Now that Microsoft has purchased Nokia’s devices & services business, it’s got me thinking about the cellphones I’ve owned over years.

Nokia 3360

Sony Ericcson T616

Motorola Razr V3

• Nokia 3360

I’d have to dig through a stack of papers or a dusty drawer in our filing cabinet to see just when I got this phone from BellSouth Wireless (pre-Cingular; way pre-AT&T) but it was roughly the year 2000. I know I had graduated from college, Jenn and I were married and that we went to every cellphone store (ha!), even Sprint with their walkie-talkie-style system(s) before deciding on this phone.

I’m pretty sure we used BellSouth Wireless so that here folks could go in on a “family plan” with us. We got consecutive phone numbers (which we still use). Makes things terribly easy to remember when filling out forms or telling other parents our digits.

I only made calls and played “Snake” on this phone. I did, however, customize it with a UGA faceplate. From what I hear, modern “smartphones” such as the Moto X and potentially Apple’s rumored “iPHone 5c” will have some colorful options.

For a clunky candy bar, this was a fun first phone. No camera, no data plan but “Go Dawgs!” all the way.

• Sony Ericcson T616

Of all the phones I’ve had before and since, I think this was my favorite one.

It had a colored screen.
It had wireless internet.
It had a camera.

I was gobsmacked.

I can’t seem to track down the first picture I ever took with that phone, but here’s the first one I uploaded to Flickr.

I really did dig that phone. It felt great in my hand, it was snappy for its time and it felt like the future when I texted my first photo.

• Motorola RAZR V3

I thought this phone looked a little bit like Neo’s phone from the original Matrix movie.
I thought this phone would be cool based on the commercials I saw.
I thought flip phones would be cool again.

I was wrong, wrong, wrong.

Great in theory but horrible in practice, this was arguably the “best” phone I had owned up to that point, but I remain unconvinced. From the build quality to the buttons to the actual interface & services, this was a janky mess.

• iPhone 3G

Mind: blown

Now serving as the primary music device in my daughter’s bedroom.

• iPhone 4

Dropped in a pool.

Used as a secondary gaming device (mostly Temple Run) for my son when we go on trips.

• iPhone 4S

Still with me but the power button doesn’t work. Ready, willing & able to upgrade.

With three previous generations of iPhones under my belt, I’m also anxiously awaiting the Apple event of next week (Sept. 10th) to let me know when I’ll need to queue up for my new phone and just how magical it will be. 😉

I’m actually quite curious about how the new generation of “wearable” devices – along the lines of the Pebble & now Samsung smartwatch – will change my relationship with technology.

I’m firmly ensconced in the Apple ecosystem now, but I have an Android test handset for work which I like a fair bit. I’ve even gone so far as to recommend the new Nexus 7 tablet to my father-in-law, despite holding out for a future retina iPad mini for myself.

Whatever happens I’m sure I’ll love my next phone just as much as I once loved these phones. How could I not? I have it with me all the time – and that may be the most salient point of all.