Tell us: What was your first mobile phone?

[Dan_C]

From the days of playing snake on your phone, to the mobiles that had a colour screen and an internet browser, we discuss the first phones we had and why they still have a place in our heart.

@Ray_YC

Nokia 3210



I still miss this phone ☹ Simple and easy to use, I remember having a weird colour and always remember dropping it but it never broke. It's the ultimate brick. 

@Megan_YC

Sony Ericsson Z300



I was the lucky owner of a Sony Ericsson Z300, that my friend won from a vending machine for $2 outside a Safeway supermarket in Albury. If only phones were still that cheap!

@Felicity_YC

Sony Ericsson 2300



My first mobile phone was a purple Ericsson GF 768. It weighed 135 grams, had no games, monophonic ringtones and a battery standby of 60 hours.

@AlistarS

NEC e616



Still one of my favourite phones of all time. It was a flip phone, I still miss the experience of whipping this bad boy out of my pocket and answering the call in one flash movement, call quality was amazing and it also had custom ringtones ❤️ 

@Dan_C

Motorola Hiptop Slide

Not technically my first phone, but rather my first non-hand me down phone.

The all-round slick design combined with the slide out keyboard gave it a modern feel (for the time). It also had MSN messenger built-in as the default messenger. What more could you ask for?

We'd love to hear what ancient device you had growing up and could it still be used today? Comment below 🙂

[AlistarS]

What was your first mobile @Davelew @MiCCAS @petergdownload @SillyGogo @Yeldarb @SamSam @Paddylee @10000000000GB @caaf ?

[Paddylee]

Nokia 6110 for me in 1998...gasp!

Is only a 2g device, so pretty much not usable in Aus now. 

Did have snake game that I loved!

Also only having to charge it once a week was a benefit. 

Now I have a Samsung Note 8

[Davelew]

Hi

If an original car phone is considered a mobile phone I can go back to 1985 in London. Much excitement when it was installed in  my car, I think in those days a Ford Cortina.  No idea of the make of phone but it comprised of a large unit in the boot  and a fixed handset attached to the dashboard. At that time only worked in London. This progressed to what was referred to as the brick, a large battery with the phone on top which was supposed to be portable but needed a set of wheels to  transport around.

Things have certainly improved since those days.

Dave

[caaf]

My first analog phone was err um can’t remember mind what’s sad is I remember setting it up in the van, it was in the early 90’s (hand me down) mind I can tell you that I went Nokia for a decade then iPhone. Yeah I know way to much info, sozz.

[SillyGogo]

My first one was an Motorola analogue, can't remember the model number. It was the first one without the classic motorola flip. Came with 2 batteries and  desktop charger. Found this picture on google.. 

As a teenager, it was proudly hang around the belt with a leather clip on case. 

[SillyGogo]

Here are a few that I still have. Well until the next cleanup.

@Paddylee 6110 was my dream phone.. Couldn't afford it, settled for the 5110 and changed to the smaller battery instead. 

@Felicity_YC Had one in blue. @

[Paddylee]

@pwright is pretty old, perhaps he had one of these?

[pwright]

Think it was closer to one of these @Paddylee  funny enough still has about the same feature set as @Dan_C iPhone currently has..... but if he switched to Android... he could advance like the rest of us 🙂

[pwright]

First phone was a Phillips Twist on a un-named network that was too expensive to call out on.... bit like there pricing still today 😉   I have fond memories, of going for a swim accidently with it, and having it still replaced under warrenty as a teenager "It stopped working" so I didnt get in trouble with the folks....

I soon upgraded to a very cool blue Ericsson T10 Flip and moved to Optus and discovered 'Yes" Time and shoved the Twist in a draw...   The good old days before Games and SMS was the only way you could afford to communicate in Peak Hours!  Anyone wannna go back to the 90's for a spin with me? lol

[Dan_C]

Haha, that's quite the collection of antique handsets @SillyGogo. That's the classic Razor on the left? 

