Considering that we took on a few Brighthand refugees (@Hook, & Co. - sorry I don’t know you lot), I thought we should have a bit of fun around smartphones.
Truth be told, I actually have more smartphones (and mobile phones) than tablets…
I’m no oldie in this space though.
And how better than to do that than go back to the past! Nostalgia time!
My first mobile phone was a Sony Ericsson K700i. It was even, very briefly, in Casino Royale (no, not my exact one).
Summary
My first smartphone was a Nokia N900. Seriously loved that thing, apart from the blasted Micro-B port.
Don’t worry, you will. We tend to be quiet at first.
When I finally came off PDAs + flip phone in 2009, my first smartphone was a Nokia 5800, but a year later, I jumped to Android for the Nexus One. A magnificent phone in it’s day and, like all of the Nexuses, reasonably priced. And I had several of them… Nexus one was followed by the Nexus 4, which I gave to my son, a Nexus 5 and a Nexus 6P. I’ve never had a phone contract, even back in those days when i t was harder to get data without a contract (in the US). Have always used Payg, in part because I wasn’t a heavy phone user, at least as a phone. They have always been PDAs to me, or, more accurately, as the capabilities have improved, pocket computers. I’m an introvert. Why do I want to talk to people?
The funny thing is, I always wanted a phone with a keyboard, preferably horizontal. I really wanted a pocket computer. So why did I never get a Droid or a Touch Pro or an N900? I have large hands and fingers. All these keyboarded phones, the keyboards were too small. I couldn’t get much satisfaction from them. I was issued several blackberries at work and I hated them. Anyone emailed me I would type “Answer you when I get back to my computer.” Luckily, and happily, I’m retired now.
However, these days I am playing with two interesting keyboard phones. One is the Pro1 from FxTec, a small UK company, with a horizontal slider keyboard, which due to a 6" screen is quite large with the buttons well spaced. I confess that currently it is back in the UK for warranty repair. The other is the Pine Phone with the clamshell keyboard case. Both of these are wonderful but far from perfect, but those are stories to tell another day, in another thread.
My first smartphone. I held onto it until an Android update didn’t have enough storage to install even with every optional app deleted. There was too much space taken up by undeletable Google apps. So I moved on, reluctantly.
Around the turn of the millennium, I was working with Bell Atlantic when it merged with Nynex in New York. That Merger ultimately resulted in the formation of Verizon, after which, all of its vendors were required to have a Verizon Phone. I worked with Verizon for nearly a decade after that.
In the 90’s I had been experimenting with Pocket PCs along with my Motorola flip phone. I gave up on Pocket PC’s when I bought a Blackberry. That was really my first smart phone. After that, I carried Blackberries for nearly a decade. I particularly liked the Curve because of its small size and great keyboard. The postage stamp display became more and more useless as smart phone functions became more sophisticated.
Went with a Motorola Droid after the Blackberry and began my struggle with Android. Switched over to the ill-fated “Windows Phone” OS on my Lumia 950 (which still stands out as one of my favorite phones). From the Lumia, I bought a Samsung Galaxy Note 5. The pen and size of the display were a revelation. Kept the Note 5 for nearly three years and traded it in on a Note 10 LTE. My Note 10 is over two years old and has just gotten its upgrade to Android 12, so it will be traded in next year for either an S23 Ultra or a Fold 4, depending on the design of both (5G).
Unlike the rest of you (@dstrauss ; chronological by year? Really?!??) I don’t have a very clear recollection of when I got into smartphones or with what model, although I know that I was pretty late to the party. I live in the (semi-) rural mid-west, so my very first cell phone (really for my wife) was a 5-Watt Motorola pack phone. I have no idea when we got it but we probably used it for about two years. As local coverages improved, I think it was 2003 or 2004 when I got a Motorola Razr flip phone which probably lasted for about a year.
As part of the TPCR forums, I realized that I needed to get up to speed with smartphone technology so that I could comment intelligently and that led to a generic Nokia phone and a T-Mobile My Touch 4G phone in some forgotten order. As smartphones evolved and as Microsoft entered the race, I got a Lumia 950 which, like some of you, remains high on my list of favorites. However, Microsoft’s faltering support, combined with Samsung’s innovations, led to a Galaxy Note 9 which I again used for a couple of years until Microsoft sprung the Duo on the market. The Duo was clever and handy but was also an experiment. I bought my Duo 2, my current mobile appliance, in the hopes that it would be much closer to a finished product, but snookered by Redmond AGAIN! The Duo 2 is only about a year old and I intend to stick with it for at least another year, but I have a funny feeling that another Samsung slab phone, likely the GN successor, is in my future…
I remember having a Nokia phone in 2004 that had “mobile internet”, probably through Sprint PCS I think. It had Bluetooth and managed to pair it with an HP hx4700 Pocket PC.
