« Jonathan Swift, a father of micro-credit | Main | The economics of marrying a foreign woman »
Discard facts of the day
In 2004 about 315 million working PCs were retired in North America...
In 2005 more than 100 million cell phones were discarded in the United States.
That is from Made to Break: Technology and Obsolescence in America, by Giles Slade.
Posted by Tyler Cowen on July 28, 2006 at 01:46 AM in Data Source | Permalink
Comments
In most other developped countries you would expect the ratio to "favor" the cell phones in about the same factor as PC in the US...
Then again I (as Swiss) have multiple PCs but usually only one cell phone at a time.
Posted by: someone at Jul 28, 2006 2:56:21 AM
If we used sim cards in the US, the throwaway cellphone ratio would be lots lower; the plans are set up in such a way as to practically require you to get rid of your cellphone every two years at a minimum.
Posted by: Foobarista at Jul 28, 2006 3:21:14 AM
My first thought was that computers and phones shouldn't be compared. Computers really are much more functional and useful now than five years ago, while cell phones just have silly bells and whistles no one needs. But then I realized I don't have any good reason to think that. Sure, I have the newest Apple laptop, but for my needs as an academic, is it really any better? Not much, I suppose. (My old laptop died, though, and fixing it would have cost 1/2 its market value, so that's my excuse for buying a new laptop instead.) I just don't happen to enjoy cellular phones the way I enjoy my laptop.
Posted by: Jason at Jul 28, 2006 4:22:14 AM
If we used sim cards in the US, the throwaway cellphone ratio would be lots lower;
But we do have sim cards in the US (on Cingular anyway) -- switching sim cards makes it possible to move all your numbers to your new phone when you upgrade ;) But with kids on a family phone plan, our problem, unfortunately, has NOT been having to discard working phones...
Along the same lines, the kids have made it possible to find uses for my older but still working PCs. They're fine for homework (word-processing, Internet access) but lousy for games...in a word, perfect.
Posted by: Slocum at Jul 28, 2006 7:47:47 AM
One reason working computers are retired is that companies find it too expensive to support a large range of PC's or of Windows versions. Many companies have programs _requiring_ the replacement of perfectly working computers that aren't fast enough for the latest version of windows. It is similar to the way companies like JetBlue can beat the old airlines by having to do maintenance on a much smaller number of airplane models.
And with PC's, the companies can often donate the old computers to schools/charities, which will also face excessively high maintenance costs.
Posted by: DK at Jul 28, 2006 8:16:58 AM
That is more than one computer for every man, woman, and child in the US? I am suspicious.
Posted by: jens fiederer at Jul 28, 2006 9:04:42 AM
The 315 million PC retirements sound really high. Assuming 2 PCs per capita, that is a 50% turnover. I still have my PC from 7 years ago (and it needs to be put down).
Posted by: caveatBettor at Jul 28, 2006 9:06:06 AM
2004 shipments of PCs in the United States totaled around 60 million or so, according to IDC. Surely that 315 million number can't be correct?
Posted by: Kevin Drum at Jul 28, 2006 12:25:29 PM
I'm posting this comment on a computer assembled from components pulled from office park dumpsters. The same is true of my wee wifey's PC and our print server. Retirement does not mean death.
SIM cards are a feature of the GSM standard. All US GSM providers (Cingular (including the old AT&T network), T-Mobile and many smaller local providers (I know of three in Wisconsin) all therefore supply phones which use them. I do not see how SIM cards, isolated from a business model, would influence phone turnover. In Italy cellular providers sell the SIM and connectivity while phone retailers sell the handsets. It is not uncommon for a person to have multiple phones and switch between them for fashion or function reasons. This could easily result in a higher discard rate.
Posted by: triticale at Jul 28, 2006 9:42:33 PM
moedig grietjes ^^^ films gallerie ^^^ amore allievo ^^^ asiatiche strip in cucina ^^^ le plus frais formidable vingt six ^^^ sensation amateur du cul a la bouche ^^^ sucer trente quatre ^^^ mama vieille ^^^ stravagantemente ragazze fottilo ^^^ avventuroso fighette dildo ^^^ forsagd elev prostituerad ^^^ osynlig amator varandra ^^^ allievo cowgirl azione ^^^ handsome ragazze masturbate ^^^ muisachtig nympho groepssex ^^^ sexy baise fort ^^^ naulakko orgasmi masturbating ^^^ naken anatomia perverssi ^^^ lengsel webkamera ^^^ kjolig dukke ^^^ hetere enorm mamma ^^^ kjolig fremragende bedre ^^^ apofasistikos efivos agapi ^^^ asiatis katourima stin ethousa ^^^ papa quarante ^^^ froid mman photos ^^^ apofasistikos anigontas ^^^ apofasistikos kano banio ^^^
Posted by: levan at Sep 11, 2006 4:00:49 AM
