What phones do you have/have you had?

[cwathen]

Since there's a thread discussing mobile ringtones, I thought there might as well be one discussing your phones too. So here's my little list of mobiles:

Philips PH301 (July 1999-February 2001).
What a phone! It's brick sized, has no vibrating alert, has no predictive text (which makes sending texts an age), no games, is single band only (only works on GSM1800 networks), and has only a single line screen (and a few icons of course). But, what it has got going for it is decent reception. I never, ever recall having no signal on it, it would virtually work in a Faraday cage. In contrast, my present bit of kit might be loaded with extras, but they're no good when you loose your signal every time there's a light breeze. Anyway, since it's retirement from active service it's been carefully preserved in it's original box with all manuals in the hope that it might be worth something one day.

Nokia 3310 (February 2001-February 2005).
It was one of the best phones that money could buy when I got it, it was a comparitive antique when it got replaced a couple of months ago. It has the best phone game ever - Snake II, it was one of the first phones to have vibrating alert (possibly one of the most useful things ever to be introduced to mobiles), and was one of the first phones to have useable predicitive text messaging (again, possible one of th emost useful things ever to be introduced to mobiles). It always did everything I wanted and it only got replaced because the battery had worn out and I couldn't find a new one.

Samsung A800 (February 2005 - present)
Got it second hand from someone at work, was allready a couple of years old when I bought it. It's a nice compact flip phone, which finally removed me from only being able to store 10 text messages.

[rts]

I got my first phone on what was then One 2 One, which was a 5110. Then changed to O2 and got a 3110. Staying with O2 I had the 3310, then converting to Sony Ericsson's with the T68i, and Z600 flip phone. And in January this year I changed to Orange and got the K700i.

[johnnyboy]

I currently have two phones -

Personal phone is Nokia 6600 - a fun and handy little phone and its video streaming is impressive for 2.5G.

Business phone is my beloved Nokie 7650 - ancient, the very first camera phone, and I've had it since December 2002. Wouldn't be parted with it.

My personal phone contract is coming to a close, and I am very tempted to get an Orange 3G phone.

[James Martin]

I can't remember the model numbers but I've always had Nokias.

Never had a 3310 but both my sisters did - and I agree that back in 2001 they were fantastic phones! When I got my latest phone in 2004 I was intriguged to find that they were STILL selling 3310s! Does anyone still have one?

I must be one of the few people who've only got through two numbers in five years of owning a phone. That said my mum's had the same number since 2000, my friend has had the same number since 1999 and my dad's had his since 1998.

[cwathen]

What can you say about this phone?? It did the job I suppose! The only phone I've come across which uses the entire credit-card sized SIM card inside.

My PH301 did too! Incidentally, I still use that same sim card now! When I got my 3310 I wanted to keep the same number so I cut it down to fit. And since I bought my present phone second hand, I just put the same sim in again. Now, not many people even keep the same mobile number for 6 years, let alone keep the same sim card!

Never had a 3310 but both my sisters did - and I agree that back in 2001 they were fantastic phones! When I got my latest phone in 2004 I was intriguged to find that they were STILL selling 3310s! Does anyone still have one?

Well, as I said I only changed my 3310 coz the battery was shot (after 4 years though - and they are only rated to last 1 year) and my present phone was offered to me very cheaply. If I didn't see that and did see a reasonably priced replacement battery I'd still be using mine now. The only thing I really felt I was missing as newer models came out was that new phones allow you to store vast numbers of contacts and text messages on the phone itself, but the 3310 couldn't, so I was constrained by only being able to store 90 numbers and 10 text messages.

I think the 3310 has finally gone from shops, but it was still there in December 2004. I can't imagine anyone would still choose one on a contract when there is such a wealth of so much more advanced handsets available for free to choose from. But as a prepay phone, a 3310 would have been a bargain and well worth considering if you weren't fussed about having a colour screen or an MP3 player.

