iPhone Trade-In

iPhone collection

My preordered iPhone 6S arrived on Friday.
Longer, wider and thinner, the biggest difference between my previous 5S versus my new 6S is the memory capacity.

My 5S is 16GB. The 6S, 64GB.

If you're looking for a review of the phone, you won't find it here. There are hundreds of reputable tech resources that will provide a more thorough review than I ever could.

What I can tell you: How to wipe the data off the phone.

I'm pretty anal about certain purchases, especially cell phones. Since my first cell phone purchase in 1997, I always keep the original packaging and accessories. (See previous March 14, 2014 blog entry: A History of Cell Phones I've Owned).

I got my 6S up and running yesterday morning. Because it was an iPhone to another iPhone, the painless transfer took about 20 minutes. My settings and all but 1 app were all transferred successfully to the new phone.

As I'm planning to sell the 5S through eBay, I wiped the settings clean, took the phone out of its green silicone cover, wrapped the earphones and charger back into the original box. If you're a do-it-yourself kind of person, the process to wipe the data clean is pretty easy.

Here's how I did it:
1. Back up data to iCloud on the 5S.

2. Turn on the 6S and signed into iCloud to make the transfer. Not required, but advise having phone plugged into the charger during the transfer process.

3. Follow the carrier's instructions on transferring the phone service to the 6S.

4. With an internet connection still on, I wiped the data off the old 5S phone.
Settings->General->Reset (at the bottom)->Erase All Content and Settings.

NOTE: Erase All Content and Settings ensures the data is off the old phone only. If you disregard this feature and delete data by using the Edit function, the data is deleted in iCloud, and therefore won't transfer to the new phone.

You will be asked twice to be sure if you want to do this, and you'll be asked for your iCloud password again.

5. Power off the old phone completely. Return phone, earphones, and charger with USB adapter back into the original box.

To be done tomorrow:
6. Print eBay seller packing slip and ship to seller.

7. Wait for money to appear on PayPal account.

8. Gloat that my new toy didn't cost as much as I thought it would.

A History of Cell Phones I've Owned 1997 - 2015

This past Friday, I got an email from Best Buy for a weekend special offer for iPhone 4S and 5 owners to upgrade to a 16GB 5S for $1. The special also includes a $150 gift card. So immediately after work, I drove down the block to Best Buy at Tanforan to exchange my 4S.

While the offer wasn't as wonderful as it first sounded (the $150 gift card was applied toward the 5S purchase), it was still a very good deal. I spent about $75 total (new phone cover, charger and activation fee).

As someone who once eschewed ownership of an iPhone, the 5S is my second Apple product. I've never owned an Android phone so I can't say if the iPhone is better or worse. But in comparison to a Blackberry Curve 8310 (my first smartphone), it is worlds better and the closest thing to a pocket-sized laptop.

With the new 5S, I now officially have owned more cell phones than cars. I thought it'd be fun to recap the history of all the cell phones I've bought.

1. Motorola Microtec, 1997-1999. 

source: Forum XDA Developers
As my first cell phone from Cellular One, the phone number they assigned me is the number I still have today. It was too heavy and bulky to carry in my purse so I kept it in the glove box of my car. I bought it primarily for emergency purposes. I don't think I actually talked on the phone more than a dozen times in the 2 years I owned it.

2. Nokia 8210, 1999-2001.

source: Wikipedia
With this phone, I went from the bulkiest and heaviest to my smallest owned phone. It was the first phone I carried in my purse, the first and last phone to be charged roaming fees, and the last phone that I would turn off when it wasn't in use. I eventually gave the phone to a friend of an ex-boyfriend when I got a Nokia 3650.

3. Nokia 3650, 2001-2004.

source: my-simbian.com
Technology really jumped when I got this phone. It was my first phone with a pretty awesome camera and bluetooth. I knew it was a cool phone when I saw Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner's character in "Alias") carry it with her.

I kept this phone powered on at all times and became a fixture on my desk while at work. I sold the phone in its original box and all its accessories at a yard sale to a younger guy who had only a clamshell phone without bluetooth or a camera. He was so appreciative he insisted he pay me $40 cash for it.

4. Sony Ericsson W600, 2004-2008.

source: Wikipedia
This phone didn't really offer anything more than my previously owned Nokia 3650. I got this phone because I was eligible for an upgrade and didn't want to fall behind having a phone without the latest technology.

I liked the swivel design and how it felt like a landline phone when I used it. I owned this phone longer than I normally would have, probably because I wasn't quite ready to give in to a Treo, the bulky smartphone all the techies had.

5. Blackberry Curve 8310, 2008-2012.

source: AT&T Wireless
My first smartphone, cost subsidized from my employer. I was eligible to buy an iPhone but after 4 people "over" sang their praises about getting one, it only made me more determined not to get one. This was my way of not jumping on the hot and trendy bandwagon. It was the phone I began to send and receive email and text on a regular basis, which many use a lot more than voice calls these days.

It was this phone another boyfriend would constantly play with when we were first dating. It endeared me to him even more to see him so fascinated with a phone that could surf the internet. For our first Christmas together, I got him a gift card through his cell phone carrier so he could get his first smartphone.

6. Apple iPhone 4S, 2012-2014.

source: AT&T Wireless
Resistance is futile. I was in my interminable unemployment phase of 3.5 years and promised myself a new phone once I got back to work.

But as rebooting the Blackberry became a habit, I could no longer wait for a new phone. I found no other phones that had as much excitement as an iPhone, even after 3 generations. Nearly everyone I knew had an iPhone, so they were no longer the short-lived trendy gadget I thought they'd be. Once I got it, I knew I had some catching up to do. A phone with so much demand, my first 4S was stolen during practice at Classic Bowl.

7. Apple iPhone 5S, 2014-present.

source: mobilefun.co.uk
My latest and greatest. Longer and thinner than the 4S, it's got all the cool features that makes the iPhone an essential, yet fun tool. The best feature I've found in the 5S so far is LTE.

When my 4S was in wi-fi territory, it often had problems loading and I'd have to turn off the wi-fi feature and revert back to 4G. With the 5S, it loads right away, thanks to LTE. The LTE speed is about equal to DSL speed. My cable internet connection at home is by far the fastest.

So that's all for now. If my next phone is an Apple, this will be the first line of cellphones I'll have owned more than 2 times.