Motorola Moto G Power
Bought: August 2021 through Consumer Cellular for the full $179. (Excellent carrier. Wish they didn't limit their marketing to old people.)
Specs:
- Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 662
- Screen size: 6.6" diagonally at 1600x720
- Battery size and estimated run time: 5000mAh, about three days
- Storage: 64GB flash memory, accepts 512GB microSD (though I don't have one in there)
- OS: Android 11
- Color: Flash Gray
How it came into my possession: I needed a new phone after Straight Talk was threatening to drop me from their network for daring to use something made last decade. I decided to drop Straight Talk and iOS at the same time while I was at it, and went with this solid somehow "budget" phone that doesn't particularly feel budget to me whatsoever. (The chunkiness and bezels are actually a plus to me, thank you, Android Authority.)
Condition/defects: Very much still in good shape, and I plan to keep it that way.
What I use it for: It's my phone! Mostly, that's texting, phone calls, and Discord, though I do some YouTube and reading on the web while I'm bored at work. Like I said, this thing about feels premium to me, and that's because even cheaper phones now are quite a bit more powerful than they used to be, plus it's still new. Reading reviews that call this thing middle of the road while I'm marveling at its big screen and speed befuddle me. The worst I can say is that the camera is pretty blatantly upscaling its shots, they're definitely soft.
iPhone 5S
Bought: Had to have been 2013? Don't recall the price, probably on a carrier for a monthly payment.
Specs:
- Processor: Dual-core Apple Cyclone at 1.3GHz
- Screen size: 4" diagonally at 640x1136
- Battery size and estimated run time: 1560 mAh, about ten hours
- Storage: 16GB flash memory
- OS: iOS 12.5.1 (though maybe I should upgrade it to its last supported version already)
- Color: White with silver trim
How it came into my possession: My older sister bought it, and I got it when she moved on. It was a nice upgrade from my iPod Touch for obvious reasons, and the same dimensions and screen size meant I was basically already used to it. I used it as my phone from 2017 until 2020, when I gave up having a phone number for a bit because it was cheaper with no income.
Condition/defects: The battery on this thing is very, very worn, and there's some minor cosmetic chipping around the bezel from where I've dropped it over the years. The screen is not cracked, though, and everything else is still solid.
What I use it for: Since my Moto is a little too big to be comfortably used in bed (you really need two hands), this one sticks around as my dedicated bedtime web and Discord machine. The lack of updates to iOS or Discord mean I'll be dealing with whatever glitches and lack of features it's got forever, but at least it all still works and pages still load well.
iPod Touch 5G
Bought: I probably upgraded around Christmas 2013. Twas a gift.
Specs:
- Processor: Dual-core ARM Cortex-A9, underclocked to 800MHz
- Screen size: 4" diagonally at 640x1136
- Battery size and estimated run time: 1030 mAh, 8-40 hours depending on use
- Storage: 32GB flash memory
- OS: iOS 9.3.5
- Color: Black with space gray backing
How it came into my possession: This one was an upgrade and replacement for my first ever iOS device, a fourth-gen Touch I spent way too much time playing Nyan Cat: Lost in Space and making YouTube videos with. Needless to say, I used this a ton back in the day too, especially trying to get past our school's web filters using OpenVPN (and playing whack-a-mole with the network guys who kept blocking the servers I was using).
Condition/defects: The battery on this one doesn't even really hold a charge anymore. I need to open it up and replace it. The home button is also limp, so that'd need replacing. Beyond that and some minor cosmetic scuffs, still works.
What I use it for: At the moment, nothing, but it's nice to still have around! I power it up every few months and check if you can still use Discord on it (thankfully you can, and you'll get the old UI and total lack of custom statuses if you do). Once the battery and button's replaced on it, it'll basically be a dedicated nostalgia and possibly music machine, for when I want more specific listening than my Shuffle provides.
iPod Shuffle 1G
Bought: November 2019 for this current unit. I don't think it was more than $15.
Specs:
- Processor: Motorola DSP56004 clone on a SigmaTel STMP35xx SoC
- Screen size: lol
- Battery size and estimated run time: I can't find a specific size, but there's an aftermarket battery on iFixit rated at 250 mAh. The original Shuffle was rated for approximately 12 hours.
- Storage: 1GB flash memory
- OS: iPod Shuffle OS(?) 1.1.5
How it came into my possession: This was my first iPod, way back in the mid-2000s! I spent a whole lot of time playing with my mom's Nano (which I had until it stopped being detected by computers and then stopped powering on altogether), and so, they gave me a 1GB Shuffle to get me away from it. I used it partially as a flash drive until I lost it at school, and nostalgia got me to buy another.
Condition/defects: I swear something isn't quite right with mine. I get errors when I sync in iTunes (which could just be it overzealously trying to overfill the memory), and at some point in the playlist, I have to restart it because it gets confused. It does power on and sync and play music though, and that's what I wanted.
What I use it for: I don't have much of a use for a dedicated audio player at the moment, but the first-gen Shuffle sounds great still, and I've walked around with it outside before, happily disconnected to everything but my music. I'd still like to get one of the fuzzy Shuffle socks to stick it in; I had a blue one back in the day.