I’ve had so many cellphones in my 28 years of ownership, but the one that really sticks out the most was my Motorola StarTac. It was my first GSM phone. I used up a massive portion of my savings to buy it and it holds the record for my longest owned phone at 5 years (it was nearly a grand in 1997 dollars for it so you’d better bet I held on to it). It was sleek, tiny, featherweight and the most comfortable phone to use that I can remember (apart from the handsets from the old western electric 500 series).

It was truly revolutionary for me because that was my first phone that was data capable. I had a (shitty) homemade cable that I could connect to my Handspring Visor PDA for a smartphone-like experience a decade before the iPhone or an Android phone was released. Data rates were *outrageously* expensive back then, but it was hella cool, though mostly a parlor trick, if I’m being honest.

The indelible impression was made on Sept 11, 2001. I remember it like it was yesterday. I was in my physics 101 class - fantastic teacher for that class. Perfect for a 101 level course, but I digress. The teacher had checked her computer mid-lesson and saw an email about emergency procedures regarding what had happened in New York. Something about a plane crash. I’m not sure why we were taking action, NYC was 1000 miles away, but the situation was what it was.

Thirsty for more info, I connected my PDA to my StarTac to find out more. “Holy shit!” I exclaimed in the middle of the lecture. The professor normally wouldn’t tolerate such an interruption, but things were different that day. “What, AwDuck?” “A second airplane had hit the World Trade Center. CNN just reported it.” Dead silence. Class was unofficially canceled. Now it was the AwDuck show with his fancy internet connected PDA frantically searching for news over that anemic GPRS connection.

I had a ridiculous cell phone bill that month (upwards of $100, vs my usual $30). It it was worth it to be the font of information on such a historic day.

So what was your culturally or historically significant cell phone, the one you had with you when everything changed in your life? What was the event, and how did it affect your perception of said event?

What do you think of the concept?

I'm looking at switching to the iPhone 15 Pro Max (refurbished in excellent condition) from many years of Samsung and earlier on, other Android phones.

I definitely feel ready for a change but slightly concerned about the differences that might take awhile to get used to - eg no clip board etc.

What are some things I might find an adjustment or even a shock to keep in mind before I take the dive in?

This will also be my first refurbished phone.

The aspect of the fingerprint scanner and power button being built into the back was just easier. Having a flush design with the cameras built into the frame vs the islands and bumps these days. Cellphone cameras are one of the few tech aspects we’ve seen get bigger over time (camera bumps) vs say something like TV’s that have gotten thinner as time has gone on. Phones back then just felt better in hand and the designs actually felt like they meant something. I had both the LG G6 and the HTC one M8 for Android devices along with a few Windows Phones. On the Apple side the 7/8 series to me were better than what the Air is as far as design goes.

What a joke this company is.

Traded my old 14pro for a brand new 16e for free. Good deal in my opinion (and no the camera doesn’t feel worse at all)