CompuMag

Recycling Electronics for Cash

If you are anything like me then your shopping habbits leave a trail of old gadgets strewn behind you as you continually buy new toys disgarding the old!

At time of writing I have to “pads” I bought in the last few months, an i-pad and an android pad. I love both of these pads and have no intention of selling either of them any time soon, but it serves as a small illustration of the rate I get through this kind of thing!

Until recently I had no less than four old mobible phones and three i-pods to my name too. I was not even using the ipods since adding all my music to my iphone, after all, the point of the iphone, aside being super cool is convergence is it not? The days of having multiple gadgets in your pocket are kind of over, unless you have an ipod shuffle for the gym of course!

Anyway, the time came to have a clear out and sell off some of my old friends!

I asked around to see if anyone wanted the ipods but most people were, like me using their phones to play MP3 and MP4, and those that do still use ipods have later models than my old ones anyway (a 40GB, an old Touch and an old Nano).

So, I had a look around to see what I could get from one of the many recycling companies around, during my serach I happened on a “cash for phones” comparison site allowing you to compare prices across different recycling companies, and, as it happened they also had listings for ipods, and ipads too (not that I am selling right now!).

A quick search later I had “provisionally agreed” the sale of all seven items, four old phones plus the ipods. I have to say I did not get that much money as they were all a little outdated, if in good boxed condition.

Still, it was well worth selling these old items as I now have enough cash to cover the cost of a Kindle (the ipad makes my eyes sore, I like the look of the “electronic in” used on the kindle :) ) and I know that my stuff has gone to a good home where it will get some more use!

My HTC Desire – Why I Didn’t Buy the iPhone4s to Commemorate Steve Jobs

It’s really crazy what drives people to buy stuff.  I’ve been holding off making the leap to a Smartphone and was researching different products.  I actually read an article on Reuters reporting that people would buy the iPhone4s to commemorate Apple’s founder, Steve Jobs (recently deceased from cancer).  While I’ve always been intrigued by Apple products I never made the leap off my PC to a Mac. So I didn’t have that emotional connection to the death of Mr. Jobs that was driving people to buy(or pre-order) the iPhone4s. That said, I was originally introduced to an iPhone by my sister-in-law and have to admit, thought it a pretty cool device.  Still, I just wasn’t ready to jump into the Smartphone arena until my chunky old Samsung made its last call. I admit, I looked at the iPhone first, followed by a Samsung Galaxy and finally the HTC Desire.  The HTC was the final choice and I haven’t regretted it yet.  Here are some reasons I chose the HTC Desire over the iPhone.

HTC Desire Winning Point #1: More Intuitive User Interface

I knew I wanted something that was intuitive.  I didn’t want to spend hours on the Internet in forums trying to figure out how to do something on my new Smartphone. I did not find the Galaxy very intuitive.  I just couldn’t get the hang of how to move stuff between desktops.  In fact, this was a chore with the iPhone too.  Scrolling back and forth between 5(android) and 7(iPhone) screens was really inconvenient.  I only need 2 desktops and finally had to have the rep show me how to move apps between the screens on the iPhone and Galaxy.  Then she showed me the ‘pinch’ move on the HTC Desire. The HTC Desire user interface is a lot more intuitive and easy to use.  HTC call the UI “Sense” and it allows you to “pinch” the touch screen so that all the screens appear as thumbnails.  You can easily pop back and forth between the thumbnails to get to the app you want to use.

HTC Desire Winning Point #2: Touch Sensitive Keys and Optical Track Pad

I knew I was going to struggle transitioning from a phone with big fat keys that I could press and feel the response.  The HTC Desire doesn’t include a physical keyboard.  However, it does have four keys that control the home, menu, back and search function.  Those keys, along with the optical track pad made it easy for me to select menu items and feel the little click that a physical key provides. So far, the first week with my HTC Desire has been a gentle and friendly transition away from my old fashioned Samsung mobile phone.

HTC Desire Winning Pint #3 Value for Money

I would not go so far as to say the HTC Deisire is a cheap phone, but it does represent good value for money. I used this site which lists some great HTC Desire Deals to find the best contract prices on offer at the time. If you compare the prices of the Desire to other Android phones, then it is one of the more expensive phones around, however, it is way way cheaper than the iphone. If you are going to compare the Desire to other Andoid phones, then consider the build quality. The quality of HTC phones is very high, certainly higher than some other vendors of android phones.

DrawBacks of the HTC Desire

There is only one criticism I have of this phone and that is its size. It is a lot bigger than most phones and that makes it awkward to carry in your pocket. It is almost as big as some of the smaller Android tablets now on the market. This is only a minor issue for me personally, but I can see size putting some prospective customers off.

Overall though, a great phone for the money, highly rated!