ohiovet

Frankie recently mentioned using his cell phone for the display source to view his backup camera.
That prompted me to dig out my old cell phones.
In the pictures the first one I got is a Motorola ,top right the current one is similar to the bottom right one, no picture as I am using it to take the picture.
I am far behing when it comes to technology but I got my smart phone free...
What has everyone else done concerning cell phones?
Bruce B

mjdart

Nice collection, I've had a few but none of those!

warrenmj

Cell phone history? On this forum? Really?!

GTOguy

I'm on my second cell phone in 11 years. My first, a Nokia flip, still works and still has the original battery, ATT just won't allow it any more. It's not '3g' ready, whatever that is. I use it as an alarm clock, still. The replacement is a totally inferior, user-unfriendly LG Flip. I use it as a phone. I have zero, and I do mean zero, interest in getting a 'smart phone' and getting hooked up and tuned in. I've determined, at age 56, that going through the rest of my life 'on-call', constantly distracted, and looking at my palm is not how I want to live. Let the under 50 crowd walk into telephone poles and drive their cars into bus stops. Not my cup of tea.

Frankie the Fink

If you have a wireless capable phone it can still provide some service even without a phone plan. My old Samsung is in the garage wirelessly hooked to my router so I can play oldies using Pandora with a Bluetooth speaker. If it gets greasy or dropped....who cares?

dahogan

Don't have one, well there maybe one around here but I don't use it. Who do you guys talk to?

MikeM

You are my hero!

I am only one phone removed from this one. It had to go for the same reason yours did.

jimh_1962

What no car phone?

ohiovet

I bought my first cell phone when I started taking long trips in my 62.
Got it so I could call AAA if I needed to.

Plasticman

I don't see a Motorola Dynatac (also known as the Brick) there. The Microtac (first flip phone in Bruce's pictures on far right) phone was all I needed, and used mine up till 2007......

I am with GTOguy on not needing a "smart phone"........what ever that is.....

plasticman

vettebuyer6369

Im 61, have a Smartphone 7 and resisted the cellphone culture for as long as I could. However, like growing past phone booths and money orders, there comes a time when its not useful to intentionally ignore the availability of assistance and technology at this level. I cant possibly list the various ways having it available has helped me.

People get annoyed with me because I do NOT live my life on call. I leave the phone at home when I dont want to have it around, and I have the ringer and sound off all the time when i do have it. I return calls and texts when its convenient for me, if I choose to.

I dont live constantly distracted, looking at my palm, walking into telephone poles or driving my car into bus stops. Adults can choose to not behave that way.

Theres no reason a person cannot both own a useful item like this and not let it dictate how to live your life.

Frankie the Fink

Yes. It's called self-discipline. My consulting was In IT security and having turn-of-the-century hardware is hardly confidence- inspiring to clients.

ejboyd5

My first phone was the same as MikeM's Nokia which I was forced to give up by my carrier. My second and present one is an LG flip phone that is a total pain in that it can receive text messages. There is nothing more distracting than getting involved in one of those round robin texting sessions where the participants are all adding their agreements at 30-second intervals. Thankfully, I'm not expected to respond at length since everyone knows my phone requires me to push a number key several times to access a letter. Actually the whole texting thing confuses me since there is so much ambiguity present due to most persons' inability to write clearly. A 15-second conversation is much more efficient than a text.

Bluestripe67

I'm on my 3rd smart phone, it's an iPhone5. I do not have an imbilical to it, but glad to have it in my pocket and use it in a practical and sensible manner. It is never in use when I drive. If it rings while driving, I'll get the message later. Dennis

provette67

Explains why I don't call you!

GTOguy

Very well put, and I agree with you 100%. I am personally not yet ready to embrace this technology. I realize that I am probably missing out, but that's ok. I have friends with smartphones, and yes, they are very, very handy for finding addresses, looking up info, etc. I have many older friends in the Model T club that don't even have computers...they still correspond with telephone calls and hand written letters. True fossils. I guess it boils down to how much you are comfortable missing out on, and being at times inconvenienced. It's a different world now, changing faster all the time. I will say that the older folks I know who embrace all the newest technology seem to 'think young' and tend to be optimistic and less 'old-fuddy-duddy'. Sadly, I'm still in the 'fuddy-duddy' camp!

Gary's '66

For me, the MAIN advantage of the cell phone was for business.

Before retiring, I owned a company which employed "route drivers". When the business was originally started in '79 it was literally impossible to track down or speak to a driver while in the field. Nor was he able to contact us should a problem, such as a breakdown, occur unless of course, he happened to be near a payphone.

Later on we could "page" them and, at some point, (many times too late) they would contact the office. Better than nothing but still lacking.

Then came the cellphone and man, did that ever make a WORLD of difference!

So, IMO they do have their place in regards to business, emergency situations and...... downloading music.

To me, they're a tool. Unfortunately for many, many people, they're an appendage!!!

Gary

Frankie the Fink

Its a bit sad, I have relatives visiting for two weeks (in their late 50s and early 60s respectively) and they are facebook addicts. Can't be 10' from their phones and panic when their batteries are low. Its is surpassingly strange to me.

I always have believed the person in front of you that you are speaking with face-to-face takes precedence over some frivolous banter on an electronic device.

Guess I'm wrong...

Worse yet - the darn phones are 'wireless tethers' to the workplace...people are never "off duty" now it seems. Very glad I retired before that became rampant...

And, to complete the rant, nothing is more irritating at a cruise/car show than some dillweed whose adamant about showing you pictures of his classic car and expects you to stare at his phone in rapture while the clown dithers around trying to find the right pictures and you have to look at his obese relatives, accidental pictures of his feet and images of Mt. Rushmore....

[/rant]

vettepoor

I guess I was in same camp as Gary. My first cell phone was a business tool, as I was contracting in remote areas where it was a big help to be able to talk with engineers and architects without scrambling for a land line. I had one of the Motorola 3watt phones which was the size of a shoebox! After that, flip phones were fine with me until my kids shamed me into a smartphone. (I was last in family to get one). I will now admit that it's nice to access emails and Internet without dragging my laptop out. I do draw the line with texting - if you want to discuss something, CALL !

dennis6605

Three couples of us went out to supper and the table across from us had two couples approx. 45-50 years old. They had their phones stuck in their face all night long. Only one of them even looked up when the waiter brought their order. We couldn't figure out why they went out together. It surely wasn't for the company.