To know me, you have to read me. Otherwise, I'm just like everybody else. Without identity. Choose well.

Saturday, February 7, 2015

Satellite-dialling

I looked up the meaning of CELLULAR PHONE in dictionary.com and it said, "a mobile telephone system using low-powered radio transmitters, with each transmitter covering a distinct geographical area (cell)" Urgh! I'm getting a nosebleed as we speak! Literally, cellular telephone = satellite telephone, telephone = dial. Hence the title satellite-dialling! Bwahahaha. Who knows, my invented definitions will be renowned someday. I make my own definitions you see. :D

Anywho, I was having a heated discussion with my estranghero about my twisted ideology on movie piracy when we stumbled upon our cellphone history. That was when we were watching IRREVERSIBLE. I know there's no connection whatsoever but that's just how we roll. The technology flashback reminded me of a blog my serious talker IMA wrote too. This blog is the same concept. Actually, a carbon copy! Except of course for the plotting. I'm no copycat. Again, this blogspot is my mental note to everything. Who knows, I might no longer be able to delineate this after, say what, 5 years more? The beauty of aging. :D


The first time I got a cellphone was during 2nd year high school. I'm quite certain it was during that time because, I always use it during my T.L.E. subject where we don't have majors yet. That subject gets seriously boring at times. ^^ I can't remember how much it was back then. I bought it in ORIENTE (Colon St.). You familiar with that stall you see inside, just left from the entrance? Yes, that cell shop! :D

Model: Motorola T180. Mine was white and has an orange backlight color. Amazing how I can still remember it. I usually don't remember details. :D

The money was of course from my sister. A birthday gift. So 'twas around July. Many people think I'm not an imperious person. Which is true. It depends on who I am with. I could be demanding as hell if we are super close. So yeah, I asked for a cellphone then. My sister's husband even asked, (after he knew I have one) why does she have a cellphone at that age? 'Twas quite uncommon in the states back then.

Now the first cellphone crashed down on me. Just a few days since I got it. So the same cell shop replaced it with this one. I liked the other phone. It looked classy. Besides, I was flabbergasted to see Paige Halliwell had the same exact phone from one Charmed episode! You don't get that a lot these days. Stars nowadays have way too expensive phones to emulate from. Anyway, I had this for about months. For some reason, I needed to give this phone to my brother. I'm not sure if it was voluntary or coerced. :D

Model: Motorola T2288. I know it had exact color as the pic but I guess lighting makes it more bluish than supposedly dark blue-green.

Funny story: I had my first textmate with this, still during T.L.E. class. (We had freedom during our time too, you know.) Do you remember using the chat feature that costs P2.50 per message? Yes, that's how I had my first textmate. His codename was Erick. Mine was Sheenie. (I heard that name from some tv show.) We're still texting until now. We're even FB friends. I wish we could meet one time. Maybe, once I can go to Manila. :)

Another funny story: This phone got lost. Well, we thought it was lost. My mom was even reprimanding me for going to my neighbor (Who has playstations, arcade games, and a dancepad. You know, just like a miniature gamezone. Super miniature. Haha.) and dancing my heart out. She thought I lost it there. Well, I thought, yeah maybe. After 2 weeks, I found the phone above my dresser!!! My drunk father must have put it there and could not remember he did. :)) We knew it was him because he's always like that. :D

Phones were getting smaller and smaller but bulkier. My motorola was replaced by this. I don't know how I got this phone. I even asked my mom about all this. But she can't remember much. I have a strong feeling it was sold by some dealer near our place. You know, cheap ones that are being pawned and wasn't claimed. Or probably it was stolen and they just really wanted money out of it. :D But I stopped using those kinds because of one traumatic event. You'll hear more about it after a few phones. :D

Model: Alcatel DB Max. Exact color. Exact backlights. The legendary orange lights and "Safeguard soap"-shaped phone. :))

This didn't last long either. I gave it to my other brother. Because I had a new phone. Nokia was rising up to the challenge. :D

I had this 3rd year high school. Someone from our place sold it to me. She wanted to buy a newer model. So I got this second hand. It was just used for a couple of months anyway so it was good as new. This was the era where casings are in demand and booming. From Tweety bird designs to rose patterned ones. I always buy new casings. It's like how I am with my bags, clothes, and shoes. Buying a lot and mix-matching it so it doesn't get worn out easily. Women. :D

Model: Nokia 5110i. Exact color. It was still in its original casing when I got it.

