A brief history of cell phones @benmarvin has owned

My first cell phone ever was a Nokia 5110. Like the cheapest cell phone you could get. Had the removable faceplates and Snake. Got it when I was 18, and I was like the last person I knew to get a phone.

My next phone was a Motorola V120c. Monochromatic screen. Antenna broke off. Real piece of junk.

After the V120c died I didn't have my own phone for a while and used my girlfriend's Nokia 6100. It was so tiny and girly and had some sort of glittery faceplate on it that got glitter on your face anytime you made a phone call.

Finally I got another phone, and it wasn't much better than the previous models. Some generic Samsung flip phone from Sprint. I'm not even going to bother researching a model name. At least this time it had a color screen. I had it for exactly one year.

At this point in my life it seemed that everyone I knew was getting a Nextel. And pretty much everyone I worked with had a Nextel. So when the Sprint contract was up, I bought a Nextel. The Motorola i355. Biggest most giant brick of a Nextel phone. You didn't have to call 911 with it, cause you could just beat a would-be mugger over the head with it. One of the other cool features of the phone was a built in two way radio. Not like the Nextel PTT part, but you could two-way with someone else with the same phone without cell service. Good thing my sister bought the same phone.

There was this running joke going around at my work that we should all get Blackberrys to be cool like the district manager. His name was Sean Carter. No, not that Sean Carter. I was the first at my store to get one. Instead of the pancake phone, I opted for the newer Blackberry 7100i. It was interesting in the 7100 series in that it was the only one that could not play MP3s. It also didn't have a camera or SD card storage. None the less I was hooked on smartphones. This is what triggered the addiction. A peer pressure dare.

The day the Blackberry 8700g came out, I switched to T-Mobile, paid the Nextel ETF and I was big ballin' with a true QWERTY phone. A beast of a device, still no camera, but I used and abused the hell outta that phone and it's still tickin. My dad uses it as his main phone today.

Then came the Blackberry Curve 8300. It was slim, sexy, and my very first phone with a camera. ZOMGZ, Micro SD card storage, video recording, I had to have all the cool features. The trackball was a horrible design that loved dust and I had to replace it several times. Within a short time period, the Curve 8320 came out which added WiFi to the phone and I upgraded to that. During this time period I also rocked a Nokia E71 for a month and I almost bought one because it was so much more advanced than the Blackberry and about half the thickness.

Then came the Android phones.

The day I quit my job at Peerless Motherfucking Cabinets was the day the T-Mobile G1 was announced. I ordered it 2 weeks later while unemployed. But dammit, I had my Android phone. And I paid full price for it.

I had the phone nearly a year when the next Android phone with a QWERTY came out for T-Mobile. The Motorola CLIQ. Moving from the spacious keyboard on the G1 to the cramped keyboard on the CLIQ has produced a lot of typos and still does. Last night I finally met someone else that owns a CLIQ. I will have mine for only 4 more days.

June 2nd I'm buying a MyTouch Slide. Android 2.1, full QWERTY, 5MP, HSDPA+, I'll be back to rocking an HTC. And yes, I'll be paying full price to have the latest and greatest phone. The only question is...White, Black or Red?

I will never own an iPhone and I will never buy a phone without a full keyboard.

4.2 For The 8700g I Officially Released!

Here's the direct link to download. I'm installing it right now. I'm sure it's improved from the prebeta version that I tested earlier last year.
4.2 software for 8700 finally out! - RIM Blackberry Forums - Pinstack.com

10 Things to do when the RIM Network Goes Down | CrackBerry.com

10 Things to do when the RIM Network Goes Down | CrackBerry.com:
By: James Falconer

10. Remain calm and try to relax.

9. Speak positive affirmations to yourself, for example: 'the network will be up soon', 'everything is going to be ok', 'RIM will solve the problem shortly'

8. Exercise your thumbs. With the withdrawal could come tired and lathargic thumbs. Keep them in shape by doing simple thumb stretches and presses.

7. Turn your blackberry off and on constantly. Something might pick up. Keep trying until it works.

6. Run on the spot. It will burn off that built up anxiety and angst... Keep you relaxed and get your heart beating in a healthy way.

5. Grab a cup of coffee. Might as well pump some more caffeine into the system. Go for a dark roast with no cream or sugar. The way coffee was meant to be.

4. Pretend to yourself that your BlackBerry is actually working and continue on your day as usual.

3. Play 'Brick Breaker'.

2. Cry.

1. Pray.

I Think I Want One Of These

Maybe if they made the 8800 in red....

But the 8300 is looking better and better as details emerge...

Ok, I'm done salivating for now.

