[NTLK] correction to previous post Re: Hello to all:...Can someone please refresh my memo...

Riccardo Mori rick at newted.org
Tue Jan 2 05:24:36 EST 2018


> On 30 Dec 2017, at 21:29, Forrest <newton_phoenix at mindspring.com> wrote:
> 
> “So if you just want a basic phone for emergencies, get the Jitterbug Flip.
> However they do make a Jitterbug slab smartphone also, if you prefer that.”
> 
> The other day when recalling an event from the past I paused to stop and think: what was it like before cellphones?

Heh, I actually wrote a short piece about it on my blog back in 2011, inspired by a similar question that was posted on Quora. Life Before Mobile Phones: <http://morrick.me/archives/3543>

> I recall getting my first cellphone in 1995 as part of a promotion from the local phone company. It was offered for free, did not offer free long distance (unlike today) and featured only a (relatively) small amount of minutes per month. As both Dennis and BCD have pointed out, it was meant for emergencies only, dammit, no long chats. Do that when you get home on your landline phone, or back at the office. They were obviously testing the waters of this whole new cellphone thing.

My family bought a hefty Motorola 8900 in 1998, and that was the first mobile phone I (reluctantly) used. My first personal mobile phone was a Philips Genie in late 1999. It was much smaller, lighter, and more compact, and I loved the interface, which was a breath of fresh air compared to Motorola’s convoluted one. I still remember how every menu command had a reference number, so you could just type it as a shortcut instead of navigating the menus. (e.g. “51” instead of “Write New SMS”). Fun fact: I still have that number after almost 20 years. I had to update the SIM card like five times because the first was (I think) a 16KB SIM…

Cheers — and a very Happy New Year — to all the fine folks of this list!
Rick




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Riccardo Mori
Web — http://morrick.me || Twitter — @morrick









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