Slashdot Mirror
Old Mobiles — the Bad and the Ugly
CrazyPhrog writes "File under nostalgia? This round up of mobile hardware from days of yore includes the Dynatac ("the world's first proper mobile phone"), which looks like something likely clamped to Joan Collins' cheek in an episode of Dynasty; the frankly violent-on-the-eye jade T10, courtesy of a pre-Sony Ericsson; and the unwonderful Siemens Xelibri which looks as if it was designed to give simultaneous ear, eye and finger ache. Thankfully they really don't make 'em like they used to."
You obviously mean the Zack Morris Phone.
Post v2:
I long for those days of simplicity! Today's phones with automatic cell handover and features (!) like mail and SMS and ringtones are useless! Give me a 12 pound block of plastic that makes calls intermittently. I'm not giving up my current phone until they can come up with something worthy enough to replace it.
Wow.. over 20 years later & we've nearly doubled the amount of talk time...!
Yay, progress!
It was pretty sleek for its time, 32 MB memory for mp3 files that you could upload via a LPT printer cable :) It fitted me 16 led zeppelin songs on low compression and saved my mornings and a very boring holiday. Battery life was about a day when using the mp3 function. Nice thing: it still works! The headphones broke, though, so I cannot use the mp3 function anymore, unless I get the specific replacement cable which will cost the same as the phone probably :)
molmod.com - computing tips from a molecular modeling
I certainly wouldn't classify the Motorola StarTAC as bad or ugly. In fact, as far as mobile phones went, it was certainly ahead of its time. I remember seeing those things years and years ago... I thought they looked pretty sweet, to be honest. From the picture they have on the site, it certainly doesn't fit under bad or ugly.
Anyone have a mirror?
Sent from my iPhone
..if I didn't have my StarTac in my pocket right now. When your cellphone is listed at number two in a list of mobile design classics, perhaps it may be time to get up to date.
...I'm not interested.
Nothing wrong with lugging a big lead-acid about with you wherever you go. Right? Hello? Anyone there?
biopowered.co.uk - catalytically cracking triglycerides for home automotive use since 2008. Just say no to big oil!
I'm supprised the Nokia 2110 didn't make the list, It was the true Rolls Royce of mobile phones. Maybe it was not released in the US.
New mobiles with their feature bloat, short battery life and virii keep "squirting" people into the ass.
Old mobiles don't have features. Their batteries last longer and virii sound like FUD.
But it takes a mature mind to understand that trendy != quality.
I own a Nokia 5110 for more than 10 years now and it works like in day one... except that I had to replace the battery 4 years ago for ~$15. Full charged the battery works for ~1-2 weeks. I can adjust the ringtone to just a small beep which is great.
When it will die for some reason I'll desperately try to get the same at eBay or stop using cell phones (which will be great).
If I could get one of these phones here that would be great. Does kinda annoy me now how you can't get a phone without all the add ons. Courtesy of a google image search http://webpress.air-nifty.com/digital/images/rakur aku-M3_2_thumb.jpg
gokugone.com "Bah-weep-grah-nah-weep-ninny
"Thankfully they really don't make 'em like they used to."
No, these days they cram Windows CE and lots of ersatz chrome into the things. Such progress!
I know what you mean, my Nokia 6310 has every feature I want, and none of the features I don't. Sadly its' showing it's age. I can't see any modern phone surviving the years of abuse it has suffered - Its battery life is like new despite over 1000 hours talk time on the clock.
Philip
Signatures are broken
I have an idea. Why don't we all criticise closthes from the 1970's while we're at it. And then we could have a go about 80's clothes too, which seemed to sensible in comparison at the time amongst earnest and serious people on the 80's success train.
On call with a over the shoulder mobile phone, car battery sized base unit, cable to the handset. Very patchy access between wollongong and sydney, fixing compaq servers and stallion boards on the way. The signal was so patchy that I couldn't call home from the pub in the center of sydney. Being on call with that pretty much meant that I was totally over the whole cell phone thing within 6 months.
Task Mangler
I've read through most of the posts, and the general consensus is that newer phones with more and more features are not what people want.