I clearly remember the looks from people at the airport gate, watching me surf the net on this 5" slate color touchscreen device in my hands.
I also remember pairing the HP to a Bluetooth GPS puck and getting driving directions through some TomTom competitor.
I think this was before devices adopted USB mini, so it was annoying to have to bring 3 different wall wart barrel connector power plugs.
I think it wasn’t until the HTC TouchPro where I could have internet and GPS self contained in one device that could rule them all.
It’s crazy to think that this isn’t really that long ago, and now I’m typing this on a foldable phone.
2012-2022 lg optimus 7 on t-mobile - windows phone 7.5 - $40-$60
have replaced it with the same model because the first one broke,
bought another one as backup (2016), and using as a media player now
thats it.
not using as phones - backup
lumia 650 - 2019 - windows 10 phone - only use as a media player [Free, given as gift]
nokia C2 - 2021 - android phone (9?) bought for business use only, not currently activated [Free, paid for by company]
ms DUO 1 - 2021 - android 10, now 11 - only use for notetaking, and tablet features [$350]
This is going to be a depressing list because pretty much everything I touched was killed off at some point.
2001-era Nokia - maybe the 5165? it’s one of the few I don’t still have in a drawer somewhere since I lost it on a bus so I don’t know for sure
2002-era Audiovox - maybe the CDM-8200?
Handspring Treo 600 (Sprint)
Palm Treo 700p (Sprint)
Palm Treo 750p (Sprint) - Warranty Replacement
Motorola q9c (Sprint) - Anyone else remember Windows Mobile Smartphone Edition that didn’t have a touchscreen?
Palm Pre (Sprint)
Palm Pre Plus (Sprint) - Had to transplant the guts of the Pre Plus to the original Pre to connect the Sprint modem board
Palm Pre 2 (Finally switched to GSM)
HP Veer (not for day to day use, but I wanted one to play around with)
HP Pre 3 - I guess it’s safe to mention this now but I beta tested the HP Touchpad (oops, forgot to mention that pile of trash in the tablet thread ) and they gave me a chance to get a Pre 3 based on that
Dell Venue Pro
Nokia Lumia 900
Nokia Lumia 920
Nokia Lumia 1020
Microsoft Lumia 950 XL
Samsung Galaxy Note 3
Samsung Galaxy Note 5
Samsung Galaxy Note 8
Google Pixel 4 XL
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Wow, how did that end up being 21 phones in 21 years when there have been many times where I waited a couple years between phones?
@jhoff80 There are some great phones on that list, but you are as bad with phones as I am in the stock market - look what Strauss bought and buy the other option…
OK here’s mine. Not that bad, but I should really try to keep those iPhones longer. Apple is so good at planned obsolescence though.
Nokia 3210 - indestructible brick with T9 typing Motorola MPX220 - Windows mobile 2003 HTC 2125 - Windows mobile 5.0 iPhone 3G - wow GPS, a touch screen, a real browser iPhone 4 - wow so sleek Lumia 920 - look at those cool tiles, great camera Lumia 1020 - amazing (if slow) camera Lumia 1520 - huuuuge at the time, loved that thing Lumia 950XL - little flimsy feeling, but great camera, pretty transparent tiles iPhone 6S plus - WP10 was dying, back to Apple we go. Terrible camera though. iPhone 7 plus - Important occasion coming up, wanted the better camera iPhone XS - Wanted that AMOLED that I enjoyed so much on the 950XL iPhone 12 mini - found out the XS is not actually waterproof, so onto the next iPhone we go!
I think I’ll stick with iPhones for the foreseeable future. I like the (relative?) security and I have too many apps that I wouldn’t want to do without. Plus the cameras are finally as good as on the Lumia 950XL. Took a while!!
I’m still using a Lumia 950 Bronsky, kept alive by switching from native to Progressive Web Apps.
The Edge browser is beginning to throw up issues with compatibility on some sites tho, which is a shame, as otherwise, I’d happily continue using it.
I wish it’d come out with a stylus as was rumoured, but other than that, it was pretty forward-thinking hardware for 2015 - 1440 x2560 OLED, USB-C, NFC, great camera etc. I especially like having a dedicated camera button - useful when sticking your arm in tight spaces to take pictures - DIY for instance.
I really don’t know what to replace it with either, I had a Galaxy Note 4 before it, which I used without a Google account by downloading apks. I’ve never had, nor needed a Google account and the more I see/read, the less inclined I am to get one, but I’m not sure it it’s still practical to have an android without singing in?
iPhone holds some appeal with the recent addition to opt-out of app tracking, but that’s about it.