@pwright, did they come in any other colours? I can see myself with a Rose Gold Telegraph 

[pwright]

@Dan_C  No Rose Gold... just "Real" Wood Grain, no artificial stuff like covers now days 😉

[SillyGogo]

@Dan_C yes it's the razr v3 will bonus mp3 and accessories.

[Davelew]

Now to really go back can anybody remember the pager. When it goes off trying to find a phone box with change. Then finding it has been vandalised or stinks so much you can't bear to use it.

When was the last time anybody has used a public phone?

[SillyGogo]

@Paddylee I remember the pager, it was a special things. Works where no mobile phone coverage. Last time is use one was in 2015.

Arr the good old public phone, used to be 20c per call, then move on to the magnetic phone cards, got a whole collection of them too

[SillyGogo]

Ops ..above..should be @Davelew

[petergdownload]

Pretty sure it was one of those Nokia 3210 phones. Still remember those hands reaching out to .. reach out?

I think I was actually involved in the first CDMA trial where I got a free phone for giving reception feed back.

Ah the 9 button SMS days. Still amazes me that even the iPhoneX doesn't have a swipe keyboard today.

Peter Gillespie

[MiCCAS]

My first phone was this guy - Nokia 6131! A hand-me-down from my parents.

The first phone I chose and purchased myself was the HTC Desire Z - because I wanted Android, but could never see myself using a touchscreen keyboard (oh, how times have changed!)

[Ray_YC]

The ultimate brick, sounds like @AlistarS basketball game 

It's like being at an old phone museum, keep them coming! Back in my day...

[Felicity_YC]

I absolutely love all of these comments. 

How good was Snake? 

[Paddylee]

Snake was pretty good! Perhaps I should have concentrated on class then snake...

Still have my Samsung Note 1, and Galaxy S 1 (both still work).

[AlistarS]

I agree @Paddylee I rememeber being in class sitting at the back of the class room with my phone half out my pocket playing snake, usually during maths... maybe that's why I ended up here 😛 

[Felicity_YC]

What, working in the best team ever @AlistarS? Yay for Snake!

[Megan_YC]

Haha @AlistarS I had 4 hours of math tutoring a week in grade 12, and 2 different tutors... there definitely seems to be a correlation between our team and being pretty average at maths

[Jamallandit]

Nokia 1100 😁 

[YesItsMe]

This monstrosity here was my first mobile phone.  Felt so awkward with the case and belt clip that it would swing when it got windy.  While I never liked it, it was a cheaper phone I could afford when I first started working.

[sdr]

NEC P100 and also carried a pager for 5 years for work.

[Pommster]

A Panasonic G600 was my first mobile phone

It coincided with me getting my first car. Got it for emergencies at first as I was driving from Cambridge to London daily, sometimes in the middle of nowhere.

Back then, 30 minutes a month on the plan from Cellnet was a luxury!

[Davelew]

@Pommster

Nowadays Cambridge to London is one long traffic jam.

I'd be surprised when you had this phone if you got reception for more than half the journey.

[LenF52]

I think 1992 or 1993 a Mitsubishi Diagem, the first non "Brick" mobile avalable in Australia. It also had a pretty fancy hands free car kit for the time.

[Felicity_YC]

I think the NEC P100 is my favourite so far @sdr

[Davelew]

With all this nostalgia is it time for Optus to have a new section for Retro phones.

@Dan_C could have a promotion to manage Optus Retro.

Hopefully he would then ditch his iPhone.

[Pommster]

@Davelew 

It was North West London, and I left for work around 6am, so by-passed the rush-hour 

I don't know how great the reception worked when I had an accident one winter morning.

[Davelew]

@Pommster oh the joys of working in London. I can remember leaving Rotherhithe on a Friday lunchtime to go home to Gloucestershire and sitting in a traffic jam on the Embankment for 2 hours. Someone a 120km journey would take 5 hrs.

That is when a mobile phone relieved the boredom 

[Yeldarb]

Well technically speaking I had a mobile phone receiver long before I had a mobile phone.  The cost of  phone calls put me off and the good old UHF repeaters system worked well with my locally made Phillips UHF radios.