I couldn't agree more.
About 5 years ago, I bought a Audiovox CDM8150 as a cheap phone for sending/receiving calls, text messages, and some very light web browsing. It worked like a charm - I never had any problems with that phone. Unfortunately, I let the account lapse (it was prepaid), and it suffered to the fate of a dresser drawer.
6 months ago, I was in need of a cell phone yet again. I was faced with a choice - reactivate my old one for $75+tax (but with $75 in prepaid credits), or buy a Samsung A630 for $150 with the same amount of credits. Stupidly, I thought the A630 was a better choice.
Now, bear in mind, I bought this just before I left for basic training. What's worse was it was defective, and this wasn't apparent until about 1 week in. The A630 has an internal battery because it uses VRAM, and the internal battery was malfunctioning - causing the phone to cut off calls and randomly reboot itself even when plugged in. Bear in mind, I could not leave the base to get my phone replaced until 3 weeks later, which left me stuck to payphones until then.
I ended up getting the phone exchanged after 31 days - 1 day over the limit (thanks to the very understanding and professional staff at TELUS) - a fresh new A630 - and it too was defective. Same problem, internal battery (this one was a little better though, I could make a 15 minute call before it cut off). Another trip into the city, and alas another A630. This one has been working well so far.
Towards the end of basic training, I realized how much better I would have been with my old CDM8150. Considering I never downloaded images or ringtones, played any games, or did anything "new" that my CDM8150 couldn't do, I kicked myself for not having my CDM8150.
Frink: Nice try floyd, but you were designed for scrubbing, and scrubbing is what you shall do.
I agree. When I started my new job they gave me a list of phones and said choose one. The only one on the list that even came close to the functionality of my trusty 6310 was the 6230. The 6310 went to my wife, but now she has needed to "upgrade" since the 6310's battery keeps disconnecting momentarily, switching off the phone, and the keypad is a bit dodgy from years of (my) abuse. Having said that, the 6230 is no where near as sturdy. I would have loved a new phone in the 6230 form-factor with upgraded processor, color display etc but keeping most of the core "functionality" of the phone. Maybe the mobile companies should do incremental upgrades to the phones instead of ditching the old designs completely every time a new phone comes out.
"And then I visited Wikipedia
The 4 hour talk time is an exaggeration, but the battery lasted a good week between charges.
And it can witstand a lot of punishment!
Their Achilles heel were the mic connection inside the folding lid, that eventually broke.
Yo momma so ugly, she looked in a mirror and slashdotted her face.
Still using it by the way.
Set your phasers on "funky"!
My new Motorola FCKZOR has everything I need:
1) Camera
2) MP3 player
3) Browser
4) Games
5) GPS navigation system
6) Radar
7) Television
8) Microwave oven
9) CD/DVD player
Unfortunately, since it is so fashionably thin, there was no space to fit a microphone and I am unable to make calls.
"[..]the Xelibri also marked the start of a return to back-to-basics devices, where talking and texting were uppermost. It's a trend that's still hot in advanced markets such as Japan, where stripped-down phones like the RakuRaku concentrate on the simplest of features."
Well, that gives me hope. The name "RakuRaku" aside, maybe I'll finally buy a cell phone then.
ClutterMe.com - easiest site creation on the Net. Just click and type.
But I want my 1997 cellphone back. The earpiece was actually at my ear, and the mouthpiece was actually at my mouth, more or less. It had buttons that a full grown man could actually press one at a time. It made calls. It worked if you dropped it.
... cricket chirp ...}
So given the technology and network improvements, I should be able to get the same thing now with a free phone and $5/mo service with free airtime, right? {cricket chirp
While it's not an "golden oldie" the Siemens S46 was an excellent example of a functional phone with no silly business. The battery lasted 6 days on average despite having web browsing, IM, "daily planner" and other such toys simply because it used a monochrome screen. it was large enough that I didnt' feel like if I sneezed it would vanish but still small enough to not be a brick. It had both analog and GSM systems so it almost never dropped signal. My only whine was that it didn't have bluetooth.
