Cell Phone for Sale

I have a cell phone. Me and everyone else. I got my first mobile phone from a friend back in 1992. Being generous, let's just say, it didn’t have much coverage. It reminded me of the walkie talkies we so coveted as kids. We thought we were going to talk for miles. The reality was, we were never out of sight of each other.

The phone I have now and have had for years is called a Smart Phone. It’s not. I have a sense that phones are only as smart as those operating them. Thus, mine is not real smart. I believe they are called smartphones because the manufacturers use them to outsmart users.

Recently, Apple was fined around a bazillion dollars for slowing the speed of older iPhones (Why do people love Apple products when they know the company pulls this kind of crap?) so users would become frustrated with their phones and buy new ones. It’s called “Planned Obsolescence.” As part of his research for his Ph.D., my brother spent months testing the tensile strength of flap valves in compressors in order to know how long one might last. His research was funded by a well-known refrigerator manufacturer. Imagine that. With that information, the company knew how long to guarantee their refrigerators. Friends, the fix is in.

The last two cell phones I’ve owned prove my point. When I took them in to have their un-rechargeable batteries replaced I was told it couldn’t be done. I would have to buy a new phone – which I dutifully did. What a rip off. Now my newer phone is failing to recharge so I have taken matters into my own hands. A couple of weeks ago I got on Amazon and ordered a handy-dandy replacement battery for under $20. So, there Samsung!

Within a few days, my battery arrived. Or should I say, my package arrived? The “Kit” contained a battery, nine tools and the tiniest slip of paper, labeled “Directions”. I’m thinking, simple directions, simple fix. And then I read the directions, which basically said, “You are going to screw this up.”

This is how they said it (Their exact words):

1. Due to limitations on space, the instruction only provide some key steps, it is unable to describe vividly how to replace the battery. In order to replace the battery more easily (Italics mine), we strongly recommend you watch more relevant video about replacing the battery on YouTube before you replaced. Especially  pay attention to the details of removing the adhesive strip.
2. Before you begin, Especially attention for details of removing adhesive strip. Plz keep old battery in complete condition when unloading it. It will catch fire.

There were more instructions, but I stopped reading there. They had me at “CATCH FIRE!”

So, I watched the videos, reread the instructions and made an informed decision. I am proud to announce that I have a slightly used smartphone for sale – CHEAP.

Copyright © 2020, William T. McConnell, All Rights Reserved

Bill McConnell is an Interim Minister, a Church Transformation consultant and a Christian Leadership Coach. He is a frequent speaker at Church Transformation events. His latest book on church transformation is DEVELOPING A SIGNIFICANT CHURCH and is available at Westbow Press. He can be contacted @ bill45053@gmail.com. Connect with him on Facebook @ William T. McConnell or on Twitter @billmc45053 or visit his Amazon Author Page @ Amazon author page