Skip to main content

Flashback Friday: Mobile Phones 98-02

Dun know da Flashback Friday. Formerly Throwback Thurdays - we're frum Ingerlund not USofA.

So basically anyone who's new to this blogspot, STOP PRESSING SNOOZE!!! Back on track, Friday is the day for appreciation of something old or Flashback memories(geddit?!)

Today I was tied between three things. Can't remember what I was looking at but I saw one of these. BADMAN old skool phones. Luckily for me, I was of a reasonable age when these mofo'fers actually became mobile. After them foolish, impractical phones that gave you a hernia when lifting or you needed a rucksack to carry:



After them walky-talky looking bastads



Eeeeeven after them legendary Mercury one2one free after 7 and on weekend building blocks with 0956 at beginning of number, the credit card sized chip and poor battery life (remember the long life battery you could buy which was the size of medium sliced Hovis bread?)



Nah, nah, nah, I'm talking about when you could use a plug with a lead to charge your phone, caller ID wasn't part of a phone upgrade (SMS was though), Carphone Warehouse were just making their mark on every high street, but Vodafone, o2 etc. weren't about and PAY AS YOU GO LANDED!!!

So what did this new pre-paid service mean for you? I "read" (opposed to 'hear') you ask. Well, I was just about to get to that. This meant it was accessible for I-man as a little youth who couldn't get a bill (ang tight the crew who ran up house phone bills!).

How did it change your life? Good question. There are two answers for this. The first thing that sprung to mind of caring parents was tracking device! I, personally, felt guilty if I never answered to my parents, so this meant no escape. But in a twisted way it also meant independence. Goodbye to walking the streets with pen and paper and most of all no more ringing home phones hoping the dad didn't answer! You know them lower the bass, turn up the treble in your voice ones?

My first phone was a Motorola Colorado from Kays catalogue! Must have cost about £90 and weighed about two bag of flour and a glass of milk. Can't find a pic of it as it wasn't a popular phone. Looking back it was pretty poo poo.

Can't remember the ins and outs but my dad shotted it to someone at work. Well he sold it and said he'd replace it. Can't find the actual one rightaboutnow so I bring you my second phone



I thought I was styling on cowards with my flip phone. Sure they used to have it on American sitcoms and kids programs like Keenan and Kel, so I was proud of it.

Deep down I yearned for these phones; the legendary and innovative face-off a.k.a 5110 a.k.a pimp your phone.



I dreamt of the flashing aerial, rubber buttons with the Jamaica face. Favourite ringtone was either Persuasion or Kick, or even Intro.

3210 was madda road! Not only one face, but front and back change and NO AERIAL!!!



I was one of the best at composing ringtones by ear. Best I ever did kicks in @ 0:25 secs



Best ringtone created by someone somewhere was Special message tone x More Fire Crew - Oi.

Next big boy phone was the real Matrix phone NOT the banana where you had to pull the bit down manually. Straight click of a button ting round 'ere! Tennis made a change from playing snakes



Who remembers what made this a big deal?



Not sure yet? Infra-red! 2 players snakes(although I don't remember playing it)... can't even remember what else it was used for back then. Couldn't send tracks like later day phones.

And the last phone I blog about in this post is this bad mutha...



And remember the its older, the 8210? Came with the standard red face. Back then we wanted the smallest phones. This baby came equipped with radio on the phone! Can't remember if it had polyphonic but the 3310 definitely did. Hudy Gurdy was the one!

For all those who aren't familiar with these times, if you haven't sussed it by now it was a straight Nokia ting. Snakes, the standard Nokia ringtones, changing faces, ringtone composure, user friendly menu set-up etc. meant you had the edge over competitors getting the 'beanies' (female) number.

Also, if you weren't on one2one (now T-Mobile), expect to top-up on credit frequently because cross-network calls weren't a joke back then which also resulted in you not receiving calls. Another plus for one2one was the network crashes. *Message tone* "3txt"!!! When free voicemail dropped the game was a wrap.

This meant you couldn't pull out a Phillips on BT Cellnet or Motorola on Orange. I was the latter once upon a time but I had good friends meaning I never missed out on using the hypes.

Special shouts to the Baby Ericsson and Motorola Wings (v3688).

Now it's all smartphones like BlackBerry's and iPhones, camera's, mp3's, coloured screens and Internet.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Marvin Sparks x Raekwon interview

Wu-Tang's in-house "Chef" better known as Raekwon proved he is still a force to be mentioned alongside the hottest rappers in the hip hop game with the release of Only Built For Cuban Linx... pt. II - sequel to his 1995 debut album. Marvin Sparks caught up with the hip hop legend to discuss rapping for drug dealers, people caring "more about stats than raps", his inclusion in MTV's Top 10 Hottest Rappers list, and converting to Islam. Marvin Sparks: It has been almost fifteen years since the first Only Built For Cuban Linx, an album that was a 5-mic classic when The Source magazine held weight. Why did you decide make a sequel?

50 Cent premieres Rick Ross Baby Mother Sex Tape

If you aren't familiar with the beef between Pimpin Curly and Officer Ricky, get familyar! Originates from Rick Ross dissin 50 on The Inkredibles produced banger Mafia Music. "We're steppin on your crew 'til the motherfucker's crushed And making sweet love to every woman that you lust I love to pay her bills, cant wait to pay her rent Curtis Jackson baby mother aint askin for a cent Burn the house down, you gotta buy another..." Fifty responded with a (lame) diss to which Rick Ross issued a 24hour deadline to make another. Fif' declared war, telling Ricky he's going to end his career Fiddy's first step was to interview Ricky's first baby moms, Tia, talking slick about Ricky being broke, which was later backed up by a financial affadavit released by Fif'. Took her and her bestie shopping for mink coats. Second was going to head of Def Jam South DJ "We The Best" Khaled's mum's house and place of work. Why? Fif' claims Kh...

White band win Reggae Grammy x Koffee x Skillibeng

So a white American reggae band called Soja won the Best Reggae album award at the Grammy's? And you care because? You feel Jamaicans are losing reggae because the Grammy's (a white institution) gave their white American man award to a white American reggae band? You blame the Jamaican government for not showing enough love and support to the music because this is the result? But you don't realise you are giving the Grammy's that much power and don't see where the problem lies? Well let me tell you; the problem is within you. I understand the outrage. Jamaicans built the music and are rarely compensated for all the hard graft. There have been countless examples of the music being used by someone else, often to better results because we live in an ignorant and racist Western world. Historically, white reggae artists like The Police or UB40 are able to achieve better results in the white man's world than reggae artists that are far superior to them. Bruno Mars , J...