Originally, mobile phones were about the size and weight of a house brick. Who can forget the memorable image of Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon tearing across a bridge with a brick-sized phone in one hand and its briefcase-sized battery pack in the other? Technology advanced, as it does, and a few years ago mobile phones became a sensible size – one that would fit a pocket and not be a drag to carry around.
As many will know, I am not a great user of a mobile phone. I think there are three main reasons:
- I never had a company mobile phone when working so didn’t develop “the habit”;
- not possessing a handbag, I could never be arsed to carry a heavy lump around in my pocket;
- I don’t blather for hours about absolutely nothing on any phone.
Though not a fan, I couldn’t deny that a portable phone is occasionally useful though rarely critical. If I was going to have one, it had to be an unobtrusive one. I eventually bought a Nokia 2630 which was only 11mm thick and weighed a mere 65g. I could slip it in my trouser pocket – sometimes I even remembered to turn it on first – and hardly know it was there.
Therein lies the problem; my phone’s unobtrusiveness was also it’s shortcoming. Some while ago I forgot about my unimportant Nokia 2630 and left it in my trouser pocket. My trousers went the wash and got treated to a 40C wash cycle. The phone did not survive [Ed: what a surprise!] though, fortunately, the SIM card did. I bought a replacement Nokia 2630. At least now I had a spare charger. 🙂
On Saturday, having been washed after returning from a trip to the New Forest, I put on a cleanly laundered pair of trousers. Our neighbours announced the arrival of their very fresh and very first granddaughter. I thought I send Carol a message to let her know, having been knitting for the expected infant. Where’s my phone? Ah, in my trouser pocket. Whoops! Nokia 2630 mark 2 had also been laundered. Fortunately, once again the SIM survived. I couldn’t get another Nokia 2630 but I did get a Nokia 2330, slightly thicker and heavier at 14mm and 80g. Phones are getting bigger again. Why? And quite why a more modern phone should have a lower number than it’s outmoded predecessor is completely beyond me. It doesn’t matter, I’m just curious.
The phone is actually amusingly called the Nokia 2330 Classic. “Classic” seems to be marketing mumbo-jumbo for “basic”. It’s classic in that, being a phone, it makes phone calls and sends text messages. Most people, of course, are now buying larger devices that surf the Internet and have countless “apps”. Their pockets are filling up again.
It’s a good job I keep washing cheap phones. Though, maybe if I had a big expensive do everything job, it would make me remember that it was in my pocket.
I’ve got three chargers now.
.. sometimes I even remembered to turn it on first …
What is the point of a mobile phone if its not switched on? I have to remember to turn it off on a flight, though I see I have a flight safe mode now, and can listen to music and pod casts on a flight. That consigns my MP3 player to the scrap heap, one less bulge in the pocket and one less set of head phones to carry around with me.
Sure missed your lamb on Sunday. I am feeling much better now, but Rosemary still has some progress to make.
I am a child of the “mobile phones are for emergencies” generation. Besides, calling them is so expensive.