My take is that the lower powered devices tend to be retired much faster. I would expect on average a CR-48 would last (in the sense of people actually using it) much shorter than a, say, MacBook Pro. Also a used MacBook Pro (or a comparable high end machine) tends to sell better as a second hand. You probably won't want a second hand CR-48 after two years usage I guess?
On the other hand, the raw materials used to build a CR-48 or a MacBook Pro are almost equivalent. They also contain comparable amount of toxic heavy metals. At the end of the life eventually they'll be shipped to some villages in China to be disassembled to get the expensive metal like gold and silver, but the rest will be burned and buried, causing long term pollution and damage.
I know this is too much environmentalist talk and not making business sense, but I just cannot ignore the sad facts after watching a video about the life of people who live those villages…
And don't forget the issues of mining/refining the rare earths and other minerals used to make the components in the first place. Beside the environmental issues, there's the way they are implicated in crimes in places like Congo.
On the other hand, the raw materials used to build a CR-48 or a MacBook Pro are almost equivalent. They also contain comparable amount of toxic heavy metals. At the end of the life eventually they'll be shipped to some villages in China to be disassembled to get the expensive metal like gold and silver, but the rest will be burned and buried, causing long term pollution and damage.
I know this is too much environmentalist talk and not making business sense, but I just cannot ignore the sad facts after watching a video about the life of people who live those villages…