What were you using 10 years ago?

[palmerc2]

Didn't have one, but had my own private line in my room.

I was only in the 6th grade! Didn't get my first call phone until I was in the 9th....it was some POS nokia, the thing was unbreakable tho. I dropped it so many times, when I got a new one I wanted to intentionally break it. Nothing worked! Throwing it high into the air, submerged into water for a few minutes....nothing.

 

[ritmomundo]

Its awesome seeing all the responses! After seeing some phone histories posted by other users, I feel like doing the same. (Yeah I've gone thru a lot of phones. I'm clumsy, and I tend to prefer 1 year contracts, so that would explain most of it...)

2000 - Nokia 6160. Ah memories... My first cell phone. Got it when I started college. Unfortunately it fell out of my jacket pocket in the rain and got swept away into the sewer system. RIP Nokia

2001 - Nokia 8890. Really liked the compact-ness, and the metal body made it look super sexy. I thought it was even cooler when I saw the same phone being used in the movie "Panic Room." By far, my favorite dumb-phone.

2003 - Sony Ericsson T300. This phone was shaped like a bar of soap, and felt cheap and plastic-ey. Aside from the color screen, I pretty much hated this thing. And it had a camera add-on that you had to plug in. Too bad it sucked at taking pictures. It ended up falling in the sink, and it didn't turn back on... I didn't know about the rice thing, but oh well, good riddance. RIP Sony Ericsson

2004 - Sanyo 6200. Made the switch to Sprint. I liked the phone for the slim shape, but the screen killed it, and I ended up returning it within the first couple weeks.

2004 - Sanyo SCP-8100. IMO, probably one of the better phones on one of the better networks at that time. Plus this thing was rugged. I can't even count how many times it survived drops/flings/throws that would make any iPhone user pass out today.

2006 - Moto RAZR v3. Finally gave in to all the hype about the slimmest phone around, and man, I gotta say, this phone was amazing. Probably the best reception/voice clarity of any phone I've ever owned. Major bummer when I realized I had left it on the beach somewhere. I assume its now buried deep under the sand. RIP Razr

2006 - Moto RAZR v3m. Switched over to Verizon, and was plenty happy with this phone, but it felt like a crippled version of my previous RAZR.

2007 - Palm Treo 700w. My first smart phone. I was very impressed with its features. I just hated lugging the huge thing around, it was like a brick in my pocket. Eventually met its untimely demise when it fell from my hand, hit pavement, and in a fit of extreme clumsiness, felt the full weight of my body as I tripped and stepped on it, thus utterly destroying the screen. RIP Treo.

2008 - LG Dare. Needed to replace the dead Treo, but wanted a cool touchscreen phone without having to pay for a data package thru verizon, and without breaking the bank, so this was the best choice. Got a lot of compliments due to its similarities to the iPhone, but honestly, it just didn't compare.

2009 - Moto Droid. My first Android smartphone, and I was impressed by all it could do. However, I had to have backup batteries because they didn't last very long, and that was incredibly annoying. I remember thinking back in college while using my black and white PDA that I wished it was an all-in-one device that could make calls, do all the PDA stuff, surf the full internet (not just WAP), take pictures, and play music and videos. Finally...

2011 - iPhone 4. The iPhone finally came to Verizon. As of right now, I couldn't be happier.

 

[scaredpoet]

In 2001, I had this:

The Sanyo SCP-4900.

The color screen was kinda nice, and those were just starting to become common. But the REAL nice thing about this phone (at the time) was that it was Sprint's first phone with "3G" data (3G being 1xRTT). And, with a bit of hacking, it was tetherable using a serial cable.

So, I could hook up my Pentium 3 laptop and surf the web at about 1-2 times the speed of a 56k dialup modem, which was pretty impressive for wireless data at the time.


Or, I could get REALLY mobile, and with the right adapter, hook up the Sanyo-to-Serial cable to the sync cable for this guy:

Using that, and and e-mail app whose name I forget, I could download my e-mail to my Palm, disconnect, reply offline, and then when I was ready, connect up again and re-sync to send my messages and pick up any new mail.

There was also this service called AvantGo, which was sort of like Opera Mobile is today, only with an offline browse capability. So basically you'd select a whole bunch of "channels" (that being websites like NY Times, and other News/Sports/Games/Media sites that had preformatted mobile content ready to go), and then you could sync the Palm and download static copies of whatever content was available.

Anyway, 1x data and hacking it for tethering was really the only reason to have this phone. It had a huge battery, but data use would suck it dry. In just about 2 hours you would go from fully charged to dead, and there was no way to tether and charge at the same time. And the phoen itself was buggy and froze a lot. And the built in WAP web browser was a joke.

