“So the heart of the problem is, smartphones have issues.” -Steve Jobs

So the iPhone 5 was unveiled a couple of days ago and today I got an email invite  from Apple and Best Buy so I can order online. But really, I have like a few more months left so I can upgrade my 4 to a 5 so I’ll just have to wait…wait for raves/rants regarding the new iPhone 5.

Come to think of it, the evolution of the phone is quite amazing. I’m an 80′s baby and I’ve seen them all. Rotary phones, cordless phones (you were considered well-off if you had one) – then the mobile thing hit us just like that. My first mobile phone was a bulky Motorola phone with a retractable antenna. It looks like four iPhone 4s stacked together and it was just the “in” thing. Then I opted for something slimmer so I opted for a Nokia 909. Believe me, it was considered slim in the 90s phone standards. My next phone was a Mitsubishi Trium Astral. I love it because it’s a gift from my brother and thought it was cooler than my first two phones even if in reality, it looks like a remote control.

Then the unbelievable of the unbelievable came true, a mobile phone without an antenna! Come on! Hahaha.. Yes, it’s true! That was my next phone – a Nokia 3210. It is still one of my favorite phones. It’s just so simple and so user-friendly. Quality is just topnotch. But then, I decided to settle for a smaller phone and bought a Nokia 8250. It’s selling point is the blue backlight feature. Smaller phone, smaller keypad. I wished I had a smaller thumb.

I had no plans of buying another phone but then I lost my Nokia 8250. It was in the bag that was snatched from me  … Because I needed a phone and I love music so I wanted one with more ringtones. Lol. Next toy was a Sony Ericsson K700i. I loved it! More features and I can take pictures, videos and I’m no longer stuck with Nokia Snake games.

Next in line is a Motorola Razr V3 Pink. That was absolutely one of my favorites. So thin and cute. I love the color, screen is wide, keypad is cool, sound is clear and I was able to save a song. Yes. Not songs. That phone can only hold ONE freakin song.

I still decided to get another Motorola. The next one was  a Motorola V3x. Pretty much the same as the Razr but memory-wise, the V3x can hold more music. Maximum of 10 full songs. Seriously. That made me so happy because I can shuffle all 10 songs.

Now, my pre-iPhone phone is a Motorola Rokr. I considered the phone as my dream phone because of it’s memory and because it just looks so cool and it can hold tons of music! You wouldn’t know it’s a phone especially when it’s turned off or locked because the surface is just flat. No visible keypad. The screen is smaller but I was really after the music. I admit it kinda looks like your modern day stove top.

And then I had the 3GS and the 4 which I currently have. I don’t want to blog about its features because everybody knows what the iPhone is capable of and this blog is getting too lengthy and I’m tired of typing.

Five to ten years from now, I predict that the iPhone era will be considered as a Jurassic era. I wonder what’s the mobile technology gonna be like in 10 years? I hope it’s a phone that we no longer have to charge.

And I seriously hope that when I blog in the next ten years or so, I no longer have to type.

Location: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis, IN (May 2011)

Camera: Canon Ixus

Food: Oatmeal cookies and lemonade!

* click on image to enlarge *

I don’t remember what my first mobile phone was. All I remember was it was a Sony Ericsson given by my brother. It was big, it had an antenna and all it did was call and text. So I’ll just continue from the 2nd mobile phone I had and just comment on a few.

• Nokia 3210 - I remember when this first came out, people were like “Whoa, no antenna! cool!”

• Nokia 8210 – When this first came out, people then got all like “No antenna and it’s small! cooooool!” lol. And let’s not forget how psyched everybody got when Nokia 8250 came out with its blue backlight.

• Motorola v3688 – I remember getting a lot of attention from this phone coz it was just so small – and I felt really cool about it at the time. lol

• Nokia 5210 – The phone that was tagged as waterproof and shockproof - which I can’t really confirm since I never dared to test it. I remember getting so excited coz it had Snake II and Space Impact. I think this is when my fixation on mobile gaming began. This is actually one of my favorite mobile phones and if I ever saw this, I would buy it just for the sake of having it again in my possession.

• Sony Ericsson t68i – My first color-screen phone.

• Sony Ericsson t610 – My first camera/video phone.

