One of the problems plaguing our technology-biased society is that electronics have become disposable. We are at a point that anyone who has a smartphone that is more than a year or two old is viewed poorly in certain circles. I do not run with that crowd.

You may not be aware that the Nexus 4 is a wonderful Android phone which was released less than 5 years ago. It is available with a still-impressive 16GB base, has an 8MP camera on the rear, and a 1280×768px screen.

You can find them virtually anywhere from prices of $40 to $80, depending on your luck and how scuffed they might be, partially in thanks to Google no longer providing an “in house” Android software revision after 5.1.1.

Thanks to the Android core being open sourced, there are Developers and Designers keeping this still-useful phone alive.

My favorite community-built ROM, Pure Nexus, has an unofficial port of Android 7.1.1, with security patches to-date. This brings this phone nearly to the standards of the latest and greatest- at a fraction of the cost.