Cellphones through the years
My thoughts have gone out to cellphones lately. I’m slowly starting to realise how far this technology has come, and how important and common these little devices have become to our lives. Hell, most present day teenagers can’t even imagine life without these things.
I got my first cellphone in 1997, over thirteen years ago. It was roughly the size of a refrigerator and one would carry it around like a brick. Little chance of slipping it into your back pocket and carrying it around in there. Cellphone coverage was generally only in urban areas in the Netherlands. Wander into the countryside and there was a better chance of reaching someone by yelling as loud as one could. Mind you, I was not an early adopter! A lot of people already had one of these things, mostly students and people in my workplace.
During the next few years, cellphones got smaller, and calling someone was slowly becoming a bit cheaper. Suddenly, the display started to show more than who was calling, but games, clocks, schedules and more handy crap was introduced to the cellphone. PDA’s in those days were unable to call people, and where nothing more than tiny computers with limited capacity. WAP was created and some phones were able to view websites using WAP.
Over the past few years, more and more people have gotten themselves smartphones, blackberries and iPhones. Mobile applications emerged and a cellphone became a device used for all sorts of communication; not just voice calls anymore. I bought my first smartphone two years ago; the HTC Touch / P3450 / HTC ELF, which spend most of its first year after purchase in the shop for repairs. Last week, after almost a year of more or less stable usage, the on and off button seems to get stuck sometimes and the phone switches off without warning. As if they knew, my service provider gave me an offer for a new phone along with a two-year contract which – after I took a few moments to figure out what package to get – will not have a higher monthly fee, but faster Internet.
When I got my first cellphone, the only reason I got it was to call home when driving home from work if needed, and to call the auto club in case of a failure of my car. Later, when I became a husband and father, it was an easy way to keep in touch with my family without having to abuse my employer’s phones. The past two years, a phone is my connection to the Internet, my email and more. When my ELF broke down, I put my SIM in our back-up phone, my wife’s old LG KF600. It has a microbrowser, but it barely works. I can’t tweet, update my Facebook or Hyves… Nothing. It’s only real use to me is that I can call or text my wife and friends, but no more. I was surprised at my own annoyance with a phone that three years ago, when my wife got it, was pretty darn neat. Cellphones truly have become a device to communicate with on more levels than I can count; or at least to me. Therefore, I’m glad I’m getting my new cellphone later this week, and that I’ll be much, much cooler then my ‘old’ ELF. I’m very much looking forward to it. A lot. Hell, I can’t wait! Is it here yet?
I must admit that one thing hasn’t changed over the years. Fifteen years ago as much as today – at least in the Netherlands – the first question one is asked when they answer their phone is “Where are you?”. I guess even though technology changes and evolves rapidly over the years, humans on some levels will always stay the same.