I think at about this time, Sprint was also charging for data by the minute. So, using data would count against your airtime (but would be unlimited on nights and weekends, just like voice calls). Later on some sort of megabyte-based plans kicked in, but those of us on the old plans were grandfathered for a while.

It didn't even do text messaging!


By the way: back then Sprint charged $10 a month for 2MB of "3G" data. The service was called "PCS Vision." Though after a couple years, the plans slowly evolved into the $20/month unlimited plans we wish were still around.

 

[slu]

Sanyo 4500. Loved that phone:

This was the phone I had as well. It worked great as a phone, but did nothing else at all from what I remember.

 

[Savor]

My All-Time Favorites

1. Apple iPhone 4 (2010 - 2012)
2. Nokia N82 (2008 - 2010)
3. Apple iPhone (2008 - 2010)
4. Sanyo SCP-5500 (2004 - 2006)
5. Nokia 3360 (2001 - 2003)
6. Motorola V600 (2004 - 2007)
7. Motorola RAZR V3 (2006 - 2009)
8. Sony Ericsson T616 (2004 - 2006)
9. Nokia 3595 (2003 - 2004)
10. Audiovox 9155GPX (1999 - 2000)
11. Qualcomm QCP-1960 (2000 - 2001)


As you can see, the phone I owned exactly 10 years ago is my least favorite. That Nokia phone I got in the end of 2001 surprisingly upsets the classier Motorola flip phones including the popular RAZR V3. I just loved that dumb phone as well as another navy blue phone I had which was the Sanyo.

Hoping my next phone in 2012 can rank in the top 3-5. The real test starts to happen after 18 months when the battery life gets noticeably worse. After a year and a half, some phones start acting bad and your itch for a newer one starts to happen. If that particular phone can last the entire two-year duration mostly problem-free and you still love it, then it is a great phone meant to rank high among your personal favorites.

Sometimes the newer phones doesn't mean they will turn out better. I might end up with a Samsung WP7 phone next year and end up disliking it more than ones I've owned from 7-10 years ago because Sammy is buggy or refuses to update. And who knows if the next iPhones will truly be better and become LTE-battery hogs? Introducing completely new software and hardware still takes years of refinement. I may just end up using my iPhone 4 until it simply dies or it gets misplaced/stolen. If not, it will still be used as an iPod touch and then rest peacefully in its original box in my drawer after 3-5 years.

 

[Caliber26]

I Just Got A Little Nostalgic

I had this phone back in 2001, and even remember receiving/making the 9/11-related calls on it. I was 19 and thought I was the **** cuz my phone had a 'joystick' and it allowed me to hop on AOL Instant Messenger, a feature that didn't really become truly popular until MANY years later.

This was definitely nice to look at and felt great in the hand. I'm surprised to not have seen this phone's popular predecessor (the silver/gray-colored SCH-3500) posted on this thread!

 

[Smallville]

10 years ago, I didn't carry a cell phone. I was 19 and in college. I believe I got my first phone in late 2001 or 2002 with Bell South Mobility (I lived in Alabama). I had some old ass Nokia or Sony Ericsson. No color on the screen, no ringtones.

That changed to Cingular a few years later, which became AT&T. I switched to T-Mobile around 2004 and have jumped around from Motorola to Samsung and back throughout my upgrades.

 

[jbwest]

This was definitely nice to look at and felt great in the hand. I'm surprised to not have seen this phone's popular predecessor (the silver/gray-colored SCH-3500) posted on this thread!

I registered just to post in this thread, lol, but I had that phone and it was my first cell phone back in 2001.

Then, I jumped around from Sprint to Verizon to Tmobile (can't remember the phones I had on those networks) and finally to Cingular and got this beauty in 2005, which ran some crappy windows version, but had mobile web access and a camera:

Then I got this phone and loved it:

After that, AT&T bought Cingular and I got the original iPhone in 2007, a 3g in 2008, and a iP4 when they released last year. Can't wait for the iP5 whenever that may be.

 

[Haxx]

I started off with a Siemens C10

I have had many phones over the years, and in no particular order (but as best I remember) I have had...

The nokia 7110 - I loved that phone!

I also had the all rubberised Nokia, in blue - you know, pretty indestructable and it worked.

Nokia 6680 - loved that phone too.

Some windows based handset - can't remember what it was, but it had a stylus and windows mobile OS - pretty clunky and crashed a lot.

iPhone 3G

iPhone 3GS

iPhone 4

There were others, but these stick out

 

[BUFFBOY]

 

[mikerr]

Intersting how Nokia so owned the phone industry back then,
oh how far they have fallen

(look back at this thread - it's practically a nokia catalogue!)

Anyway - 10 years ago I had this Nokia 7110 and a 9110

I still keep the 9110 in my briefcase even now since it's good for sending/receiving faxes !

