NOKIA, probably the first manufacturer of the cell phone and still around today, provided me with my first phones, the last four in the picture above. Notice how the sizes got smaller over the years?
I loved this phone, especially being able to change the colors/patterns with interchangeable cases and keypads. I did hate that ugly antenna though.
These are my actual Nokias which I must have in my possession somewhere as this picture was taken just four years ago.
When a sleeker, smaller version that could do the same thing came out, I was all over it. I think I kept this Nokia the longest.
It was the Iphone of its time. I'm not sure, but I think this is the one that created a new customization obsession for me... CHARMS!
Enter Sidekick II, made famous by various celebrities including Paris Hilton, and was my very first "smart phone". As any side-kicker knows, this was more than a phone. It was a community. In fact the love of this device brought together a whole circle of friends aptly called sidekick geezers; a group of "older" people with a device marketed to teenagers, whom I still communicate with today. I took joy in customizing this phone with skins, rhinestones and my beloved charms.
Once it was outgrown, came the Sidekick 3 (which I still have), followed by the Sidekick 4G (LX original), my all time favorite, which survived numerous drops and a swim in dishwater (pic below is after I took it apart to fix it)...
bit the bullet after being thrown into a wall by my sister's then husband who was mad she wouldn't let him see who she was texting, really?!!!!
Yes I am still bitter about it, even though I ended up getting a tattoo of the next installment, the Sidekick LX, 2009 edition. While this one wasn't necessarily better, I knew it was the last one I would ever have, so the tattoo was done in its memory. I am planning to add R.I.P. to it as well.
Note: The only sidekick I did not have during this time, which wasn't really a sidekick anyway was the slide, because lets face it, its not a sidekick without the "kick". The slide was just wrong.
I do miss whipping out that device though and having anyone who didn't know ask "What's that?" then being so smug in telling them all about my cool phone. But, Microsoft ruined this phenomenon as they do with everything else and our beloved data plan diminished until it was no more.
So, I was forced, after much consideration to get the G1, the most sidekick-like phone on the market at that time. The android operating system turned out to have a coolness all its own.
Next came the My touch 4G Slide - the one with the best keyboard and also a pretty good camera.
But, I left it for the Samsung series. Starting with the Galaxy S III, my first non-exclusive to T-mobile, full touch device. I actually looked for keyboard cases for this one just in case I needed it.
It was followed by the Galaxy S4 and Galaxy S5, which I currently have. I plan to keep this one for a while as the progression of phones from large to small has been reversed as evident by the evolutionary pic above. The S5 provides a large enough display and more than enough integrated features to keep me satisfied.