I liked this phone. Though I was getting irked with the stupid antennae! So I amputated it. Not me of course, but the technician. They said it will affect the signal if I touched the antennae too often. What a farce! It didn't even affect it after the pruning. :)) I had my reasons. I believe it was valid. :D Eventually, I gave this away again by the middle of the year. I gave it to my sister. Because I was so envious with my classmates who has a 3310. So I demanded again. :)

For the rest of my 4th yr in high school, I was using this. More and more people are getting phones then. I believe they saw the need for instant communication. The start where electronic mails are slowly being considered by OFW's. Where technology was no longer inexplicable. And computers were used for researching history projects. But internet cafe's were costly. I remember paying P25.00 per hour and printing was P15.00/page. All hail to wi-fi now! :D

Model: Nokia 3310. I had mine bought from the store so I had the original casing as this. I've always wanted to get the silver one but it was impractical. :D

Do you remember the upgrades? You know, when technicians can reprogram the phone to upgrade it to a higher model with more features? My brother has a friend who does that so I had mine upgraded to Nokia 3315 for free.

I'm not sure if this was an upgraded one but if the menu button says otherwise, then I guess this one was indeed upgraded. Mine had 6 bars for the signal and battery. Though it basically works the same way as 4 bars anyway. My menu button then, says LEI. So one would know it's mine. This one says Avaa, Ava my friend, is this yours? :))

This one had a sad story. People know me as gullible and trustful. I know that I am too. So you can say, before, I was even more gullible. :D To continue with the story, we were practicing for our graduation march so we needed to leave our bags either in our room or the SSG (Supreme Student Government) office. (I was in the top section you see and the entire student body belongs in our class so we had the luxury to use that room even for those who's not in office.) I grew tired with the weight my phone and my wallet is causing, in both my skirt uniform pockets. So I left it inside my bag during our afternoon practice. I got back, school was over, took the jeepney, and checked my bag at home. Boom! No phone. I didn't cry. I was never a crybaby. (You can say I'm cold. Haha.) But my parents went berserk. They kept on saying one of my classmates might have took it. I said, NO with finality. I may have lost it in the jeepney or maybe had been pick-pocketed. I refused to believe my school friends can do such a heinous crime, STEALING.

I was wrong. Through a series of unfortunate events, gossips, and two witnesses, the culprit was identified. It was indeed a classmate. And you know how we found out? The cellphone menu said LEI. :D I was not able to get it back though. I never confronted her. She didn't show the phone anymore right after I was able to go back to school. I never saw it too. So I didn't have the evidence nor the opportunity to indict. Case closed. We moved on.

You might be thinking if that was the reason I no longer buy pawned goods. No it wasn't. After that incident, life has been very difficult. As I've said, through a series of unfortunate events. :D So tough times as it is, I needed a phone especially that I was starting college. And just when you needed a very good deal with the devil's in disguise, nothing came except for one lousy 3210 that was as good as broken. But, beggars can't be choosers so I lived with it for a couple of months.

Model: Nokia 3210. I can't remember what color I had. I think, a rose patterned casing with neon blue backlights. The only thing I liked from that phone was the backlights.

Didn't last long because it broke down. This time, I wasn't able to give it away. It went to the WE BUY BROKEN PHONES shop. :D

I did warn you, the phones were getting smaller and smaller. Take a look at 8210. I never liked that one. I was always vying for 7250 back then because slide-ups, colored, and with cameras, were "the bomb". Unfortunately, I was still broke. I mean, we were still broke. So I had to buy this from a reconditioning shop. It felt like buying my old 3210. I bet they reconditioned it too. And I advice, DO NOT BUY RECONDITIONED PHONES. They crash a lot and doesn't work properly.

Model: Nokia 1100. Mine looked brand new so I had an original casing.