• Motorola E398

My 2nd favorite phone. The phone that claimed to be the first phone to feature loud, 3D stereo sound. The rubber housing and neon lights that would flash on the side when a sound played made it extra cool — and I’m pretty sure its commercial above is what convinced me to get it.

• LG Cookie (KP500) – My first touch-screen phone.

And so here I am with my current iPhone 4 - which in my opinion is not a phone but a way of living. I didn’t switch to iPhone 4S coz I don’t really feel the need for Siri. Only time will tell what I/we will be using in the coming years. Technology is a beautiful thing.

I’ll be honest, I don’t think I can even remember every single phone that I’ve owned, but I’m going to have a damn good go and try and figure out what happened to them all.

So, my first mobile was the… drum roll please…

Bosch 509e
Everyone at my school started with either that or the Nokia 5110, and I opted for the former, mainly because I could get it in orange. Back in those days, it was Pay as You Go or nothing. The sensible people (if you can call them that) went on Orange, because if you bought a £50 top up then text prices went down from 15p a time to 5p. Yes, that was considered smart back in the day. Ironic considering £50 was a weeks wages in 1999. I don’t remember what happened to that phone. I’m pretty sure I didn’t lose it. It’s probably buried in a box at my parents house because later that year I upgraded to a…

Trium Geo
This thing was the business. In 1999, it was the first WAP phone that hit the market, and with it’s doody little pull out aerial and flip down front panel it looked awesome. I bled credit into online browsing on that thing. Pixelated boobies. That is all. In the end, I was walking home from a night out and drunkenly dropped it into the River Trent. So, I got a…

Sony Z5
Another flip phone. I remember snapping the front off. No idea what happened to it after that.

Nokia 3210
In 2000, the Nokia 3210 was the absolute nuts. Amazing design and interchangeable covers. It really set the aesthetic standard for mobiles and even influences phone design today. Yet again, no idea what became of it.

Nokia 8210
In hindsite, this thing was WAY too small. The buttons were pointlessly tiny, the screen was borderline unreadable and it was far too easy to lose. Which I eventually did.

SE t68i
Never really liked this phone, but I was at Uni when I got it and broke at the time, so I stuck with it for the best part of 18 months. It’s still the phone I’ve owned for the longest amount of time. No idea what happened to it.

Nokia N90
The spinny flippy part of this phone was cool, especially for taking video. Admittedly the quality was as good as unwatchable, but you took it in style at least. Ended up giving it away to a friend having a mobile loss emergency.

LG KE970 Shine
I won this for a review of it that I did. I didn’t like the little scroll wheel so I sold it on eBay.

Motorola RAZR V3
Thin little thing this was. Obviously designed with one thing in mind, jean pockets, and on that basis it was perfect. In the end though I sat on it when it was in my back pocket and broke it. Fail.

SE w850i
My first contract phone. It was a choice between this and the SE k700i. Walkman vs camera. Back in 2005 I was a lot more into music, so the walkman took it. Six months down the line though, I changed my mind and swapped to the…

SE k700i
3.5 mega pixels of camera goodness. Was the cream of the crop that just gets the job done and a phone I still return to in between having other phones if I lose one. It will be staying in my “backup” for a long time I expect. The SE w850i is in there too.

BlackBerry Storm
When I was changing phones in 2008 it was either the BlackBerry Storm or the iPhone 3G. I thought that the iPhone 3G was a bit ‘sheepish’ as everyone had one, so chose the Storm. Bad idea. Disliked it. It’s still in a drawer, but a drawer marked “will not use again”.

iPhone 3GS
I finally fell under the pressure of getting an iPhone, and I admit, I loved it. In the end I broke the screen, and then lost it on a night out in Cardiff. Bad times.

xPeria x10 Mini
Up until two days ago, I was the happy owner of a x10 Mini until it was stolen at a festival. I love that phone, and I’ll probably be getting it again. Maybe. Or perhaps something new, maybe a HTC Desire S. Decisions decisions.

Hey, check out the decade of mobile progression, picture style.

Lëkki brings back the Nokia 8210, the little and successful device with Xpress-on covers, that easy fit on our pocket. Do you wanna enjoy, again, this cell?

Through Lëkki’s website you can acquire the phone for 95€ (VAT and shipping included): you will only have to own a PayPal account to proceed wit the payment.

