Being mobile...

I have grown up aspiring for very few things in life. During the days of Star Trek besides the whole concept of teleportation what caught my fancy were their phones. I think it was sometime in the year 2000 when I started eyeing my first mobile phone. Looking around what impressed me was the Ericsson T 10. Basically a flip phone which looked slick and smart in an era where only a few phones will physically fit your pocket. At least of what I saw. Call rates were about 10-12 Rs for outgoing and around 8-10 Rs for the incoming. It was a really cool gadget to have. Gave a great feeling of being mobile!

Within 15 months the phone gave way. With a bigger budget (nearly 15k!!!) the next wave of phones were all about small yet slick. I picked up a Nokia 8210 which would snugly fit my palms and my pockets too. Took sometime to get used to a small phone as often I would leave it around and panic.

Eighteen months down the line 'going mobile' took a new meaning. The latest thing then was coloured screens. While I like the whole generation of mobile users was keen to have it, I didn't want to give away the phone I had so after looking around I exchanged it for another Nokia. Nokia 8250. I still remember I had the MI2 ringtone and was quiet kicked about it. Unfortunately though within a couple of days I robbed of the phone right below my office then, Lowe in Bangalore. I was quite upset at my office's reaction and decided to not have another mobile phone.

Months passed and it was almost a year when my VP almost begged me to have one. My client was humble enough to be keen to sponsor one for me. Looking at all this I thought of investing in another phone. And one of the days I went to a Nokia showroom to check out the first phone to catch my attention was a Nokia 6800 with its flip open QWERTY keyboard. On being told the price was Rs. 23,000 (oops), I got upset thinking it was quite expensive and went back. My salary back then was not as much!!! Unfortunately no other phone was quite exciting. But about couple of weeks later I went back to the same shop and bought that phone. Quite excited I enjoyed having and using that phone. It served me for a good 3 years before finally giving up in end 2006.

Just then I shifted my jobs and got back to Bangalore from Mumbai. For couple of months I was using an old Nokia 1100 available with me. Then on Valentine’s Day my wife gifted me a Nokia N73. For the first couple of days I was quite upset as I didn’t like the colour etc etc. But soon I started liking and enjoying the phone and its features. Those days my wife, sister in law and myself used to go to work on our own bikes. One day we all made back at almost the same time and planned to have some chaat on the way home. After finishing it we all quickly raced home and later in the night while going to bed I realized that I have left my phone back in the shop. I was very very upset about losing that phone. I still am…After all it was a gift from my wife!!! But then life had to go on and I went back to the Nokia 1100.

While going though the papers I found a cheap and cheerful Samsung S50. On checking it in a shop I found it quite handy and ofcourse light on my wallet. I picked it up. The phone is still with me though going through some minor repairs. During this period being mobile had taken a new meaning all over again with the advent of Blackberrys. Mainly mails on the move was one big feature. In the initial days I used to quite hate the technology given almost everybody in my office had it. And for every mail there would be 15 odd single word reply mails which I would have to go through…..

Soon we shifted to Mumbai and I shifted back to my Nokia 1100 as of course another period of standby. And this was a period of the haves versus have-nots. You were looked at as if you have committed a crime. But then these haves were courtesy office. And for some strange reasons we were not going to get one. This pissed me off big time…During these days my Nokia 1100 started giving up once in a while. And this upset the haves and the newly haves. I could care less and carried one. But then by the side I started my research on what my next phone would be. Nokia E71 was already in the market and of course there were a clutch of Blackberrys. The Samsung, Motorola and the LG business phones were nowhere close. I was quite enamoured by the Nokia E71 Black. But then I was not quite sure and stayed put for some time.

About a couple of months later the Nokia E75 made news on the net. Checking out the reviews features and comparisons it was quite impressive. Compared to the Blackberrys and the Nokia E71. And finally I had my new phone. The Nokia E75!!!! Sponsored by my wife it costed a whopping Rs. 25,500. But then I was really really happy to have it in my hand. First day in office with my new phone people made some strange comments Rs. 25,000 ka phone????, you are now in the big league etc etc. And one of them went on to make comments as if I’m from a third world country and has won a lottery or something not realizing that the person hardly knows me for 3 months. Strange…but I just ignored all of them…all of them. Because I realized they were not worth thinking about. What do they know about my past. Do they know that I had phones which were priced twice my monthly salary….

Anyway here I’m with my brand new Nokia E75, as my friend said, all set to rock the world. I just hope that the meaning of being mobile doesn’t change too soon….