Wednesday, June 06, 2007

A Phone In The Hand Beats Two In The Head

This just in from SimplySwitch; a recent study found that a little over a quarter of the 18 million cell phones purchased in the UK end up being lost or damaged every year. Topping the list is dropping the chatter into the crapper; that's right, a staggering 855,000 handsets are flushed down toilets every year. That translates into about £342 million in additional revenue for the cell phone sellers.

Phones in the throne aren't the only problem; other common catastrophes include leaving mobiles in the pub (810,000 handsets) in a taxi (315,000) or on a bus (225,000). Dogs ate another 58,500, and 116,000 went through a spin cycle with the dirty laundry. The finger of blame points at the young - a full 40 per cent of those under 34 admitted to losing or damaging their phone. Don't they know the value of a pound? Or maybe respect for material goods is the issue; try giving your phone a name. Remember, you can't green your electronics when they are in the sewer. :: SimplySwitch

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Maybe if there was an incentive/disincentive to being careless with the cell? Perhaps at least a requirement that you turn in the old unit in order to receive a new one, or else pay a penalty (full price -- in other words, $499 instead of the $49.99 deal the cell service co. will offer if you just sign on their outrageous pricing/mins. plans for 2 yrs)? If it hurt the wallet more every time you left it in the pub or dropped it in the crapper...