More information, Lëkki website

PRESS RELEASE

Nokia Unveils Phone with Personalized Style at Exclusive Sneak Preview

Published April 26, 2000

Nokia, the world’s largest mobile phone manufacturer, today gives an exclusive sneak preview of the Nokia 8260 phone to a young adult trend-setting audience at the Gen Art Film Festival in New York. Blending colorful and stylish options into a small digital handset, the Nokia 8260 phone has been dubbed a “must-have lifestyle accessory” and has enough flair to stand out in Gen Art’s highly- fashionable crowd.

Gen Art, a national non-profit organization, and Nokia recently formed an alliance designed to showcase fashionable technology with up-and-coming designers, filmmakers and artists, and Nokia has been named the “official mobile phone of Gen Art.” The Nokia 8260 phone is expected to become available from a variety of wireless network operators in the Americas beginning in the third quarter of 2000.

The Nokia 8260 (TDMA 800/1900/AMPS dual-band dual-mode) combines personalized style and innovative design with advanced wireless solutions. Weighing 3.4 ounces and standing a little more than four inches tall, the Nokia 8260 phone is a wireless innovation that is small enough to fit in the palm of a hand. Though compact in size, the innovative phone offers new features such as mobile originated short messaging service (MOSMS) which enables the user to send and receive e-mail messages.

MOSMS capabilities allow users to send short text messages from their wireless phone to another wireless phone. The Nokia 8260 phone offers a stylish, contoured shape and incorporates Nokia’s powerful, award-winning features, including: a high-resolution, illuminated display, silver finish keymat, local language support (English, Chinese, French, Portuguese, Russian Hebrew and Spanish), an internal antenna, side volume keys and a vibrating alert allowing for “discreet” ringing tones.

First to introduce color to wireless phones in 1992, Nokia continues to lead the industry by incorporating “personality” to differentiate its products and features, exciting color and programming capabilities. The Nokia 8260 phone comes in Electric Blue, Carbon Grey and Red Pepper, allowing users to express their own individual styles. To prepare users for almost any environment, the phone offers personalized feature settings called “Profiles,” which enable courteous management of incoming calls and messages by pre-programming the phone to respond in different ways with quick, one-touch settings, such as “silent,” “meeting,” or “outdoor.”

“Years of customer research have helped Nokia to develop the winning recipe for combining state-of-the-art technology with personalized features for today’s lifestyles,” said Matt Wisk, Nokia vice president of national marketing. “The Nokia 8260 phone appeals to consumers because it allows them to accessorize their lifestyles and gives them choices with color and awide range of advanced wireless solutions that are standard to Nokia’s products.”

Features of the Nokia 8260 phone include: Predictive text input for fast and easy Short Message writing Exceptional performance times – up to 8 days standby and 200 minutes of digital talk time Internal antenna Internal vibrating alert for discreet calls Large dynamic memory, up to 250 alphanumeric phone book memory locations Calendar, alarm clock and four electronic games Ascending ringing tones Calling group icons for different calling groups and personal ringing tones, allowing special sounds to identify callers

Offering impressive performance with its extended lithium-ion battery, the Nokia 8260 offers up to 200 minutes of digital talk time and up to eight days of standby time. This innovative phone also features consumer-minded options such as predictive text input, which provides a fast and easy way to write short messaging, up to 250 memory locations, ascending ringing tones, alarm clock and four standard electronic games. With downloadable ring tones, six user-defined profiles and caller groups, the Nokia 8260 phone can be customized to meet consumers’ specific needs, creating the right phone for any situation.

“The Nokia 8260 has blended innovative features with sophisticated design. And, the sleek compact size of the Nokia 8260 phone allows it to fit in a shirt pocket or a tiny purse, so it can go wherever its user goes,” said Wisk. ” The phone’s innovative design is on the cutting edge, yet completely refined, allowing consumers to connect with style.”

About Nokia Nokia is paving the way to the mobile information society with its innovative products and solutions. The company is the leading mobile phone supplier and a leading supplier of mobile, fixed and IP networks, related services as well as multimedia terminals. In 1999, net sales totaled EUR 19.8 billion (USD 19.9 billion). Headquartered in Finland, Nokia is listed on the New York (NOK), Helsinki, Stockholm, London, Frankfurt and Paris stock exchanges and employs more than 55 000 people.

