Opinion | The mobile phone at 50: still without a smartphone, my relationship with my Nokia and Samsung handsets is an on-off one
- It’s been 50 years since the first mobile phone call was made, and nearly 30 since the first smartphone came along; most people can’t live without one
- Not writer Fionnuala McHugh, who has had dalliances with two devices – a Nokia good mostly for texting and a no-network Samsung hand-me-down
My life without a smartphone isn’t a crusade. And it’s not an affectation. When I finally hitch myself to one, we’ll be inseparable. The thought of us being apart, even for an hour, will make me panic. It will be a lifelong relationship and that scares me. I’m not ready for full commitment yet.
Oh, I’ve flirted. In the 1990s, early-adopter friends were encouraging. They were so sweetly excited about their mobiles. You know how it is when you’re in love: you want everyone to share the bliss.
They’d introduce me to them in restaurants. They’d talk about them – and into them – non-stop at the table.
These dinner companions weren’t always handsome. Some of them, frankly, were on the clunky side. They could be sullen too. When they fell mysteriously silent, my friends were distraught. Back then, no one ever called them smart.
Occasionally, I’d daydream about the HTC Desire, the Nokia Luna, the manly Motorola Razr. It came to nothing. Their vital statistics were increasingly baffling. CPU? XDR? PPI?