Unfortunately, AT&T sold off their wireless to Suckular, who dropped the phone and did everything in their power to drive off the AT&T phone users. After they tried to overbill me by changing my billing date and refusing to acknowledge the bonus minutes my plan came with, I bailed to Sprint and a Treo650.
The 650's nice but only b/c I was also lugging around a Visor. My wife has no idea how to make calls on it and it is a tad bricky. It gets about 3 days battery life (not bad considering my heavy PDA usage) and has bluetooth (which if I disabled would add about a day to the battery life). When I'm on vacation and not using the PDA side of the Treo, I really miss my S46.
I've been on slashdot so long I'm starting to get out of touch with the cool stuff if it ain't on slashdot.
was not Ericsson R380. It was Nokia 9000 Communicator (which they do mention in the article), which was released in 1996. And that's about 4 YEARS before Ericsson released R380! since they do list both, they must have some arbitary definition for "smartphone" so that R380 fits the description, whereas 9000 does not. And the last Communicator is not the 9500, 9300i is the latest model.
And where on Earth is the Nokia 2110 on their list? That was like THE phone for several years!
Lesbian Nazi Hookers Abducted by UFOs and Forced Into Weight Loss Programs - -all next week on Town Talk.
There are several models from Nokia which are clamshells, I counted at least 10 models on their website.
"by and large": adv.
For the most part; generally; usually; as a rule.
yes yes, get it out of your systems
THE MAGIC WORDS ARE SQUEAMISH OSSIFRAGE
Wow, just look at that keyboard. I bet every key has a genuine switch, not some kind of plastic gizmo sitting over some PC board traces. Where have you seen a keyboard on anything in the last twenty years that looks that solid? Of course in present day dollars the device would cost over seven thousand dollars. In that price range, its large form factor and limited battery life is not an issue. Just hire porters to carry your spare lead acid cells.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
I don't know the name or model but my mother will not part with her flip phone. The battery makes up the body of the phone. We shop for batteries at one specialty shop in the city about every other year. She refuses to consider any other phone because they're too small.
"I got it all together but I forgot where I put it."
WTF? The Xelibri looks like it should come with birth control pills!
m ber/design%20classics/xelibri%20(Custom).jpg
http://www.silicon.com/i/s4/illo/photos/2006/Nove
I'm suprside the Nokia 3210 (or as I like to call it, the most popular hone ever that gave Nokia its seeming stanglehold on the industry until they ignored the clam shell design) wasn't mentioned.
But I thought Paris was like an Ubergeek, surely she couldn't have let someone hack her mobile!?!
T-mobile was offering one like #3 (only softer colored) when asked if they've got any free phones with their contracts. I laughed when offered this phone (4 months ago, mind you), and now I see they must have found some old forgotten stock...
To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
That's the Xelibri.
"Flyin' in just a sweet place,
Never been known to fail..."
I used T10s for some years, which was considered a some kind of treachery at that time in Finland. I think it was pretty good phone for its time. The screen is woefully small for SMS and searching thru the phone book was pain in the ass. But it had working voice dial, which was actually quite handy. And it came in reasonable colours too, my phone is dark blue.
The summary is as misleading as usual, the real title of the article is "The good, the bad and the ugly...?" and it's not all about bad or ugly phones.
I had an Ericsson T39m, and then switched to a Philips 650. Both have no camera or MP3 player, are relatively lightweight, and the standby/talk time is very good. Sales apparently have been abysmal; for both phones, I actually had trouble to find a dealer that could offer them. While people may complain about more and more features in newer phones, they are apparently not willing to buy phones lacking such features.
Ten models isn't exactly shunning either.
I prefer old because many of the newer ones interferes my bone conduction hearing aid (Oticon 380p -- analog type; not digital). It drives me nuts to hear interferences near a cellphone. :( Analog cellphones did not do this. :(
Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
The Xelibri reminds me of my wife's birth control pills' package....
3 17-8,00.htm
http://hardware.silicon.com/pdas/0,39024643,39164
Karnal
Oldsmobile!
