April 27, 2009

Tip Our Hats: Old Skool Cell Phones

It was about two years ago that the iPhone made its debut. At first, we were pretty impressed when a guy whipped it out. We oooh-ed and aaaah-ed as he got all Minority Report on it; grabbin' text and moving photos around with a swipe of his finger. In fact, we were so enamored with the gadget that we actively sought iPhone users out, cozying up to their touchscreen ways.

Now, however, to paraphrase Shania Twain, fancy cell phones don't impress me much. If anything, they are a distraction. How many dates have I sat through watching the object of my affection fiddle with his phone? Too many to count! Apps = naps. Snore.

This tech burnout has made us nostalgic for a time when a cell phone wasn't a portable entertainment center that could calculate a tip or check stock prices on the fly. These chunky phones were heavy, scratched and tucked away in his pocket, where it belonged. The damn thing was like a cat on its eighth life: it had been dropped on the sidewalk, used as a doorstop, and even doubled as a ping-pong paddle once during a particularly rowdy barbecue. That cell phone was indestructible!

The ringtones were tinny, polyphonic and sounded like they were recorded in an East German discotheque. They could be heard from across a crowded restaurant (alright, we don't miss that part.) But, aside from that, the phone was basic and out of our face; just the way a cell phone should be.

So, old skool cell phone users, we tip our hats to you for not annoying us with your gratuitous gadgetry. We like how you don't even know that your phone has a camera on it. It's just better for all involved.

9 comments:

Julia said...

there is nothing more annoying than a guy checking the score in the middle of dinner, unless he is checking work email.

Anonymous said...

Agreed! Or how about the dude who thinks his new phone is so dang stellariffic that he shows you (in detail) every single Application, gizmo and gadget the device has to offer...throughout the ENTIRE evening!?...By the end of the night I was about to kick him and his Apps to the curb...NEXT!

Conversation went a little something like this...

Me: "So, Did you catch the review in the NY times about...

IP Idiot: "OOOHHHH MAANNN...Look at this!!! I can play bumper cars on my IPHONE!!! Check it out!!!...

Julia said...

chances are the guy would be a snooze, iphone or not

Anonymous said...

Does this mean it's cool for beepers to come back too? Oooo, or better yet, car phones?

Sarah said...

Beepers were cool?

Anonymous said...

I don't know if cool is the right word. Maybe drug dealeriffic is more like it.

Katie D. said...

This is all completely true. However, there is the other side. My boyfriend is completely phone retarded. He can't even properly answer a text or leave a proficient voice mail.

Anna said...

Ahaha. He can't leave a proficient voicemail? What does he do when he leaves a message? Grunt?

Attia Taylor said...

I love guys with old beat up flips! NO CAMERA!

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