[James Martin]

I've had my Vodafone SIM card since July 2001. I was Orange Pay-As-You-Go before that but I got so sick of Orange that it had to go! The slow introduction of new services pissed me off chronic.

Full text messaging didn't come to Orange pay as you go until as late as April 2000. Consider that texting has been around since 1998 and you think, ffs!

It also took them forever and a day to allow pay as you go customers to use their phones abroad.

[noelfirl]

Mid-2000 to September 2002: Motorola Talkabout, I think it was one of the first phones over here with WAP, but I'm not sure, sturdy little bastard, but the aerial poked out oddly in my pocket.



Sept. 2002 to May 2004: There were few I knew who didn't have a 3310. Classic phone, with Snake II, classic game.


May 2004 to present: The 3310 was replaced mainly because I could not be arsed to try to order a replacement battery from Nokia. 3200 is a grand little phone (with for some reason, an incredibly bright flashlight).

[DAS]

I had a trusty Nokia 3410 for a couple of years ala this one...



...except it wasn't Russian. It was good up until recently when it started to die - it would tell me it was 04:40 when it was quite clearly 22:30, the display would treat me to lovely pixel dancing when all I wanted was to read my messages, and it would cut me off mid-phone call. This dying process was quickened by a mate putting it in beer.

So I thought I'd spend a bit of cash and get a flashy mobile for once and I've had my lovely Motorola E1000 for a couple of weeks now:



It's taken a while to convert to the Motorola way of things, but it's an excellent mobile. The ONLY design fault is the screen - it may look snazzy but it is extremely prone to getting scratched, so it is essential to get a cover of some kind.

[cwathen]

I've had my Vodafone SIM card since July 2001. I was Orange Pay-As-You-Go before that but I got so sick of Orange that it had to go! The slow introduction of new services pissed me off chronic.

Full text messaging didn't come to Orange pay as you go until as late as April 2000. Consider that texting has been around since 1998 and you think, ffs!

It also took them forever and a day to allow pay as you go customers to use their phones abroad.

Yeah you do have a point, Orange prepay is dire. They weren't bad at launch but aside from the revamp in 2000 they haven't changed and haven't kept up. I don't honestly know why I stay with them - I've been planning for at least the last 3 years to get a contract (I use about £20-£25 worth of prepay credit every month - most of which goes on text messages which I'd get included with a contract anyway) but kind of never got around to it.

Does anyone remember the old Orange prepay tarrif? There was, as you recall, no full text messaging (meaning you could receive texts but not send them) and there was a single flat rate applying to all calls. The rate you paid depended on how much the voucher you bought cost, so it was 50p / minute for the £5 voucher, lowering to 25p / minute for the £50 voucher. Printed on the vouchers was not their value, but the number of minutes it woud last and callling up your credit again wouldn't give you a monetary value, but would tell you the number of minutes and seconds worth of calls you could make. The call charges were thus either really cheap (if you were calling outer mongolia) or a complete rip off (if you were calling someone else on the same network as you at 9PM). There was one huge bonus though - freephone numbers were actually free, something which even most contracts don't offer today.

Things stayed this way until they changed to something more conventional in April 2000, along with introducing text messaging (I remember that for the first 3 months your first 5 messages a day were free), and taking away the freephone numbers. As I said above, that tarrif was quite competitive at the time, but since then it's remained static (aside from texts changing from 10p to 12p - although in fairness I think Orange were the last network to impose the price hike) and now badly needs revision.

[Nick Harvey]

Seeing as we seem to be into pictures, this was my first, from 20th May 1985; the four-hundred-and-forty-fifth transportable phone to be registered on the Vodafone network.

On a good day it worked nearly forty miles away from "the" cell in Newbury.



I've had quite a few since then.

Interesting fact number seventy-two; if you're on Vodafone and have cell identities switched on, when you're in the middle of Newbury, in range of that original cell, it still comes up as "01635 NY1" on the display.

[Lorns]

I remember them phones Nick, i never had one myself thankfully. I have had quite a few housebricks in my time.

This was the Yuppy era