'Old school' phones making a comeback

Wednesday, May 28, 2014, 6:14 PM - We might not see a return to the 'Zack Morris phone' made famous by the sitcom Saved by the Bell -- but industry watchers say that customers of all ages are opting for simpler and smaller cell phones.

It appears as though portions of the public are suffering from 'smart phone fatigue' and returning to the 'dumb' cell phones of yesteryear.

There are a few reasons for that.

Old phones are virtually indestructible when compared to today's popular touch-screen devices -- and their batteries tend to last longer.

Many older phones can go up to a week without needing to be charged. Contrast that with smartphones, many of which require near-daily charging.

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Some consumers say they don't need all the bells and whistles that come with modern phones and they aren't willing to pay a premium for the ability to check emails, download apps and surf the web.

Lastly, older phones tend to be more compact and portable.

Djassem Haddad, founder of the website vintagemobile.fr told AFP he's sold about 10,000 'vintage' phones in the past two to three years "with a real acceleration from the beginning of 2013".

The biggest seller on Haddad's website is the Nokia 8210, which features a monochrome screen and large buttons.

As Treehugger points out, there's an upside to the return to older phones.

"The best part of this new trend is all of the older cell phones that are getting new lives instead of becoming e-waste," the website says.

"Many of you may still have one or two of these older phones kicking around in a drawer somewhere. Now might be the time to sell it or perhaps even start using it again."