Image Courtesy of Apple

The Apple iPad 3 is dominating the market and though there have been a few problems in terms of misunderstandings on 4G for the UK, it has not stopped the majority of consumers from purchasing the latest in iPads.

The market is also showing that Amazon’s Kindle and Samsung Galaxy are also keeping up in the sales arena. This means that there are plenty of old tablets not being used anymore. Luckily, consumers with the earlier versions of tablets can go ahead and recycle them to make way for the new tablet. Similar to mobile phone recycling, the iPad can be recycled for money. The funds will be based on whether the device works or not. If the device works that means more in terms of a payout. It also means the company can resell it as a used product, helping the consumers who cannot afford the new model, or even a new old model, get a tablet.

As technology advances, there are certainly many reasons to go with a tablet. The iPad is gaining in terms of its memory size and uses to be more similar to a netbook. While a netbook is best for a small time computer user and the iPad is more for entertainment, the world is heading toward tablet PCs for the future of mobile computers. Laptops and netbooks will be obsolete. This is why you might want to get into recycling any of your old electronics so you can afford the latest models.

The UK has done its part in getting more mobile phones recycled in recent years, but it is still not enough. Many countries are still not recycling their old mobile phones.

The Middle East, for example, is a large area where mobile phone recycling has not become a huge protocol to follow. The UAE is working to fix this, but when it comes to a global scale, it may not be enough. The most important factor about recycling mobile phones, no matter where one lives, is the earth. There are harmful aspects to electronics such as mobile phones, laptops, and iPads. The screens contain properties that can be detrimental to the earth if they are thrown into the landfills. It is very important for anyone with electronics to seek recycling options rather than just throwing them away.

It is not only about the damage to the earth though. We have already pulled many precious metals from the earth, but each year billions of pounds are lost to landfills because of the trashed electronic goods. Even mobile phones contain nickel, silver, gold, and other precious metals. These metals can be taken out of the phone, melted down, and then reused for other products or new mobile phones. It is perhaps the main reason that recycling companies are willing to pay UK residents for their old phones because there is a profit in getting the phones turned in rather than thrown away.

Lately there have been many reports about apps for Smartphones that contain viruses.  It used to be computers and laptops that we had to worry about with viruses; however, now that we have tablet PCs and Smartphones we have to be careful about viruses from apps we download.  If you do not want to recycle mobile phones continually because they are virus ridden then you might want to consider the virus apps that are being created by the top virus protection companies.  Fraudsters definitely have the upper hand with their malware, but you can follow some simple steps to keep your new phone in good health and only recycle those old ones that are past their prime.

There is also a warning about choosing the right company from which to buy second hand phones.  A company that is not trusted could serve up malware on a platform.  About one in ten second hand phones have information still on them and quite a few have the virus to steal your information.  This does not mean recycling your old phone is bad.  On the contrary, it is a good idea to allow your phone to undergo the full recycling process in which it is scrapped for everything left inside such as the rare metals.  You can also make certain your phone is safe by trusting only the direct app company for your apps rather than some new site selling apps with which you are unfamiliar.

E-waste is becoming a global problem.  Electronic waste needs to lessen, but the way we are changing out devices, that is not likely to happen.  Instead, in the coming years as the population increases and more people start owning mobile phones it means there will be a higher degree of electronic waste with which to be dealt.  There are some organisations working to lessen the amount of waste and to recoup the precious electronic components thrown out each year.

Your mobile phone contains several important metals that are becoming rarer.  If you can help by recycling your mobile phone then you can save these products from ending up in the landfill.  You can also end the need for other organisations to hunt through rubbish to make certain that the mobile phones are recycled rather than sent to the landfill.

Mobile phone recycling is just too easy to allow it to continue to be an issue of trash in landfills.  All you have to do is go online and tell the site what mobile phone you have and then are paid for sending it to the recycle centre.  The company will do the rest in dealing with the mobile phone being recycled.  Furthermore, you get a little income towards your next phone or for something else.  You no longer have to worry about what to do with the old phones because the mobile phone recycling projects make it easy for you to do what is right for the environment.

There seems to be a mobile phone race going on in the market.  Samsung and Apple are fighting it out for who will be the top manufacturer in UK homes.  According to a recent survey, about 50 per cent of the market share is in Apple and Samsung’s corner.  In fact, the two have 53.3 per cent of the total market.

The interesting bit about this battle between the two manufacturers is the mobile phone recycling that has been going on.  Apple recently released the Apple 4S that created an immediate change wherein phones were being recycled at the plants around the UK.  Many old Apple iPhones and several other brands such as Blackberry entered the recycled market.  Samsung was actually not one to be high on the list of mobile phones recycled.  Yet, we know the market share is up for how many Samsung phones are in the possession of UK residents.  It seems that the change will have more Samsungs in a year or two going to the recycle centres.

There is also another thought all-together in terms of the Samsung phone.  Samsung may have a technology or the type of users that do not feel the need to upgrade their phone constantly to something new.  It may be that an owner waits until the Samsung is completely dead before they move on to a new phone.  We will just have to wait and see if Samsung hits the mobile phone recycling market higher in the list in coming months than it has so far.