The good thing about this phone is the distribution list. A lot of other phones then didn't have one. And I was a texter so I needed the distro. Plus, the flashlight! I prefer this even to that 1200 and 3100 I always craved. But this didn't last long too. It kept on crashing so I gave it to my brother. Same one that I gave my alcatel to. Apparently, they can't keep phones either. It runs in the family? :D

There were lucky turns of events so I was able to get a phone with camera. This was during 2nd year in college. Another birthday gift from my beloved sister. I can still remember the moment we bought it. It's like a picture flashback. It was at the new White Gold mall. (The older mall got burned down. I'm not sure if accidentally or for insurace purposes. Haha.)

Model: Motorola C650. Same color. This one I can remember the price. Costs 4-5K. Era of the joystick phones. :D

I had this longer. About 2 years. I liked it too. It has a lot of features though mostly unnecessary. I liked the copy pasting. It has a distribution list too. Unlike Nokia phones that time. Camera was bad. Still a camera nonetheless. This one I gave away too. To my niece. She had it longer than me, but it crashed on her. Had it repaired by our neighbor who ran with it. Tsk2. I had a phone repaired by him that time too, my troublesome 1100. (I had it repaired for my bro.) Took him 2 months to return it. It was, I believe, a different phone. It had completely different menu's inside. Even text messages from God-knows-who. Still broken. Maybe from another customer he fooled. Funny because it was like hell broke loose when people from the neighborhood were pestering him to give back their broken appliances. :))

Another birthday gift from my sister. My sister gives me the most expensive gifts. Because I don't ask things often. Only during my birthday. :D Anyway, this was start of my 4th yr in college. Had this until I graduated, got my job, and 13th month pay. Roughly 3 years.

Model: Nokia 6101. Same color. No options to change casings until after about a year. Didn't want to change it anyway because it might not fit and regret it after. Costs P8,500. It was a new release you see. Era of the flip top phones. :D

Gave this away after I got my Nokia 5530. No use in having three phones. I gave it to my nephew. I had promised him this since it was brand new. "Promises are meant to be broken." - doesn't work for me. So much for chivalry. :)) Unfortunately, my nephew lost it, after not even a month, during a Bamboo concert. The git pocketed it in a crowd of people. Thick-head. Pardon my words. Those serve as endearment really. :D I wasn't mad because he lost it. I was mad because he wasn't even able to enjoy it long. I was mad at him for always being careless. That had sentimental value. So I didn't talk to him for months. I could be that proud. :D

Funny story: This phone almost got snatched. I was with my solid college friend Annie at highway, Mandaue trying to find a jeepney to Talisay. This bald, brown, fat guy was beside us on the waiting shed. Annie was using her phone but tucked it inside her tight pocket jeans right after the guy came. I was wearing a Lacoste imitation pouch where I kept my phone. If that guy hadn't heard me say, "Kadugay mo reply!" or why isn't she replying faster as I was checking into the pouch, he wouldn't have wrestled the pouch from me. Unfortunately, he did. To my defense, he didn't look the type. And that was one mistake we all make. Especially from someone like me who had always been cautious. :D So this is the reason why I no longer buy pawned/(probably stolen) goods. It makes me feel like sh*t. :))

The product of my first pay from my first job as a call center agent. What a glorious feeling. I BOUGHT my first phone! :D Since I had a job, gifts from my sister were digital cameras or a pocket full of money. *singing* "Don't cha wish your sister was cool like her? Don't cha?" Nyahahaha. Just playing around.

Model: Samsung M620. Same color. I got the silver one because it looked classy. If you had noticed, most of my phones are either white or silver. I like my gadgets white if possible. Even if you say it gets dirty easy. Costs P5,300. Era of the slide-up phones.

I like to buy phones that are the latest mania. I do not believe in going with what's "uso" or the fad. As they just pass or makes you look like everyone else. Though there is safety in that. Anyway, I had this for over a year, but it got broken and no more warranty. So it sat in my travelling bag waiting to be repaired. Tsk2. I was planning to give it away mind you. You cant give away a broken phone now, can you? :D (This actually got repaired eventually and I gave it away to my brother.)