Yeah, I still have the XL version. It even had iris scan for unlocking. Love that thing, even if it did feel a little flimsy. As for using a dedicated button for taking pictures, the iPhone allows you to use the volume buttons for that purpose. Works pretty much equally well. What the iPhone doesn’t have though is easy drag and drop of you personal files in a bunch of folders on the micro SDXC card…
I hear you @Tams, my Nokia N900 is still in my desk drawer, ready to show any poor sod who shows the remotest interest in mobile phone design history (I’m a product designer who was at Uni in the hey day of Nokia & Ericsson concepts)!
I loved that phone and only stopped using it because the micro USB port fell out and I never got around to trying to fix it (shamefully).
I had a 1st gen Galaxy Note that came with my contract that I wasn’t using, so just switched to that & actually grew to quite like it.
I had a Galaxy Note 4 for a while afterwards, but got rid of it and went back to the original Note.
The aspect ratio of the Note 4 was irritating (to me) as the narrowness meant you couldn’t read much without turning it landscape and the tallness meant it poked me in the ribs when cycling - the squat wide form of the original was way more useful, especially if you wanted to sketch on it.
The N900 was such a nice blend of functionality and form, I loved the full keyboard and still miss it, partly for typing, but also for the incredible array of things/navigation you could do super quickly with keyboard shortcuts - I have a bluetooth keyboard for my Lumia 950, which is pretty nice for using shortcuts when taking notes etc, but there’s no substitute for having a full set of keys on the device to complement the touchscreen.
My most loved device ever award however, has to go to the Sony Ericsson P900 - that thing changed my world and once I’d made a 2.5 to 3.5 mm jack adapter for it, cramming as much music as I could onto the tiny memory cards brought a lot of joy whilst out and about.
Before that, I had a Nokia 7650, which thanks to Symbian, had an amazing capacity for running apps simultaneously (ahem early iPhones).
First ever phone was a 7110i - still serves as my alarm if I’m super tired and REALLY need to get up!
Oh yeah, I’m so used to using it, I forgot to mention the eye scan unlock - works acceptably quickly as long as you’re ok with holding the phone up close to your face!
I didn’t know that about the iPhone, thanks Joe. The other thing that makes taking photos in tight spaces possible though, is having a bit of border to hold onto top and bottom of the screen! I realise I’m probably the only one, but I don’t actually want an all-screen phone!
Yeah, the N900 really was a great device ahead of its time. The only thing I wished it had was multitouch, but then again the resistive touchscreen was quite responsive and you got a stylus that could do pressure sensitivity for cheap.
I remember going to uni for the first time with it and in the car there being able to chat on Facebook Messenger integrated seamlessly into the chat app. And you do that with MSN Messenger and all sorts of IRC channels. All while using the built-in, offline, Ovi Maps to act as a sat nav (much to my mother’s chagrin). And then when at uni, being able to look up a lecture theatre change sent by email right there and then outside the lecture theatre.
I did also end up with a Note Edge for a long time. It got sluggish though and the motherboard died (I also dropped three of them, all replaced under insurance). I butt-dialled/messaged people quite a few times on it (them) and during the Japanese summers it just shutdown if using the camera due to the heat.
It did have the original Note’s 16:10 display, albeit the extra bit was curved (though I did find the tools there useful; there was even a ruler!)
If you’re into taking photos, even on just a phone, it’s still not a spot on a two stage camera button. And that the volume button is multi-purpose doesn’t help as you may well want to use it to control volume or zoom. On Android you can double click the power button and then use the volume buttons, but it’s just not the same.
@Tams, reading your account of the N900 reminded me of one of the features I used all the time and missed sorely when it broke - the FM transmitter!
It was brilliant when you got a group of friends in a taxi, with a driver who was up for some tunes, as it was super easy to broadcast straight to any radio - reliable too, even in London, with crowded frequencies.
The internet radio integrated into the media player was a revelation too and when I got home, I just switched on the home stereo and broadcasted the internet stream straight to the big speakers over FM - simple and quick, with no bloody app store or subscription required, just open, interoperable technology!
I used that too! I was once on a uni field trip to the Pyrenees and got the front passenger seat of the minibus. The minibus predictably didn’t have an AUX port so there was to be no music.
So I just used my N900 to transmit some. There were mostly girls (women, females there), so I went with a Disney playlist. ‘Wow, this radio station is amazing!’ ‘They play so many Disney songs!’ They quickly cottoned on when there were no adverts and I started playing songs they were talking about. Fun times though!
I think all Nokia phones at it at that point. I remember the 808 PureView had it as well and it meant I could play music in my mum’s old banger without using a dodgy cassette adapter.
Unfortunately I couldn’t use it in Japan as the highest radio frequency here is around the bare minimum the 808 could do, and that part of the frequency is busy.
Luckily, and happily, I’m retired now.
