Ericsson A1018 (2000-2001?, Virgin)
I got this when I was around 12-13, so whilst I can’t exactly remember when it was that I had it, I guess that’d make it around 1999-2000 or so. I didn’t really ask for this as such, my Dad just got it for me. God though, it’s a total brick.
I never really used it at that stage other than for the odd text to friends and such. It mostly just sat on a table at home because I guess I was at an age where I never really used it, and the same was true for quite a few of my earlier phones.Motorola v2288 (2001-2003, Orange)
Now, this is the phone where I got the number that I still have today. I actually got it as part of an offer they had with Sonic Adventure 2. Again, it didn’t see much use, other than a bit when I was on holiday. A year or two later, the battery life was getting pathetic, so my Dad gave me my next phone, which was either a cheap secondhand-off-eBay job or a hand-me-down, I can’t quite remember.
Nokia 3210 (2003-2004?, Orange)
I can’t actually remember too much about this one, really. I know that the 3210 was basically the go-to phone that everyone had a few years prior, but still. Again, I was still at a stage where I never really used my phone, so it was just there for a sort of ‘if and when I needed it’ thing. I think it was replaced my next one which was a hand-me-down when my Dad upgraded (as most of my early phones seemed to be; I went through a lot without really asking for or needing them). Looking back on it, both this and the next phone I got felt more like stop-gaps that I didn’t really want or need to upgrade to, but was just given.
Nokia 8210 (2004-2005?, Orange)
Again, another hand-me-down, although having started Uni in late 2005, I started using the phone a bit more, too. It wasn’t all that different from my previous one, just a bit smaller and lighter. Again, another stop-gap phone, really.
Nokia 6100 (late 2005/early 2006 - Nov 2007, Orange)
I can’t remember if I actually wanted this phone, or Dad just got it for me on a whim (again, second hand from eBay). This was a bit of a step up from my last ones, because it at least had a colour screen. It still couldn’t use MP3 ringtone, but eh. I used this quite a bit, and honestly it feels like I had it for longer than I did, looking back at it.
Nokia 6300 (Nov 2007-Aug 2011, Orange/ ASDA Mobile)
Dad got me this for my 21st birthday. I think it’s the first phone I actively went out of my way to actually want. I was using my phone more and more at this stage, and the limitations of my previous handset were becoming obvious; inbox filling up and corrupting messages when it got too full, it was fairly slow and clunky. This is the phone I had for the longest, because I never really felt a need to upgrade. It’s still an okay mid-range phone by today’s standards, although it was a little on the heavy side due to its metal casing. I switched from Orange to ASDA Mobile in Summer 2009 because it was much cheaper than Orange.
Nokia C2-01 (Aug 2011-Jan 2012, Three)
Okay, I’ll admit; I already wanted an iPhone at this stage, but because I wasn’t in full-time employment at the time, I didn’t feel I could justify spending £600 on one. Still, 3G Internet was becoming more and more important to me, so I decided to go for this (as well as changing networks to 3), since it was going cheap for £50 and is one of the few non-smartphones to actually support 3G Internet. Other than that, it was largely the same as my previous phone, albeit slightly lighter and with a better camera. Ironically, the 3G wasn’t too great, primarily because as a mid-range phone, the Internet speed was crippled by the hardware itself.
Apple iPhone 4S: (Jan 2012-present, Three)
I doubt this needs any introduction. Seeing as the only reason I hadn’t bought one of these much sooner was because I didn’t have a decent enough income to justify it (even if I could have still afforded it), starting my new job in January meant this was right near the top of my want list. Seeing as I’d already had an iPod Touch for a couple of years and was getting tired of carrying around a separate iPod and phone, this seemed like an obvious next step. Of course, after spending such an obscene amount on a phone, I’m not really planning on upgrading again for a good number of years. I hardly use my phone as a phone anyway. I mostly use it for Internet on the go.
...at least I wasn’t planning on upgrading for a long time. Then I realised that 4G Internet is just around the corner. Seeing as fast Internet is the biggest selling point of a phone for me... ugh. D: Well, I’m definitely not just going to jump on 4G at the first chance I get, for certain. At the same time, the promise of faster, more reliable mobile Internet will likely be too enticing for me to fend off for my originally intended five-years-before-next-upgrade. I still want to get a good 2-3 years out of this at least though, because £600. D:
Edited by -Mark-, 07 May 2012 - 12:23 PM.