Product of my first 13th month pay. Good thing I had this on installment. The most expensive phone I have yet at that time. :D After my 6101, I had this need for 2 phones. Wait, there's a difference with NEED and WANT. So I'll say, I wanted to have 2 phones at the same time. :D One is for everyday, the other is for special occasions. The costlier is always the one for special occasions. You can't risk carrying expensive stuff these days. Unless you put them somewhere clandestine. :))

Model: Nokia 5530. Era of the touch-screen phones. Again, white with blue linings. Superb camera. 4GB memory. Highlight: Wi-fi ready. Costs: P12,300. Expensive yeah. But I love this phone. My Christmas gift to myself. :D

I rarely use it now. I mainly use it as an alarm clock. I need two alarm clocks you see. This one has my globe so I don't use it much. Wherever my sun sim is, that's the phone I carry and use. :D It has it's downtime too. Blacks out sometimes and hangs. Ow well, nothing's perfect. :D

After I resigned from my first job. I was super broke. I waited for my last paycheck for 2 months. I needed a second phone. And when I got the paycheck around May, I bought this. Though a chinaphone. What I liked about chinaphones is the dual-sim feature. Though it doesn't work properly. My advice again: DO NOT BUY CHINAPHONES. Though it's cheap, it doesn't work properly and gets broken easily.

Model: Nokia 6300 chinaphone. Same color. China can really make good imitations huh? Costs: P1,400. Era of the chinaphones. :D

In two months, I didn't like it anymore so I sold it to my nephew for P800. (I need to say he's 21 yrs old and working so you won't think I was taking advantage. :P) . A rather good bargain for him right? I learned after a few months, the phone got broken. I felt guilty so I gave him my red Samsung S630 when I got my new Kodak ZD15 in July. Hehehe. :D

When I got my 2nd job, I had to buy a durable phone while waiting for my first pay. My handy dandy phone. They say there are 2 types of cellphones. One that you need to take care of and one that can be just garbage. This one is with the latter. :D Don't take me wrong. I love this phone. This is the best counterpart of 1100. I've been trying to find one that matches 1100 but since it went faced out, couldn't find another. Bought this at Cellpod. That cellphone stalls you see in SM.

Model: Nokia 1202. Same color. Couldn't find one in white that looks good. Black is better for this. Costs: P1,200. Very cheap but durable. Has flashlight and distribution list. The only thing I care about. :))

Since my samsung got broken, I needed to get a second phone. So I went for something really cheap but authentic so I don't have to worry about a broken phone and being mugged at dawn. As I work at dawn. :D My sun sim is with this one so I carry it with me anywhere. You see, my sun sim always has load. :D



Then there was the proposition of postpaid plans. Got this a few months after I started on my 2nd job around January of 2011. They had this partnership with Globe Telecom where they go to our work place and offer plans to us without the need to submit that much requirements. Just a copy of our past 2 payslips and their application form. Then voila! You get your phone for free in the next few days and subscribed to their postpaid plan. Easy breezy!

Model: Blackberry Curve 8520. That picture is my actual phone with my selfie on the wallpaper and my painted nails. (I do my own nail art by the way. :D) I forgot how much that phone cost that time but my plan was a fixed 500 monthly plan for 2 years and I had to cash out P6,000 still. Era of the QWERTY phones.

If you had noticed, I try to buy phones with different functions and different styles for different eras. I don't like going back to the same brand with the same slightly upgraded models. There's no challenge in that! I liked this phone for the convenience in typing it provided. It's not touch screen. It's more of joystick menu (less the joystick itself). But blackberry offered a lot of promos. They actually started the BBSOCIAL promos that are now what the other telecommunication companies offer. Different set of promos for different needs. Like if you just want FB or twitter. Or both. Or just surfing. They started the trend of personalizing your own data plans. I had this phone for more than 2 years in fairness! I finished my contract with Globe and even went for more months. But I had to discontinue my subscription as I was planning on getting a new phone. I gave this to my other brother around March of 2013 in lieu of getting my Samsung Grand. I think he still has it today.

Before my Samsung Grand though, I bought an IOS phone. (So I had both Blackberry and iPhone. I mainly use the blackberry for texting then. Because it always had load. I was a Globe girl for 2 years.) This was the product of my bonus from my job which you can call a 14th Month bonus. Haha. All hail Papa Jamie! (That's what we call our CEO) So I bought this around April of 2012 because I wanted to try Apple phones. I was really curious. I had an iTouch 4th Gen and I loved it. It was from my sister, so it's second hand. It's not a phone so it's not on this list. I had that iTouch for about 3 years too and gave it away to my niece since I got the iPhone.

