Technology

While I'm not the first one on the block to acquire new technology, I'm well aware that people trade up for something new in seemingly ridiculously short amounts of time. One of my friends is always getting a new something; she has a good job, can afford to buy new toys and has plenty of people to whom to hand things down.

That was the trend for everyone for the last several years. Now it seems that people are waiting or buying fewer new items. Credit isn't readily available, nor are jobs, so people are being more conservative in spending, at least partly out of necessity.

Despite my colleague, whose husband gets a new cellphone all the time, the cellphone industry's numbers are going down right now. I know a few people who don't have a cellphone, but not too many anymore. There must be more people like me out there; my phone is three years old and I keep talking myself out of getting a new one. It's great to have something new, but I see no reason to take action when my current phone is good. My backup phone is also just fine.

Since cellphone manufacturers send their wares worldwide, it only makes sense that a worldwide downturn in the economy would have an affect on their sales. Existing markets are saturated with people who are off the consumer bandwagon for one reason or another; emerging markets aren't emergingi as quickly as it seemed either. As for me, I just don't want to incur one more bit of recurring debt.