Mama, I got 'dem ole cosmic blues again.
Wow, I was about to make the exact same post.
:D
I love my 6310(i). Many a provider has tried to tempt me away with colour screens, the ability to watch music videos amd to play garbled-sounding MP3's to the annoyance of everyone else on the train. Many service providers have even gotten quite rude when I tell them that I do not want a phone that doesn't last as long as my 6310.
The battery still lasts a week (that's 7 days) standby time after three years of constant use. This includes about 30 mins worth of voice calls and 5-10 texts a day. I bought a spare battery for it two years ago and haven't used it yet.
I've dropped the phone onto a concrete floor from a first floor (that's second floor to non-Brits) window. The thing flew to pieces. Put it back together again and it works fine. The screen wasn't even scratched.
I've lost count of the number of times it's gotten soaked when I've been caught in the rain or had beer poured all over it. The thing is god damn indestructible. They keys still work brilliantly.
Compare with the Blackberry 8700 my company bought me (a modern equivalent of the 6310, since the 6310 was Nokia's almost-top-of-the-line business-class phone in it's day); on a good week the battery will last 3-4 days between charges, but if you have a game or two of Brickbreaker and surf slashdot a bit on your evening commute (or even just type lots of emails), you can cut that down to 1 day. The keys are too small, but that can be expected. The rocker wheel is already feeling spongy after 6 months. The case is already badly scratched in places after a few not-very-nasty knocks. It doesn't work with Linux either...
My friend bought a 6310 soon after me, but gave it up last year for a RAZR. Which broke. Switched back to the Nokia until he got a new Sony Ericsson something-or-other... which had a defective charging circuit. Switched back to the Nokia until he could find a phone that he liked. Currently has an LG something-or-other which looks very nice, but I'll bet anyone a tenner that next time I see him he'll be using his Nokia
You'll pry my 6310 from my cold, dead hands. Sorry Nokia, but I've seen nowt to touch it since.
Moderation Total: -1 Troll, +3 Goat
Sidetalkin' is so retro! I bet you wear parachute pants and LA Gears, too.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
It's a damned useful feature if you are concerned about how many minutes you have used this month and therefore how many you have remaining. I've just never bothered resetting the counter since I got the phone.
Philip
Signatures are broken
Is it just me, or does the Xelibri look way too much like a monthly package of birth control pills?
"42"
How about ThinkGeek's Bluetooth Retro Handset? That should fix two of problems.
-+-=-+-=-+-=-+-=-+-=-+ *** http://www.mountainfort.com *** +-=-+-=-+-=-+-=-+-=-+-
Ahhh, the old Dynatac. That thing got mad props on the cover of the Geto Boys We Can't Be Stopped album; which featured a pic of Bushwick Bill using one while on a hospital gurney after shooting his eye out.
It would have been handy if the damm writer had bothered to put dates in each writeup. Context is everything.
http://img.epinions.com/images/opti/0d/33/502904-e lec_lg-resized200.jpg
Qualcomm 2760 on Sprint.
That was my first cell phone, like 5 years ago. It had no battery life, and the address book was comically limited, but once in a fit of rage I threw it as hard as I could against a concrete wall. It took a small dent on the corner and kept working just fine. The shell is made if 1/4" thick hard plastic.
Can't do that with my Blackberry Pearl.
The perfect sig is a lot like silence, only louder
Interestingly, my old Archos GMini died without much dropping at all (in a strange coincidence, it died right after I bought my iPod...). Depends really.It died of sadness...
It's better to be the foot on the boot than the face on the pavement. ~~ tkx Kadin2048
I remember my first (and only) experience with one. While I was making a call from the car, I keyed the mike and the windshield wipers cycled (it was a bright, cloudless day in Aug.)! Thinking this odd, I keyed the mike again with the same result. I was laughing at the time, now it makes me shiver thinking of the RF signal it must have radiated.
I always liked that colour, and the phone's form factor seems OK, too.
There are as many tastes as there are people.
try wedging a piece of a business card or something like that between the battery and the phone. This is a common fix for a known problem.