Free MP3 Ringtones, Samples, Loops, etc (for Blackberry and other smartphones)

***Updated 2.07.09***

• http://www.htc.com/member/RingToneAll.aspx - HTC Ringtones
  
• http://mobile41.com/mp3.htm
• http://mobile.my-domain.org.uk
• http://mobile.zipzic.com/tones.php?section=1&char=a
• http://www.synthmania.com/Famous%20Sounds.htm
• http://mysite.verizon.net/vzeptgpy/id3.html
• http://www.aussiebeats.com/Free-loops.htm
• http://www.chrisdude.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/samples.htm
• http://www.thetank.com/audiofiles.htm
• http://www.jfrankcarr.com/my_mp3_tracks.htm
• http://www.taramusic.com/audio.htm - Irish music
  
• http://www.chancedizzle.com/phone
• http://simplythebest.net/sounds/MP3/MP3_sounds.html
• http://www.blackberrymp3s.com/
• http://www.tuneusin.com/Ringtones.html - The largest site I have found, all free and they take requests
  
• http://mobile.blackberry.com - Official Blackberry downloads
  
• http://ripcord.typepad.com/bustedflush/2006/08/free_blackberry.html
• http://www.sorrygottago.com/
• http://wap.newlinkwireless.com/ringtones.htm
• http://www.interpunk.com/mp3clips.cfm - Some links on this page are dead
• http://www.efi.group.shef.ac.uk/eaudmp3.html
• http://www.philipglass.com/html/pages/mp3.html - Phillip Glass music
  
• http://www.rockymusic.org/soundfiles.php - Rocky Horror sounds
  
• http://www.blackmetal.com
• http://www.freeinfosociety.com/site.php?postnum=460 - Historical Sounds
• http://home.midsouth.rr.com/cingular/
• http://www.partnersinrhyme.com/pir/PIRsfx.shtml - Sound Effects
  

This list took a long time to search and compile, so enjoy and feel free to leave a comment or let me know about any links that I missed.

Crackberry

Here's a funny little video short about my Blackberry addiction.

Exploding BlackBerry saves man's life from robber's bullet

The following news item was received thanks to PicoNews:

BBHub
"Filed under: Stories

No, I am not making this up.
In Orange County, Florida, Grant Brison was driving home after an evening out with his business partner and friend Mollie McKinney.
While the pair was stopped at a red light, a car pulled up beside them, and camouflaged gunmen jumped out and opened fire.
A bullet hit Brison's stomach, but was partially deflected by his BlackBerry.
"When the bullet went through me, it went through my BlackBerry and exploded it," Brison told tv station WFTV.
Cops don't have a motive.

http://www.bbhub.com/2006/06/04/exploding-blackberry-saves-man-from-robbers-bullet/

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld

Study Finds Blackberry Not As Good As Crack

Recent research into wireless e-mail and its relation to illicit drugs has revealed that the RIM BlackBerry is nowhere near as good as snorting crack cocaine. The Canadian-made device has been dubbed CrackBerry by many for its addictive quality, a name which hardly captures the type of addiction. "The device does not generate any physical addiction," said one medical expert, "Although it has been linked to psychological addiction, not too different from marijuana. However, HempBerry and BlackDoobie just aren't as catchy."

In the study, subjects were given either a BlackBerry or a placebo (GameBoy) and then snorted either crack cocaine or self-rising, white flour. Almost all those in the flour group preferred their electronic devices, but the crack group unanimously gave themselves over to the white's sweet, sweet high. "Holy shit, man," said one subject, "I don't need this thing, all my e-mails are being beemed into my brain." He then tried to throw his GameBoy out the closed window.

The effects could still be seen a few days after the study as 92% of the coke group were more than willing to pay for more while only 15% of those who had BlackBerrys showed keen interest in purchasing a device. Those who had GameBoys and flour took their 50 bucks and left sneezing.

"These folks throwing around the phrase CrackBerry have no idea what they're talking about' said one expert. "It's like calling pumpernickel the double-orgasm of breads. Sure it's my favourite, but I'm not going to turn down a night with Angelina Jolie for a sandwich." So let's face it, when given the option of sending and receiving e-mails on the fly or doing lines, we're all rollin' twenties.

[ Reprinted without permission]

My New 8700g!

Oh yeah, I know it's pretty. Still got the screen protector on. It's our first time together, I'll be gentle.

I hope you NTP fuckers are happy now.

Yes, they settled. I get to keep my Blackberry. It's bittersweet though. $612.5 Million is a lot of money. At least RIM's stock went up.

For the record, I wasn't ever worried that Blackberry would have to shut down. But I still believe that software should merely be copywrited, and not patented. Patent mills like NTP should be shut down and banned, like the practice of domain name sitting has been. Althought somewhere deep down, the pure capitalist in me gives NTP a nod of approval.

I Won, I Won!

Yeah, I know I'm a dork, but I won 2nd place in the Blackberry trivia contest over at pinstack.com. So now I have a cool new game to play on my Blackberry: NickelBuddy Solitaire Gold! Which means less time for those important things in life... Ya, anywho. Thanks to Gina & Hayden and all the nice folks at Pinstack. I'd also like to thank the Academy and my parents.

This Is Not Ok

Pretty Cool Huh?

Blackberry

RIM vs. NTP

Here's what would piss me off the most: not that BlackBerry email service could be shut down, but the possibility that an exception might be made for government BlackBerry users. NTP is obviously just a patent mill fishing for money, so why not go after the biggest fish? Impose the injunction, have the biggest users, government organizations, foot the bill and move on with life? We're paying for their service anyway via taxes. So what's the problem?

Or why not just install the workaround software and drop the suit? What a clusterfuck this is going to turn out to be...