Do you remember when you were interested in mobile phones? I do. I was 12 years old at the time. The cell phones that were coming out were exciting, coming in all different types of form factors. With the advent of more advanced smartphones, things have become dull, and I am at a point where I no longer like using them.
The best phones in the world look the same. It makes me miss the old days when manufacturers dared to do something out of the box.
I got my first cell phone when I was 11 years old, and it was not really exciting. It was a bar phone. The sidekick was the hottest new thing at the time, thanks to its rotating display that revealed a full qwerty keyboard. It was such a cool phone, and it seemed like everyone had to have one, and you had to be on T-Mobile to get it in the U.S.
The two phones that caught my attention were cool. My interest in phones started with the company. The first of the N-Series phones was the Nokia N90. It is such a unique design because of its 270° swivel display that allows you to hold the phone like a camera. The camera moved so that you could take different angles. For the time, it was a 2MP camera sensor. It was the epitome of cell phone design at the time, and you can use the phone in four different modes.
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That phone was followed up with even more impressive devices, like the N93i, which was weird enough to be used in the first Transformers movie.
This is the beginning of my obsession. While other kids went to the mall to shop for clothes, watch movies, and play video games, I went to the mall to visit the Nokia Experience Center. The most exciting phones from Nokia were on display. There was more than just the N-Series, there was also the Nokia 7280, which had a fashion-forward design and display. We have to remember about the N-Gage. I was fascinated by all of the different designs, and even though some of them didn't make sense to me, I was excited by all of them.
This was a time when other mobile phone manufacturers were trying out different and unique form factors as well, but no one did it as well as Nokia.
I used to be excited about an operating system more than I was about Windows Phone. Microsoft had a few false starts, but the platform was a fresh take on a mobile OS that was meant to mirror the experience of Windows 8 at the time.
Windows Phone put the experience front and center when it came to the things users cared about. The tile interface was slick and animated. Windows Phone was interesting and alive, which makes it no surprise that the platform was bet on by the company. In comparison, the two mobile operating systems feel dull and static.
When it comes to OS, it just kind of feels like we've settled into a two-horse race.
Both OSes do what they do, and they do it well. On the surface, both OSes feel the same, even if one is a bit more polished than the other. We are stuck in a two-horse race because it feels like we have settled.
I don't think I will ever get over the loss of Windows Phone, so I still hold onto my phone just to remember the good ol' days.
We know how the story went down with Microsoft, so we don't really need to revisit that. I needed to find the next interesting thing when Windows Phone was not around. That is what brought me to the company.
The V10 was an interesting phone because it had a rugged design and a unique second screen that could show more information, such as notifications, favorite apps, or simply your name. It was the first example of a second screen that wouldn't return in another form until years later.
The modular design of the G5 was the first of its kind. It wasn't the best implementation, but I remember absolutely loving the swappable bottom that would let me switch out batteries and attach various accessories depending on what I needed. The phone was definitely a head-turner, despite its flaws, and I would show it off to all my friends.
After the introduction of the second screen on the V50, V60, and the Velvet, things started to pick up again for the company. With each iteration of the add-on, the dual-screen function was optional, seemingly content not to follow the direction of actual folding displays.
The LG Wing is technically a dual-screen phone with a swivel, and it was the last phone from the company. It was probably the last phone I was excited to own. I still keep it around and show it off to anyone who will look, and most people are still interested in its unique approach to a dual-screen phone.
The Rollable phone was given to us before the die-off of the Lg. The company just kicked off itsExplorer Project unit, which would bring us more weird.
Things have never been the same since the loss of the two companies. Maybe they are the same, and that is where my problem lies. Most of the recent releases of phones have the same large-screen slabs with big camera stove on the back. I can't remember the last time I was really excited about a phone, even though a built-in stylus or an under-display camera will be included.
Even though foldables and dual-screen phones have taken off, they quickly lost their luster. Not one of these devices has made me scream, but foldables are pretty cool and they seem like the next logical step for smartphones, but they are not mainstream.
I have seen a lot of people rocking the Z flip 3, so it seems like the strategy is working. More companies are launching foldables, both big and small, which is a great way to bring costs down and get them into more hands. It already seems like they are all following the same design language and example as seen in the recent leaks of the Moto 3. The design of the 4th iteration of the Z is similar to that of the previous iteration. Pass.
I feel like companies are afraid to get weird with their phones because they don't want to offend people. I don't blame them on the one hand. After all, companies don't want to waste money on a product that could be divisive and not sell well. It makes me miss the days when phones would flip in all sorts of ways.
Over the past year or so, we have seen companies show off very interesting concept devices, such as multi-fold and sliding phones, but as much teasing as we get of these devices, companies are still afraid to just bring them to market. No one wants to be weird.
I guess, for now, I will just have to keep reminiscing with Mr. Mobile.
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