Further information

Megan Matthews Nokia Americas Tel. +1 972-894-4267

Dana Mark Ketchum

Tel. +1 404-287-2000 ext. 118

More information, Nokia 8210 User Guide, Nokia 8260 Press Release (PDF File)

Nokia 5110

A secondhand Nokia 5110 was the very first GSM cellphone I had.  I can’t exactly remember how many years I have to count back but it was during the mid-90′s I guess.  By then, a lot of expenses were sacrificed (LOL) just to get this.  Who could ever forget the “snakes” game found in this handset.  It was the craze everyone was so into even while in buses, restaurants waiting for orders- just about everywhere.  Nokia would soon start a legacy in the Philippines with the introduction of this model.  It was also fun to be able to change the handset’s cover with different colors, texture and prints with Nokia’s “X-press” covers and soon imitations started coming in and they are sold just about everywhere even along the sidewalks.

Nokia 3210

 As I said, Nokia started a legacy and when they introduced the first model without an antenna poking out of the phone, everyone went gaga over the Nokia 3210.  I had mine a little too late but yeah, I was a proud owner of once.  Still had it on a secondhand basis of course (the brand new costs way too much).  Unfortunately a little less than a year later, I lost this when it fell out of my pocket.  It broke my heart back then but I have moved on (LOL!)

For a while, I had no cell phone in replacement of the lost 3210 because I didn’t have that much money to buy instantly from one cell phone to another.  After saving enough money I went big with the Nokia 7110

Nokia 7110

It was really a fluke from “the-smaller-the-better” and “antenna-free” trend in cell phones as this one is a large handset because it comes with a large 4-liner screen.  There is a button  at the back that when pressed, the slide swiftly goes down and reveals the keypad but you can also manually slide the cover down with your thumb. And what makes it stand out among the others is the scroll feature which also serves as the confirm button when pressed.  I would soon break the slide cover when it was left opened on the bed and accidentally sat on it.  There was no imitation cover available and I had to spend a really big amount to replace the cover with a new one.  This was among the best Nokia classic models as it can save a hundred or so text messages.  Back then, that’s something in a cellphone- other models can only save as much as 25 messages at the most.  I soon got tired of its bulky feel and the weight of this unit is really becoming a “burden” (LOL) so I decided to sell it to buy the next Nokia model that has already been in the market for sometime.

Looking back, I would say it was well worth the ride with Nokia.  Back then when Nokia ruled the pop cellphone craze, they owned the game and everytime I see a new Nokia model on the shelves, I go back to the time when I had my Nokia 5110 and how I wish I saved that handset  just for the nostalgia.  Now that I’m so into my BlackBerry, I still have a soft spot for Nokia and I’m planning to get one soon because after going through so many brands because I do miss my Symbian buddy!

On the way home on the MTR – I saw this guy whip out this HUGE hand held TV device,  I swear it was like MASSIVE, i’ll let the photos speak.

As im forced to change my mobile number… i want to keep my old one for all the companies and people i have forgotten about them having my number…

And i have realized that, no matter what new phone is out there, i really do not care. All i want is one simple tiny mobile phone that makes me happy… being the simple girl who loves vintage stuff that i am, i do not want any other phone, i want the one and only Nokia 8210…

Otherwise, known as Nokia Kitkat!

Of course the newer it is the better, i have just been to a couple of mobile stores and they just laughed at us and mocked us!!!

So before i scan the internet for one, i thought i would ask if any one knows where i can find one??

Bu Tootee has been explaining to me from this morning that even if i get one, it is useless because it will not work. You know what? I do not care! I will use it y3ni i will use it!!! I used to have one, oooh i remember how hard it was to get one and the day my brother called me to tell me he finally found it for me i was in Nino eating dinner with my then friends and i was soooo ecstatic i wanted to abandon my meal and run back home for it… it had a navy blue cover…

and it made me happy…

Infact, it is the only mobile phone that ever made me long for, pine for, dream of, and gave me utter joy when i bought… i do not know why on earth had i disposed of it!!! I do not even recall how!!!!!

Ya jma3a ikhthonee 3la gadd 3aqly o gololee min wain alaqee my to7fa of a phone?