I think the original iPhone stopped getting upgrades with either version 3 or 4... Heck the original iPad was chucked on the scrap heap in little over a year.

More fool you if you threw it away. I still use mine every day.

Why do people go along with the idea that as soon as a device stops getting system updates then it is 'obsolete' or 'outdated'? It isn't, it's still as useful as it was the day before the end-of-life announcement was made, just it's probably not going to get any more useful in the future. if it wasn't useful to you before that, why the hell did you buy it? Apart from the obvious fact that if we applied the same criteria across the entire technology spectrum, there'd be entire generations of mobiles phones that were 'on the scrapheap' the day they left the factory, as they never received any sort of firmware or functionality update at all (and I'm not talking about phones from years ago either).

You're not required to replace or dispose of a device just because the company that made it wants you to buy their new one instead.

Why do people go along with the idea that as soon as a device stops getting system updates then it is 'obsolete' or 'outdated'? It isn't, it's still as useful as it was the day before the end-of-life announcement was made, just it's probably not going to get any more useful in the future.

That's what I thought... until I tried to use my Touchpad recently. Websites that used to work perfectly just don't work at all any more, and because I can't update the device I'm shafted.

Websites like the BBC and channel 5 for example will not play video any more, without the impossible update. They were fine just last October.

Also several of the apps have stopped working because the services they rely on have changed. Again, I need the impossible updates. Dropbox being one crucial example, along with my TV guide app which I really liked.

Luckily Wikipedia and Gmail still work, along with any of the simpler websites. My mum is using it now.

Unfortunately, the world moves on regardless...

The one thing I'm missing from my Android 4.1 phone is Flash.
Like you said, some videos don't work.

Why do people go along with the idea that as soon as a device stops getting system updates then it is 'obsolete' or 'outdated'? It isn't, it's still as useful as it was the day before the end-of-life announcement was made, just it's probably not going to get any more useful in the future.

Android/flash problem in some cases?

The one thing I'm missing from my Android 4.1 phone is Flash.
Like you said, some videos don't work.

Android, no. It's WebOS. And it was very nice indeed to start with.

Flash, yes. For the Channel 5 catch-up I think I need a newer version. I havn't a clue what's wrong with iPlayer - it just says it's not compatible with the device. It was fine less than 6 months ago.