For a long time I've been wanting to write more in the theme of why I created this blog in the first place...keeping things simple. The definition of simplicity is "the property, condition, or quality of being simple or uncombined."In the electronics world, more and more it's about features, buttons, and menus that help sell the product. While I am a gadget lover and guilty of buying the most pointless and complex digital toys, there is one device that I believe has fallen off course from it's original purpose...the cell phone.
I bought my first cell phone in 1996. I was in the Marine Corps and had no means of communication other than payphones (remember them?) The phone was as big as a pack of cigarettes and had limited talk time. Also the rate plans back then were all by individual minutes (no 500 minute plans or whatnot.) I tried to use my phone only when needed and managed to keep costs low.In the late 90s cell phones became more common and pricing plans were more affordable. In 1999, I signed up with AT&T Wireless and bought my first Nokia phone. This phone I used a little more because I was rarely home (work, college, etc.) Needless to say I found myself upgrading my phone every 2 years...but why? The truth is that I was in love with the gadgetness.
Enter 2009... The iPhone has been out for a couple of years and other cell phones (and "smart" phones) have made leaps and bounds in technology...but to what benefit? Isn't a phone for communicating with people in real time? How did the MP3 player, GPS, camera, internet browser, and video player become essential tools? I will agree that email on the phone in today's day and age is very important for people in certain professions. I also will concede that text messaging is a wonderful thing. What frustrates me is that it is very hard to find a simple phone minus the crap.
As I mentioned I used to buy a new phone every so often. One phone in particular that I purchased in 2004 was the Nokia 6820b (pictured right.) I cherished this simple phone up until AT&T became Cingular. The folks at the Cingular store said that it will not work on their network and I had to get a new phone. At the time I thought that it was just a matter of time before Nokia (and Cingular) would introduce the next version of this phone. Unfortunately...it never happened. Instead Cingular became AT&T again and the iPhone and Blackberry became the weapon of choice for gadget lovers like me.
I have ooohed and aaahed over the iPhone and the various Blackberry phones. I even had a Blackberry Curve for a week until I realized that I was wasting time (and an extra $30 a month) on this gadget. It was constantly demanding my attention. *BEEP*....'oh, a new email'....*BEEP*....'something from my work email'....*BEEP*....'oh someone just commented on my blog'. . .you get the idea. I returned it and begged them for something simple. I ended up taking the free basic Nokia phone.About a month ago I was digging through some old electronic stuff and found my old Nokia 6820b. I thought since AT&T was now back that I would stick my SIM card in this antiquated phone and see if it worked. The phone display read ENTER UNLOCK CODE. I immediately went to the web and frantically tried to find some magical code that would make this phone work. After going to many geek sites with various codes (that did not work) I gave up. Just the other day I had some time to kill in downtown Portland and decided to see if I could find anyone who could help me get this phone to work again.
The first place I went was the AT&T Wireless store. I showed them my phone and described my frustration with the phones that they sell now. The salesperson went around and showed me all of the basic phones, which were a little too basic (not to mention I would have to restart my contract with them...which I am thankfully no longer in.) The salesperson said he did know someone in town that might be able to get it to work again. He handed me his card and I hopped on the MAX headed over the river.
After a short walk from the Hollywood MAX station I arrived at AIRLINK. (Located at 3626 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland, OR 97232) I tried not to get my hopes up when I showed the salesperson my phone and asked if he could get it to work. Without even blinking, he looked at me and said "no problem!" In less then 10 minutes and for a couple of bucks, my beloved phone from the past was working on the AT&T network.
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Needless to say, I have been overjoyed since getting this phone working again and have been (re)familiarizing myself with it's features. I have gone through and added all the voice tags (so when I'm wearing a headset I can say the name without having to dial.) One of the greatest features is the fold out keyboard for text messaging. Though many phones have QWERTY keyboards, many sacrifice the size of the phone for this feature. Additionally, I tweaked the phone so I can get to my Gmail account (which is good for emergencies, but which is not a necessity.)
I personally believe this phone is as complicated as a phone should be:
- It has a very basic camera
- The phone is small
- It has voice dialing
- It is Bluetooth capable
- The ringtones are basic and not obnoxious
- Very strong vibration in silent mode
I want to end by mentioning that I do LOVE the iPhone, Blackberry, and other smart phones...but only because they are like toys. I personally don't think it is wise to consolidate all of these things into a single tool. I believe in carrying a toolbox rather than just a Swiss army knife. I have an awesome hand held GPS, two wonderful cameras, a great computer, and an 80gb iPod that's almost full of music. I love having reasons to bring these items (each as needed) on trips and don't mind that they are independent of each other. If one of them breaks, needs new batteries, or just needs to be upgraded I don't have to give them all up to do so.
My cell phone is just one of my tools...not all of them.