 

[Chocolatemilty]

This thread is a wonderful walk down memory lane!

My first phone was back in 7th grade in 2001, the Indestructible as we're calling them: a Nokia 3360. This phone had Snake & Space Impact, text messaging, customizable ringtones, changeable faceplates, AIM through text - basically, everything a middle school kid needed to be one the popular kids. With my Lakers faceplate and text messaging plan, I must say I was.

Unfortunately, that phone got stolen by one of my haters (I remember who took it, we got in a fight over it & he ended up loosing it....but that's another story) and I had to get another one. Another Nokia, the 2260. This phone was basically the same, but now with a dope blue backlit screen & keypad!

After that, it was time to get something with the big advancement in cell phone tech at the time in 9th grade: the COLOR SCREEN. It was also merger time with AT&T Wireless & Cingular, so it was time to move onto the new network Cingular was pushing since TDMA had bit the dust. Enter the Motorola V180. Loved this phone, until it met its untimely demise on Waikiki Beach on Spring Break with my school choir.

The next step was a color screen phone with what all the cool kids had now: a CAMERA. Alas, the Motorola V557 was available. To this day, I still love this phone. Great call quality; was a champ at texting on the easy keyboard; customizable with that Moto computer software (being the tech-savvy nerd I am, I made so many ringtones of popular songs FOR FREE & was the envy of all my friends), the works. This phone, like all the others that wasn't stolen or lost, is still in my possession.

I moved on from that Moto to a 3G device in '06, the LG CU500 that I still have today. I use this as my "world phone" as it is unlocked, gets 3G coverage & data, and has a great, compact size.

It was then time during Christmas '08 to move onto a smartphone, as I was now a sophomore in college engaged in many extracurriculars and whatnot. My trusty iPhone 3G had arrived. This phone is still in the family as I handed it down to my older sister as her stopgap between a BB Curve and a new iPhone. As you all know, this phone was and still is a champ, albeit a slowed champ as of now.

I recently had a brief encounter with Windows Phone 7 in the Samsung Focus. Bought it on the low off-contract. Even though I did love the OS, this handset just wasn't up to par with my smartphone hardware standards, as it is now at Samsung Support to be repaired for the THIRD time after my SIM stopped reading. Once I get it back, on to Craigslist or eBay it goes! I may try again with WP7 as a 2nd phone once Nokia drops their devices.

Now, I'm back where I should be, with a DOPE iPhone 4 in tow.

That was a fun trip down cell phone memory lane! I sure enjoyed writing this up and reading all of yall's cellular communication experiences!

 

[Zermelo]

No joke.

 

[bad03xtreme]

I started out on Nextel.

 

[trsnrtr]

Ten years ago, I was using a Nokia similar to may that have been posted here. That was back when phones were good at being phones - clear, sharp and reliable.

 

[Gav2k]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8F190 Safari/6533.18.5)

8855 titanium edition

 

[penfan82]

+1

Back then Nokia had the best phone designs.

Same phone for me too from there I moved onto a samsung nokia was the way to go and u were someone if u owned a cell phone

 

[johnfnwhiteside]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_6 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8E200 Safari/6533.18.5)

Landline. Didn't get my first cell phone until 2003 and i think it was a some type of LG flip phone on Verizon.

 

[0007776]

I didn't have a cell phone yet 10 years ago, I got my first phone in 03 or 04 I don't remember, but it was this one on sprint.

 

[Wicked1]

I believe this was 1998 or so. Same phone they used on the X-Files: (still have it)

Same for me but I remember mine having a burgundy faceplate and it was on AT&T.

 

[Pomeless]

Landline.

Then my first cell a year or so later:

 

[kdarling]

Looks like for the majority of responders, the iPhone was their first smartphone.

I wonder how much the old Baby Duck Syndrome behavior applies here, where people go try something else and come back.

 

[SRLMJ23]

Nextel i1000 Plus...thought it was the coolest phone ever with push to talk and all...haha, my how things have changed!!!

Check out the attachment! HAHA.

 

[Caliber26]

No joke.

LOL....you know what, I used that same phone from 2002-2006. It tripped me out to come back and see everyfknbody (even CHILDREN!) with phones. When I had one in 2001, I was part of a small minority.

 

[decafjava]

Looks like for the majority of responders, the iPhone was their first smartphone.

I wonder how much the old Baby Duck Syndrome behavior applies here, where people go try something else and come back.

Indeed it's my case I think-just got the ihpone 4 in January, furthermore in my case I have also invested a lot in apps and especially in music (ripped my cd collection and got a lot of music through itunes and still purchase cds if they are cheaper or rare) so it would be difficult for me to switch.

My phone 10 years ago was something like this one:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_8310
Thought it was so neat it had an FM radio too.