[LINK] News: 'New mobile phones will double as credit cards'

[Kim Holburn]

Part of the problem is the way phone companies sell phones.  If they  
sold phones outright or made a clear differentiation between paying  
off a phone and having an account and weren't constantly trying to  
obfuscate the cost of phones and calls and accounts then there  
wouldn't be such pressure to constantly upgrade.

On 2007/Apr/28, at 10:25 AM, Ivan Trundle wrote:

>
> On 28/04/2007, at 6:16 PM, Howard Lowndes wrote:
>
>>> But to the point: I read somewhere today that AT&T (I think) in  
>>> America are now embarking on a program to reduce phone handset  
>>> consumption by offering rewards and bonuses if people did NOT  
>>> automatically upgrade their phone. Their aim is to reduce the  
>>> level of 'gadgetitis' and ultimately, landfill and waste. It's  
>>> part of an overall 'green initiative' to reduce consumption and  
>>> waste, which goes far beyond the normal 'let's recycle our  
>>> packaging' mantra.
>>
>> I notice that my local Telstra Shop (Albury) has an in-store clear  
>> dump bin for discarded mobile phones.
>
> ...which further contributes (eventually) to landfill, heavy-metal  
> deposition etc, extra labour in deconstructing the materials,  
> shipping of the materials to places where these processes take  
> place, and the further re-use of the product down the track. In the  
> end, it still costs us dearly. The impetus behind stopping people  
> from upgrading to newer products when existing products work  
> perfectly well (or reasonably well) is growing.
>
> iT
>
> --
> Ivan Trundle
> http://itrundle.com ivan at itrundle.com
> ph: +61 (0)418 244 259 fx: +61 (0)2 6286 8742
> skype: callto://ivanovitchk
>
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--
Kim Holburn
IT Network & Security Consultant
Ph: +39 06 855 4294  M: +39 3494957443
mailto:kim at holburn.net  aim://kimholburn
skype://kholburn - PGP Public Key on request

Democracy imposed from without is the severest form of tyranny.
                           -- Lloyd Biggle, Jr. Analog, Apr 1961