Memories of Former Cellphones

Well, I recently got a new phone. Not really because I wanted one, but because I switched providers. I came off of my dad's Verizon plan and got onto Nathan's AT&T plan (click here to read more about AT&T). So that got me thinking about all of the cell phones I've ever had. People my age are unique in that we do remember people not having cell phones, yet our brains and actions have still adjusted to fully be able to use cell phones as we know them today.

When I was growing up, I really really wanted my own phone line. Thinking back, it seems so weird to request your own land line when many households do not even have a single land line.... Anyway, thats what I wanted. One of my main arguments is that we could talk on the phone AND use the internet AT THE SAME TIME (shoutout to dial-up!!!). It was the perfect solution, really. After a few years, I finally gave up asking.


THEN one day, out of the blue, my dad said, "hey do you hear that?' and I said, "hear what?..." and he said, "that music. I think its coming from your room..." So, I went into my room, and sure enough there was a little ditty coming from my shoe. The glorious moment had come when I had my own phone line; my own cell phone line! I was 16 and I now had my very own Nokia 3310. A few people from school had cell phones, but nothing that was really significant. And guess what?! Not only could I call my friends on my own line, but I could also play a game called "snake." It was awesome!


Before I knew it, the brick phone was obsolete. Now, flip phones were the thing to have. The brick phones, were just too big, after all. When our contract ended, I got a new silver flip phone: the Motorola e815. This phone was legit. You could even take pictures and set them to be your phone background. Also, for your convenience, the antenna was extendable to getbetter service. I mean, do they think of everything or what?



One sad day, I dropped my Motorola e815, and where else did it land but into the toilet (luckily, I had already flushed). It was then that I got the Motorola Razr. I had had my eye on the Razr  for a while because several of my friends had it. I liked it because it was significantly thinner than my original flip phone. I loved the sleek design, but by this time "smart" phones were starting to appear. I always said, "who cares about smart phones..." I can honestly say that I didn't want one. I had calling and texting and a camera. That's all you could ever want in a phone!



When it was time to renew our family contract, my sister really wanted a smart phone, but I still didn't care that much. It was still an option to get a phone without the internet and my dad wasn't ready for our bill to take that step. Really, though, the Blackberry was one of the only choices in the smart phone arena that we could purchase through our provider. Lets be real, who really WANTS to use Blackberry? I mean the full keyboard instead of using the numbers?... thats crazy! We compromised and got the LG Dare. The Dare had a touchscreen!!! AND if we REALLY needed to we could use the internet (at an overpriced rate). I'll have to admit, it was a little hard getting used to using the touch screen to type.


Two years later, at contract renewal, we quickly figured out that it was nearly impossible to get a decent phone that didn't have the internet. Additionally, I was without a laptop, due to a burglary, so I really need some sort of internet. And so.... I got the HTC Incredible. I must say, I enjoyed the incredible a lot. I could virtually do anything with my phone! I could make it map out my walks around campus; I could take selfies with the front facing camera; I could play angry birds; I could get on Facebook; and I could use the internet whenever I wanted to! Oh yeah, I could also make calls and send texts. It wasn't until about a year and a half later that I started disliking the Incredible. One day, it gave me an error saying I had no more space on my phone, so I promptly deleted some apps, pictures, texts, etc. From then on no matter what I did, I never had any space. It was so annoying... Thats when I decided I wanted the iPhone. I hoped Apple could be trusted.


I'll have to say, I was late to the apple game. After I had decided to go to grad school, I realized my smart phone wasn't going to cut it anymore; I needed a laptop to do homework. So, I bought an MacBook Pro. Ever since that moment, I knew how convenient it would have an iPhone to accompany my laptop. SO, I got an iPhone 5. Honestly, I have no complaints. I like the size and shape; I like the organized structure; I like the apps; I like everything about it.


I like to think about how the cell phones have changed since 2004 when I got my first one. Thanks for the memories, cell phones. Did you have any of these cell phones or cell phones like these? If you did, what did you like or dislike about them? Leave a comment below :)