Prepare to buy a new device!

Do you have an old device, a smartphone or a tablet? They may not work for that much longer, as cell phone companies prepare to phase down the once-ubiquitous 3G wireless network by the end of the year. Your device will be as useful as a typewriter.

It's just another reminder that tomorrow's newest, quickest, and greatest technology will soon appear to future shoppers as a relic.

Each new update, release, or revision makes the previous version feel more primitive. Some items last only a few years, while others last decades, but one thing is for sure: obsolescence is very often a certainty. So, even if we still use and love our devices, we might be forced to buy new ones very soon.

They simply won't work, or their usage will be so limited that they will become a thing of the past.

Start saving money! Start preparing if you haven't already switched to a newer generation device. In the United States, the 3G wireless network that introduced so many people to the internet on their phones will be phased out soon. Even more, it will be shut down completely.  Cellular operators have a limited number of radio frequencies. Because of that, they must choose between maintaining old 3G networks or upgrading to the latest 5G technology. Less than 1% of AT&T and Verizon's customers currently use 3G networks. 90 million 5G devices were deployed in the previous year alone. The choice they will take is more than apparent.

Old cellphones, some medical and security alarms, some auto navigation and entertainment services, and old tablets and e-readers that rely on 3G will cease to function by the end of the year.

BlackBerry already stopped updating operating systems for the once-popular cell phone with its own tiny keyboard in 2013, January 4, 2022. This will be the final nail in the coffin: the company will no longer support BlackBerries. Running its legacy services means older BlackBerries will no longer be able to send text messages or make calls. It's hard to recall, but BlackBerries were once so popular that they were dubbed "CrackBerries" by admirers. They had over 80 million users at their height in 2012, including President Barack Obama and Kim Kardashian.