't take away from Apple's success in the least bit.



    Here is some other reading on this...
    PS: This is kind of sad. Most Android users are on v1.x with most on v1.5.
  • Reply 60 of 74
    macslutmacslut Posts: 514member
    30% with active service seems like a high number.



    30% in use during the survey seems like a low number, depending upon how long the survey is.



    The active service number seems high because you could have sold your original iPhone for more than what a new one costs with subsidy.
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