Pretty sure turn-by-turn and Siri were just them looking to give the newer products a selling point, though.

Basically the second rule here applies:

http://ns.is/ns/upload/files/pdf-skrar/ena/10basicprinsciplesen.pdf

Actually this is collossally wrong, it does apply to the seller. Where the heck did I pick that up from?

...yes?

I've got most of the new features; no voice navigation, Siri or panoramas but that's it. Being on the latest OS release for app compatability is the more important thing.

I'm curious as to what all these other phones are. The Desire was on parity at best at a bit behind otherwise, and the Galaxy S didn't show up until later. I'm on the latest OS release, unlike your mother in law.

He got sick of dealing with jailbreaks and went to several other phones before finally getting a Nexus this year, like he should've done in the first place. At any rate the Desire hasn't had a stable Cyanogen release since last June. Meanwhile I've got at least another 18 months left until iOS8 comes around and there's the possibility of obsolecence, and if my wife's original iPhone is any indication, two years after that before app incompatibility becomes a serious issue.

Half a decade isn't bad for a smartphone, you'll agree.

It's quicker to hand you a phone that's had its battery replaced already, than have you wait while they swap the battery out. I hear that they're going to switch over to while-you-wait though, it's a really trivial job on the 4 and 4S, and if you don't bother unplugging the display it's even quicker on the 5.

"The new terms" which they refer to are the correct, legally appropriate warranty from Apple, not the EU laws.

Actually, it's correct. The EU statute applies to the manufacturer, not the seller, and most companies simply provide a two-year warranty that meets or exceeds their obligations under EU statute, rather than train staff on local rules. Apple has gone that route.

You're probably thinking of the Sale of Goods Act which applies in the UK, and which does apply to the seller. There are moves to harmonise the EU rules which would essentially remove the UK statute but I (and the government) think it would be a bad idea. I have more power under the SOGA than the EU rule. (I once used it to very easily get a TV replaced that died 8 months out of the warranty. They called me up and gave me store credit equal to most of its value, to account for depreciation.)

They're not glued, the lifespan is more than 2 years, and nothing takes 6 months to get from factory to consumer in the mobile phone business.

I'm still using the iPhone 4 I bought in 2010, and am looking forward to the big iOS7 UI overhaul to take it through year 4. A relative of mine got an HTC Desire around the same time and you'd better believe he's not on that any more.

I've had household appliances that have gone obsolete more quickly.

Says the guy who's having an anonymous to-and-fro argument on the internet in a comments thread almost nobody will read, rather than writing a proper piece of text on the subject like a purposeful, intentional human being.

If you think that "increased exposure to opinions that may not be of interest" is a bad thing for a person something is horribly wrong with the world.

That's like arguing against curing cancer because it'd get rid of the idea of a cancer survivor. When everyone's identity has a space, conformism is on the way out.

If I die without watching White Tulip again I'll be deeply disappointed. Peter Weller and John Noble at the same time!