[ggm]

If I felt that an investment had a 2-3 year life before being semi-formally deprecated, I would feel more like buying it. The thing is, that I can't think of consumer objects I routinely buy where the pressure to show I have the "newest" one is so strong. Nobody cares if my kindle is old.

Amongst my colleagues, like me it's a badge of honour to run an old phone. The last nokia standout only ditched it when they turned off 2G. He went with a minimalist phone which could do google maps acknowledging GPS was useful. He does nothing else. On the whole, chosing to run a phone with high MaH battery life and at least some commitment to update is a good choice. Apple actually can conform to this, because the older models are 7 years in, with software support.

[ChrisMarshallNY]

> The thing is, that I can't think of consumer objects I routinely buy where the pressure to show I have the "newest" one is so strong.

Let me introduce you to the Garment District (Fashion Industry).

People spend thousands for clothes they only wear for a couple of nights out, over a few weeks.

It's a fairly wild industry.

[ggm]

Good point. Perhaps I should have qualified to tech. That said, I bet amongst the gamers there is significant pressure over GPU, and which generation of Playstation you're on.

[caskstrength]

> The thing is, that I can't think of consumer objects I routinely buy where the pressure to show I have the "newest" one is so strong. Nobody cares if my kindle is old.

Honest question: who cares if your iPhone is old? Maybe I'm in a wrong demographic but flashing top new smartphone in front of acquaintances stopped mattering around the time when everyone graduated and got a job (so everyone could buy one and it stopped being "cool").