I was thinking, just the other day of all the cell-phones I have ever owned…..Came up with “My Cellphone Timeline”.

This was the very first phone I ever owned. It had a “blue and black” screen. A cool feature then. I remember buying this phone for INR 8000 (can you believe the prices) at Spencer Plaza, Chennai. Salient features included 30 Numbers :), Polyphonic ringtones (this was a biggy back then), Voice dialing, Voice memo and of course the 5 color LED, which I think was the main reason I decided to buy the phone. You could customize the LED light to flash a particular color depending on the caller Id. Not many had this phone and looked really good for the time. I realize a primary requirement for all my phones was “MUST LOOK GOOD”.

I was deeply in love with my Samsung N500, but unfortunately it got lost and I was forced to look for a replacement. This phone wasn’t exactly purchased, but deserves honorary mention. I think it slid down from my brother who very “graciously” gave me this phone. I must admit it though, it had tremendous sentimental value and was one heck of a sturdy phone. I remember dropping this phone (accidentally of course) at the speed of 90 Kmph on Kotturpuram bridge. Shortly after which some nitiwt climbed on top of it with his cycle. The bloody phone was in tip top condition. The parts completely dismantled (the whole Nokia-save-my-phone-arse-dispersion-dismantle technology). A complete trooper this phone.

My very first “color-cellphone”. Boy was I in love with this phone. It had this chic and sexy look. I still remember the day, I got it as a birthday present from my folks. They sent it through some friends all the way from Kuwait (I was in IIT-M at the time). I braved the monsoons and went all the way to pick up the package. A couple of friends and I opened the box, after returning to my room. I switched it on and the Nokia hand logo thing came up, in 100% color. We were all “Woooooooh , that is so cool” :). I can’t recall a single person not asking me, if they could have a look at it. In fact even to this day, I feel this phone has one of the best designs. Incidentally, this was also my very first “MP3″ phone. A huge milestone.

I entered a stage where Music took precedence over looks and few can compete with Sony when it comes to multi-media. The W810i was one my most priced possessions at the time. I bought it with my very first salary. The memory remains crystal clear. Bought it at “Cell-phone point” Marathalli in Whitefield, Bangalore. Paid around 8000 bucks for the phone (The same amount that I paid for the Samsung SGH-N500 :) ). Was a deadly bargain considering I got two mini speakers that I could connect to the phone. Sound quality needless to say was fantabulous. I maintain to this day, that the in-ear canalphones that came along with the W810i are the best headphones I have ever laid my hands on (Yup even better than my apple headphones). Selling this phone (especially for my next one), ranks very high on my list of biggest blunders. Noteworthy features: first “2 Mega pixel Camera”, Memory Stick Duo Pro (up to 4GB), 512 MB card, Integrated “Walkman” (The main reason for buying the phone),FM radio.

Yes the ubiquitous Razr. This was actually a downgrade for me from W810i. I couldn’t resist the change after seeing Agent Mahone use it with that uber-cool voice of his on Prison Break. I can’t believe it either, I was 21 if you’re wondering :). I was suckered into it’s Clamshell design. That’s it. The menu design was crappy. The battery life sucked. It just looked cool as hell.

The iPhone 16GB. My first truly “smart” phone. Integrated iPod, mult-touch screen, brilliant apple-zen-UI, accelerometer sensor for auto-rotate, proximity sensor for auto turn-off, the list is long….. My biggest qualm is that, the iPhone has not officially released in a place I stay, hence the need for jailbreaking (a not so pleasant process). This is my current phone and I must say am immensely pleased with it, despite the numerous anti-iPhone reviews out there. Probably the first time I haven’t felt a “need for change” within the first 9 months of purchasing a new cellphone.

Why I feel the Andriod powered HTC-G1 is perfect for my needs:

• The Andriod is powered by Google.
  Almost 90% of whatever I use is powered by Google. It only makes sense to shift. I would naturally expect Google features to be more seamlessly compatible with a Google powered phone. Google Docs, Contacts, Cal, Gmail all seamlessly on my phone, truly a dream come true.


• Google is more well-setup in India than Apple will ever be.
  It’s pretty clear, Apple doesn’t look at India as a prime market. Hence wouldn’t find a need to cater to Indian user’s phone-needs. The absence of an Apple store and lack of an Indian iTunes-store, my case in point. For customizing my current iPhone I had to go through the gargantuan effort of jailbreaking etc etc. Not to mention the guilt of having to use the phone-how should I put it- “not officially legally” (Unlocking a phone isn’t exactly illegal). I expect the Android phone to be more Indian-user friendly considering Google’s well establishment in the Indian market. Heck Google India is huge!

A lot is yet to be seen though. Will let you know if I actually come around to make the change. How does your cellphone-timeline look?

†