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posted by martyb on Monday December 28 2015, @10:09AM   Printer-friendly

Okay, there is at least a random chance that some of us or someone in our family got a new smartphone as a gift this year. Maybe you hand the old phone down to one of the kids for a wifi device. Maybe you thought better of trading it in, and having your data end up on the streets.

There are the usual perennial articles on this subject Such as this one from a site that appears somewhat reputable, or this one from BusinessInsider.

Note: Most GSM phones can be used to call 911 in the US/Canada even without a sim card present. Donations to Charities or Women's Shelters or Homeless service agencies is always an option as long as you wipe the phone completely.

So what does the Savvy Soylentil do with the old Smartphone?


[Update: removed derogatory phrasing that was present in original submission. -Ed.]

Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 1) by Unixnut on Monday December 28 2015, @01:29PM

    by Unixnut (5779) on Monday December 28 2015, @01:29PM (#281673)

    I did, after I broke my third smartphone, I bought the toughest armoured case for it I could find. Added a good 1cm to all sides of the phone, 0,5 mm protrusion above the LCD, dual layer with thick rubber and polycarbonite shell, and the LCD still managed to get smashed when it fell on the carpeted floor :-(

    The only thing I can say, is that the phones were mostly Samsungs (2 x Note 2, 1 x S4). I had 2 HTC's both of which eventually developed odd touchscreen behaviour, and the USB charging failure was the note 2. The other note 2 had the USB port failure and cracked screen, and the S4 just has the broken LCD.

    Maybe just Samsung phones are fragile? Shame I like the vivid colours of the OLED screen and their hackability, otherwise I might consider a different phone in future.

  • (Score: 2) by LoRdTAW on Monday December 28 2015, @01:38PM

    by LoRdTAW (3755) on Monday December 28 2015, @01:38PM (#281677) Journal

    The Ballistic case I have for my Nexus 5 has a ~2mm protrusion above the LCD. Makes edge touch difficult but is rarely an issue. Best part is it doesn't add much to the sides, about 5mm, but the corners, they achilles heel of screen glass are thick. Still fits in my shirt pocket.

  • (Score: 2) by Nerdfest on Monday December 28 2015, @03:06PM

    by Nerdfest (80) on Monday December 28 2015, @03:06PM (#281701)

    My female-unit and I both had Samsung Captivates for 3 years and neither of them have more than a couple of scratches. I generally carried mine in a belt pouch (awesome fashion statement) but on several occasions had it fly out of my hand putting it away or something. Once it landed 10 feet away, face down on one of those polished concrete floors, after which it slid about 40 feet. One tiny scratch on the screen. I had a Nexus 4 with the stupid glass back fall from chair height onto a ceramic floor. I thought I was done for, but it lived without a mark.

    Perhaps later Samsungs are cheaper, or perhaps you're just unlucky. The one thing I've seen is that many people who carry their phones in their pockets tend to end up with problems with flaky connectivity, flaky screens, or flaky buttons. I think the constant stresses of the slight pressure of sitting, etc, add up and loosen connections. Despite the geek factor, use a belt pouch. It's convenient and protects the phone quite well.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 28 2015, @05:53PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 28 2015, @05:53PM (#281752)

    Try another case, try to be more careful with your phone, or maybe carry a rabbit foot. I've been using a Note 2 for ~2.5 years that was bought used and haven't had any issues but I've only dropped it twice.