Do you remember when mobile phones were small and compact? When they easily fitted in your pocket? When the battery lasted for over a week? When they did nothing else except take calls. Do you remember those days?
A few weeks ago, my old Nokia 105 (above) clapped out, and I went to the store to buy a new phone. I was set on a smartphone. Why not? Get with the times.
When I arrived at the impossibly over-heated store, I asked the shop assistant about them. His eyes cracked open from his long shift, and he showed me to a stand.
‘We have the new iPhone 12 for €1300, or we have a basic one for €909…’
‘I’m sorry???’ I spluttered. ‘Can I stop you there? €1300! You must have misunderstood me, I’m looking for a phone not a small boat.’
The assistant stared at me unamused. Must have been a long shift after all. I was pretty blown away if I’m honest. Yes, I knew these things were pricey. But €1300 for a phone? I never realised the world had gone so bonkers.
‘We have cheaper ones,’ he said, noticing my shock, and showed me to another stand.
I stood there gazing at a showy array of chunky technology. ‘Do you have anything smaller?’
‘Smaller?’ he replied.
‘Yes. Smaller. Like in the old days.’
His eyes glazed over and he seemed to fall back to sleep.‘ Err, I think we have some Nokias over there,’ he wearily informed me. ‘But they are not smartphones.’
‘Great,’ I beamed and a few minutes later left the store with a brand new Nokia 105 with dual sim, flashlight, radio and headphones.
Can I watch a film on it? No
Can I watch TV on it? No
Can I listen to music on it? No.
Can I make zoom calls on it? No
Can I take photos on it? No
Can I access the internet on it? No
Can I read the news on it? No
Do I want to? No.
When mobile phones became popular in the mid-1990s (I’m 46, so I remember this) people wanted them small. The smaller the better. Remember those trendy adverts for Motorolas that sat in your palm and had the battery life of interplanetary space probes.
So what happened? Overnight mobile phones became as heavy as dustbins, and as clunky as plates.
Here is a quick comparison:
Weight of iPhone 12: 228 grams.
Weight of Nokia 105: 57 grams
Dimensions of Samsung Galaxy: 150mm x 75mm
Dimensions of Nokia 105: 85mm x 45mm
But here is the best one.
Battery Life of iPhone: 9 hours
Battery life of Nokia 105: 18.5 days.
That is not a typo. Yes, 18.5 days. That’s longer than it took the Apollo astronauts to get to the Moon and back. In fact, if they had taken my Nokia fully charged, they could have called Mum to say they were safe the moment they landed. If they’d taken an iPhone, it would have probably clapped out shortly after blast-off.
‘Hello? Is there anyone out there? Shit! The battery’s dead.’
*phone dimensions and prices are approximate and may depend on the model. Although a Nokia 105 is round about €20** from most retailers. Yes, that is not a typo. Twenty.
**Or in Pounds Sterling, multiply 20 by the Euro Brexit rate and see what you get. If the shit has hit the fan, it’ll about £20 or more. If things are OK, it’ll be about £16-18. In $ it’ll be about 25.
***I don’t know why I’m even doing the arithmetic, because I know no one will buy one. But you might.
Further reading: Why I don’t have a Smartphone here.
(Image/Nokia © 2019)
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