Andre

I've gone through a lot of mobile phones over the years. I'm surprised to see most of these phones here again because I (and everyone else) remembers me using always the same ones for many years.

Note: Some phones are missing because I can't remember their brand and/or model name. I'll update this post once I find them.

Motorola Flare
Bought in Europe. My first phone, about 12 to 13 years ago. This phone was one of the first models available to be both small an functional as well as affordable. The phone's local market introduction was intended to get the national GSM network known to and used by the public and proved to be a huge success. After this model, the local mobile phone market was booming. I still have this phone with working batteries for backup usage.

Motorola Flare
Bought in Europe. My second phone, about 8-9 years ago. I don't know the model difference between this and the previous Flare but it had some menu differences. Otherwise the same hardware, great for battery exchange. This one was introduced as a free phone for subscription sign-ups. A family member got it and I swapped both Flares. I still have this one together with the other Flare. Both flares are extremely durable.

Motorola V3688
Bought in Asia. I don't exactly remember when and where I used this one but I do remember at some point I used it. It introduced the local craze for blinking antennas which could be replaced on this model. A family member used up a lot of these models (some flooded in Coke, some eaten by the dog and so on...). I still have at least one damaged around somewhere for the sake of preserving history.

Nokia 8810
Bought in Asia. My third phone, in the year 1998. The first phone I fell in love with. I am still sad today I sold this one to a friend. It never lost its style and even today I still see some people using it. It was so small and light for its time. 
 

Motorola Timeport P7689
Bought in Asia. My fourth phone, in the year 2000. This was my first tri-band mobile phone and became a necessity when I spent three months in the US. A friend visiting me there brought it from Asia but it initially had some incompatibilities with my (European) SIM card which was outdated (version/features). It wasn't until many months later I could actually use this one. It's still operational and I used it until last year (longest usage).

Motorola Timeport L7089
Bought in the US. My temporary fourth phone, in the year 2000. It had to make up for Timeport P7689 during my stay in the US. Once back to Europe, I sold it to a friend and got the Timeport P7689 back and working until last year. This phone was simple, nice and endurable.
 
 

Siemens SL45
Bought in Asia. My short-time fifth phone, in the year 2001. It featured an MP3 player and a complex display while most other phones were still happy to show two-lined text messages. This phone introduced my always-bring-2-phones policy so I would have one phone for the European, and one phone for the Asian SIM card. I wanted to make sure people always could reach me no matter my phone number or location. That was the reason I bought a second phone. 

I got another phone at this moment in history which was a very nice one and my first color-displayed. However, I can't find it (still somewhere around here) nor do I remember its brand and name. It was from Taiwan, golden, and played MIDI ringtones. Pretty much the first such phone in Europe; everyone loved it. It replaced Siemens SL45 which I sold to a friend.

Panasonic GD92
Bought in Europe. I don't remember why and how but one day a family member got yet another phone and gave me this one. Good timing as the golden Taiwanese phone started to fall apart (a friend dropped it once into the toilet and after a few months the water had done enough damage on the circuits to make it malfunction at random). 

HP IPAQ hw6965
Bought in Asia in 2006. My current primary phone, this is the phone I make most use of. Internet, notes, contacts, documents, media player, games and more... you name it. It's a full-blown PDA with GPS and mobile phone. I can't imagine one more day without such a device. It's smooth, quite fast (no complaints), doesn't crash (once you know how to handle it), and with the right skin it's a joy to use the keyboard.

Sony Ericsson k700i
Bought in Asia. Donated by a friend as my new second phone (to replace the ailing GD92) and to keep it as a backup phone for said friend as well, it is a good phone for a quick picture/clip and small enough to carry in any pocket. Due to hw6965's media player capabilities, I don't use this phone's MP3 player. It's very robust.
 

Timeline

While it all started with one phone, I soon accumulated some backup units which I still keep today and I early on started to carry around 2 phones at all times in order to be reachable on both my Asian and European SIM card. The phones in use changed but some models lasted for years (Timport P7689 for about 5 years).

• Primary: Motorola Flare *
• Primary: Motorola Flare *
• Primary: Motorola V3688 ^
• Primary: Nokia 8810 *
  • Secondary: Motorola Timeport L7089 *
• Primary: Motorola Timeport P7689 ~
  • Secondary: Siemens SL45 *
• Primary: unknown Taiwanese ^
  • Secondary: Motorola Timeport P7689 ~
• Primary: Motorola Timeport P7689 ~
  • Secondary: Panasonic GD92 ~
• Primary: HP IPAQ hw6965
  • Secondary: Sony Ericsson k700i

* archived
~ backup
^ damaged
* sold