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A discussion tonight in the chatroom has sparked this blog post. My cellphone ownership history. Warts, Nokias and All. So please find detailed below all 10 cellphones over the last 10 years. This post is a wee detour from my 7 Year Telco Itch series

1. Ericsson Model Unknown (Telecom Prepay)

Purchased 1999.

I bought this when I bought my first car sometime in. Kept 10 numbers in memory. Stolen in 2000.

2. Alcatel 301 (Vodafone Prepay)

Insurance Supplied 2000

The Y2k bug came and went. My insurance company gave me this phone to replace the above phone. I had it a month or so and then it met a watery grave in the carpark, MIT Arts Faculty building.

3. Nokia 5110i (Telecom Prepay)

Purchased 2000

Back in the day when I got this, only Telecom could text Telecom and Vodafone could only text Vodafone. Dark days indeed. All my friends at polytech had Telecom phones, so this was the only way to keep in touch.

4. Nokia 3315 (Vodafone Prepay / Vodafone Contract)

Purchased 2002

My brother worked at Bond & Bond Manukau and got me this phone on his staff discount. It was well travelled, including a trip to Bathurst in 2004.

5. Motorola Model Unknown (Similar to C118) (Vodafone Contract)

Purchased October 2004

Chinatown, Sydney in 2004. Was tiny. Still is compared to most phones around. But it always sounded like you were talking to people from a toilet cubicle.

6. Sharp GX30i (Vodafone Contract)

Purchased 2005

Yes I forked out the $1000 asking price. It was an awesome phone and I wish I still had it. It met its fate in the toilet one evening after I had been out for a walk. I forgot it was in my back pocket. Woops.

7. Sony Ericsson V800 (Vodafone Contract)

Insurance Supplied 2006

The Vodafone 3G network had just been released and this is the phone my insurance company gave me. I hated it. It always clicked when you opened it and was no better in size than my original brick phone in 1999. Last seen heading on a courier to Christchurch where my brother uses it as a spare phone. Maybe.

8. Motorola V3x (Vodafone Contract)

Purchased March 2007

Vodafone were doing a contract deal to get this phone for free. Compared to my V800, this was a nice phone. And it was a nice phone. Until a month out of warranty it started making a very weird, loud, beeping noise from all the speakers. Worried that it was going to blow up, I sold it to a co-worker for $50. He threw it at someone and broke it. Life goes on.

9. Nokia 6121 (Vodafone Contract)

Purchased April 2008

This is an excellent phone and I still own it. I just use it as a broadband modem now. But its with this phone, I learnt so much about mobile Internet and playing with phones beyond the calling/txting/pxting boundaries. I am very attached and have fond memories with this awesome, tiny phone. its a smart phone in disguise!

10. Apple iPhone 3G 8GB (Vodafone Contract – but for how long?)

Purchased June 2009

My current cellphone and I am in love with it. It is totally awesome and I wouldn’t be without it. Its the best phone I’ve ever purchased by a long shot. And you will hear me say that so many times on this blog.

So there you have it. My complete cellphone history. 10 Phones in 10 Years. Not too bad if I do say so myself. Sure there are some dubious choices in there, but hindsight in 20/20 and knowledge is power. I think I just set a record for cliches. But cliches aside, If I could change some of what I’ve bought and the decisions about telcos, maybe things would be different.