You do not have to smash your mobile phone to bits in order to recycle it safely. Rather, you just need to be sure you pick the right recycling centre. When you choose a place you trust, you do not have to worry about thieves stealing information, as some would have you believe. Instead, you just need to remove your SIM card in the old phone, iPad, or remove the hard drive of your computer. As long as things are wiped completely clean including any saved files you had on the computer or mobile device it will be fine to recycle. It is even better if the device does not work when it goes to the recycling centre, but if you really want to get your value out of the old electronic, it is better to sell a working electronic.

Working electronics will be resold after they have undergone an extensive refurbishment project. The refurbishment process takes the mobile phone or electronic device and takes out any parts that can store information. The phone is then set back to factory default meaning all of your passwords, stored data, and the like are removed. It is in your best interest to make it safe by deleting everything you possibly can before you ship it out including doing your own factory default reset. Most data is now stored on SIM cards. These can be removed in the newer model phones that tend to be resold over those that are five years old without SIMs.

Apple first quarter sales for the iPhone 4S have helped double Apple’s sales from last year. New figures show that in the first three months, Apple iPhone sales were worth £7.2 billion. The company has managed to make 35 million mobile phone sales between January and March because of the new phone. They have also seen more sales with the iPad 3, helping to increase their earnings for the first and second quarter. It will be a strong year for Apple as a company, but it is also a strong year for mobile phone recycling.

Mobile phone recyclers announced their main recycled phone right now is the older versions of iPhone from Apple. A variety of phones turned in is the first and second editions of the iPhone, but quite a few iPhone 4 models, the 4S predecessor, are also being given for mobile phone recycling. It is good news for families that are unable to afford the new phone. Through the mobile phone recycling option, the iPhone 4 used models will be examined for resale and many will be sold again. It allows the company to make money from the purchase of the recycled phone and it gives consumers a chance to afford a phone they are not able to when it is sold as new.

While the iPhone 4 is not the latest in the series, it is still a great phone and one worthy of a used sale purchase after it has gone through recycling.

It may seem as though there is a new mobile phone on the market almost every day.  It is fairly close to that considering the different manufacturers out there.  This means you may want to trade in your mobile phone from a year or two ago for something new.  If that is the case then you have a bit of work for your old phone in terms of mobile phone recycling.  Make certain you start early to look at the new mobile phones coming on the market so you plan to recycle your old mobile phone for it.

It should be mentioned that old SIM free phones would not be possible for resale meaning that you will get less from the recycling centre for the SIM free model.  Mobile phone recycling companies can only resell phones that are completely wiped of data and have a new SIM card.  They do not mind paying a little for the recycling since they get something in return for donating the old phones for precious metals to be removed, but it will not be as much as a SIM included in a phone.

You do need to protect your data, so make certain to remove the old SIM, wipe the data, and make the phone as new in terms of storage.  Leaving anything on the phone will require the recycler to dump it and it is better safe than sorry should something happen to the phone during transit.

Do you have more than one mobile phone in your home? Perhaps you are like many other mobile phone users and you do not want to lose pictures you have taken with one phone, so you have held on to it and now you have more than three mobile phones taking up dust bunny spots in your drawers. If this sounds like you, never fear, you can eliminate this problem quickly and make a bit of profit.

First, if you do not have a device handy go into your local mobile phone store and ask them to transfer all data on your phone into the new phone. This will certainly work if you have an older model, but you can also use USB cords for mobile phones, memory cards for your phone, and other options to download your pictures directly onto your computer. Once you have everything downloaded to the computer, dump all data. Make certain that you totally reset your mobile phone so that none of your data will remain stored.

At this point, you are ready to recycle mobile phones for a bit of profit. The profit is a secondary nicety with your current dust bunny collectors. Depending on the model of phone, you could earn anything up to £200 for your mobile phone through the recycling process. The amount you make is also dependent on the condition of the phone. The better condition the better the funds for recycling.

This post was written by Peter who works for a company & product review site, specialising in genuine company reviews and customer feedback.

A recent study was conducted to find out what mobile phones are most commonly recycled. It was found that Apple iPhones are the most common as the 3GS and 4 versions rank in the top two most recycled mobile phones. The 3GS can gain a recycled value of £104, while the 4 is £243. The Blackberry Curve is next on the list for the most recycled though the value is only £52. These monetary amounts are just averages of the most common recycling centres. It is also an average with the phone condition in mind. A phone that is in great condition could gain this much or more in recycling funds whereas something that no longer works may get a couple of pounds. The Apple 3G was also on the list as most recycled with around £60 on average for the recycle fee paid to consumers.

Other phones on the list include the Samsung Galaxy, Blackberry Bold, Touch, Curve 8900, HTC Desire, and HTC Wildfire. Many of these phones are around the £50 mark, though you may find a couple will reward you with over £100 in recycling funds. These average values are good to know in the event you want to purchase a recycled phone rather than recycle one on your own. It pays to know what the competition is also offering in terms of recycling for mobile phones just to see if there is a better value out there.