Now you have to understand that this is not all the phones I have had or used since I entered the mobile phone market.   My first phone was in late 1984 and was installed in my car.   Most of you could not remember those or maybe have a memory of the early “bag” phones.  They were bulky with very spotty reception.    I remember driving to Columbus and having mile after mile of dead zones.   The horror of being in my car and not having reception for half an hour or more!   

Over the years, reception was better and phones got smaller, well, until the smart phone era.   The phones in the picture are aged from left to right.  I am not sure how old the clam shell phone on the left is.    I am guessing mid ’90s.    This phone was a workhorse with an extended battery attached to the back.  This was one of my longest used phones, which was for about 2 and 1/2 years.   I am a sucker for new technology and through this evolution of phones, I updated as often as possible.

The lg phone, second to the left had the revolutionary front screen.  I really cant remember what it did, but, not much in today’s world.    The powerhouse change came with the trusty Blackberry.   I believe I had 3 Blackberry’s over time.   These had international capabilities and Blackberry messenger.   I used this when I was in China, sending pictures to my daughter in real time!   Wow, was that cool!    This was also the period when the financial crisis hit.   The Blackberry worked flawlessly in calling back to the states, talking to staff and clients about the world not coming to the end.

Then the world of android opened up.    The two phones on the right are Galaxy 4 and now the latest Samsung Galaxy 6.   How did I live without these?    The connectivity the the wired world is always at my fingertips.    The interesting part of this is the evolution of talk.    My old clam shell phone was only for conversation.    It was in constant use.    I often was on the phone the entire drives to Chicago, Cleveland and Columbus.    I don’t remember the number of minutes per month, but, it was a lot!

As the technology evolved, my usage increased, but, not for voice, but for data.    Now the preponderance of conversations are texts, emails, tweeting and messaging and the old fashioned calls, are minimized.   No longer are there 30 minutes conversations, but, replaced with short bursts of text’s.  All with the expectation of an immediate response.    Haven’t you sent a text and thought 30 seconds after, “Why haven’t they responded?”    

Given this evolution, what will these look like 5 or 10 years from now?   Will we even talk anymore? Will we look back at the Galaxy  6 and ask how we could use that big clunker of a device?     Probably so!

I am off to the Verizon store to re-purpose these phones.  Verizon collects them and resets them for free use for those not capable for affording phones and our returning veterans.    A very noble cause.

How do you see technology evolving?    Let me know!