Model: iPhone 4S. Actual phone picture with me and my niece and my Sitch casing. (I love Stitch!) Hehe. It was very costly! P25,000 for just a phone! I can buy a laptop for that amount then. Era of the IOS phones.

I can therefore conclude that I don't like apple devices unless it's an iPod shuffle. Like the tiniest one for music tripping. Haha. I liked it for a time being considering the high def camera it had. A first at that time. And I was into the raw photography kind of gal back then. Not the selfie kind because it's front cam sucked. Haha. Their front cam was always bad until now with the iPhone 5 and 6. Which is so impractical I can't understand why people buy it. Although there are postpaid plans but I'm pretty sure you still need to cash out on that! Anyway, I had this phone for over a year. I didn't like it anymore because first, I can't bluetooth. Second, downloading songs and syncing to iTunes all the time is a hassle. Third, they don't have that much free apps. Fourth, it gets boring over time.  They say most people like Apple because it's user friendly. However, I am the techy kind so it's kind of baby play for me. When I got my Samsung Grand, it became an alarm clock until the time I was able to sell it. Haha. Sold it for P14,000. Half the price. Ow well. Depreciation. Although, I really regret the part of not having the Stanza app where I can find mainstream books for free! That app is not on Android unfortunately! :(


The following year, I bought an Android phone around March of 2013. (Then I gave away my blackberry. And became a SUN girl again.) Another product of our 14th Month bonus. Papa Jaime you're the best! This time I wanted an Android phone. Because it's how smartphones should be! (Bias much?) I liked the big screen, multi-functionality, sleek design, and practicality (very important since phones depreciate fast these days).

Model: Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos I9082. Actual picture of phone and packaging with my pocketbook and small hand. Hahaha. Cost: P17,000.  It came with a free original samsung flip casing. Era of the Android phones.

I had this one for a good long 1 year and 11 months to be exact. Longest time I have gone without buying a new second phone. I still have it now. It's pending to be sold. I don't like giving my gadgets away now. I gather they don't take care of it as much as I do because they get broken fast so It breaks my heart too and now I'd rather sell it instead. I hope I can sell it for at most P4,000? Crossing my fingers. Hahaha. I'm trying to sell it because I now have a new phone. I had to let go of this one because it has become too slow for my needs. I needed a quadcore phone, with at least 13MP back cam and 5MP front cam, with a 16GB memory and a dual sim purpose for less than P15,000. I know it must be a miracle to find one with a good brand. But, I did find one closer to that specs! And it's awesome!


Product of my Tax Refund! Bought this January of 2015. I like buying something out of my bonuses because it makes me feel like they went somewhere with a purpose. And not just spent on binge buying clothes and other women stuff. Hahaha. This is the kind of phone design I've always wanted. Rectangular, pointy edge, slim and big screen with my favorite color!

Model: Sony Experia C3. Actual phone picture and packaging with my blanket and my pretty hand. Haha. Cost: P14,500. It came with a free monopod. Era of the quadcore phones.

This is close to the specs I've always wanted. Plus the design was the right fit. And... price wise, it's perfect! I haven't tried Sony phones too and I've heard good things about them (except for the waterproof ones). I love the Answering Machine feature! And the flash feature for the front cam! Totally a selfie phone as it has declared itself to be. I suggest you don't buy the mainstream ones because they give you specs which always lack something. They won't give it to you in full unless you buy their expensive slightly upgraded models. I wanted the Asus Zenphone 6 but it wasn't quad core. It would have been perfect too. I also wanted the Acer Liquid X1 with the octa-core feature but it was pricey. I think the next trend will be the OCTACORE phones. I hope they make one less pricey. I'll wait for it! :D


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Quite a long read huh? I update this from time to time. Well it's my blog and it's my mental note to everything so don't complain. Hahaha. Til next update! ^^


3 comments:

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  3. What a nice story of your phones. You made me remember the model of Motorola T2288, which I also owned back in 2004 :)

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