Does it make sense to buy phone released 2 years back !!

[AstroManLuca]

I just got a Galaxy S4 and an LG G2, both phones from 2013 with 2 GB of RAM and similar overall specs. Put them both on Ting and I'm happy with them both. They were $130 each. They replaced a pair of 2013 Moto G's that were getting pretty awful (just 1 GB of RAM and 8 GB non-expandable storage). Huge improvement.

A brand new 2015 Moto G would be another option - it's not available on Ting CDMA yet and when it does arrive, it'll probably cost about $200. Would have similar specs to a 2013 flagship phone like what I bought but of course it's new and gets updates.

I wouldn't be too afraid of getting a used phone; I've bought them from Swappa and eBay and had a good experience every time. Never gotten a lemon.

Personally I'm fine with spending $150 or less every 1-2 years to get a phone that is likely still running a current OS. They're cheap enough that, when the time comes to replace them, I don't feel bad. And in two years when I'm getting a 2015 flagship device, I'll probably still get access to Android Nougat or whatever is current at that time and all of the features it will bring.

 

[cronos]

2-year old phone is probably okay, if you get a reasonably good deal and/or it's in good condition, but only if it's a flagship phone from a major brand (i.e. Galaxy S4 is okay). This is not just because of it has the top hardware 2 years ago, but also because of the community support for custom ROMs, etc. I wouldn't recommend just any 2-year old phone. I wouldn't even recommend 2-year old non-flagship from major brands.

As I mentioned in another thread, I just had a Galaxy S4 flashed with GPE 5.0.1 and it's pretty amazing. If only it's not so ugly looking (yes, I'm that guy) I would have picked it to be my primary phone.

 

[notposting]

I bought a phone released in 2012 this summer, running on a single core and an obsolete OS.

Of course, I bought it for the camera and media abilities, not really as a smartphone - more of a connected camera/super travel media device. Not as a primary device.

Edit: pimp red color, was $130.

 

[pete6032]

My experience has been that once a phone reaches two years old there is no longer much support from the development community. Even if a new version of Android is released, you might not find a rooted rom that works well with the phone.

 

[notposting]

Boo. The red version is all gone. Mostly the black left, some white ones still available cheap though. Nokia 808 with the 41mp monster camera, xenon flash (double capacitors apparently, it is certainly much brighter than my Lumia 928 with xenon is), physical shutter and ND filter built in.

For media purposes it is pretty amazing, micro-HDMI out, AV out (composite video plus stereo), DLNA video though I haven't tried it yet, FM receiver AND transmitter (playback in car), microSD and USB OTG, and supports using various BT controllers as remotes. Pretty crazy for how old and running on Symbian. Bonus: offline maps.

I don't actually bother putting any real internet connected apps on it though - browsing is pretty painful - relatively comparable to any single core device of the day. You'll die of boredom in those 10 seconds waiting for the page to load. It still has a pretty lively community though - FB, Twitter, Instagram, Dropbox, Onedrive, all have apps, mostly 3rd party. Even a third party app store.

Been fun playing with it this summer.

 

[Snappysneaky]

it depends.. as long as it suits/meet your demands, then I think it will be fine.