According to a report on this morning’s Morning Ireland, mobile phones have been in Ireland for 20 years today. Of course 20 years ago the word “mobile” was not as correct as it is now.
I got my first mobile in 1996 when I was living in Spain. It actually belonged to one of my girlfriend’s friends.. but that’s not really important.
So when did you get your first mobile?
20 years of mobile phones in Ireland
1998. I was in second year in college. Text messages hadn’t hit the scene by then.
1997 it was a panasonic g450 (very small at the time) although i’m sure it looks like a brick now.
Come to think of it, calls still cost about the same now as they did then.
Cant remember when exactly, but do remember I was in rondomondo and I lost it in Rí Rá’s in Dublin 🙂
Colm – any idea when you first started txting?
Ed – Ireland overpriced???
Pete – tut tut
I enjoyed being uncontactable by voice until 1999. Its been all downhill since. I still had it until last year when the battery finally gave up – Nokia 5110, best phone ever made.
I remember seeing the text function on my mobile but Eircell didn’t provide the service. I can only imagine that I started texting in 2000/2001. That’s only a guess though.
Colm – but how many texts do you send per day? 🙂
Hostyle – What do you have now?
Not many. 2 or 3 only.
That’s more than me 🙂
I used to text more actively when I was living in Italy, but I’ve never really been much of a “texter”
Do i even dare answer how many texts a day I send – just checked details of my phone use, from 18th Sept – seems I am up to 411 sms messages – dunno if that includes 02’s free messages 🙂
michele – That must just be my imagination then. as Fianna Fail would have me believe :p
Pete – that is some serious text volume 🙂 I prefer to call people or email.. Maybe that’s just me
I have a cheap POS Nokia 3510 now. I’m still on the lookout for something nicer though. Its really hard to choose a nice phone these days that doesnt have loads of idiotic extras that just get in the way of using it. I dont want a phone with a camera or games or polyphonic annoyances or an mp3 player or a personal organiser. I just want an easy to use phone that wont fall apart if I drop it or if it gets wet; that has coverage as good as my old phone (newer phones have no coverage in my house, older ones do); and that has phone calls, texts and an alarm clock. But it needs to look nice too 🙂
heh, i do email people and I also ring them – but sometimes texting is just an easier option – plus sometimes you just dont want to talk to people 🙂
Pete – I know how that feels 🙂
Hostyle – I agree. All I want is a thing that works.
1999 when I started college – AIB freebie. Can’t remember what it was exactly, but it was my favourite phone of all time. Have never found a phone as easy to use since it fell out of my pocket a year later 🙁
Around June 1999. I was on Esat Digifone prepay. I even remember them bringing in text messenging. Eircell followed soon after and so began the worst form of communication ever invented.
1999, Esat Digifone Speakeasy (prepay) the small Siemens phone (with tinny sound and bad echo). No text messages were allowed on prepay back then, and you couldn’tturn off the divert to voicemail which cost money to listen to (oh wait, you still can’t!)
I got a nokia 3110 – Eircell gave me 2 free aer lingus flights to europe and the phone for signing up to a 12 month contract. I think I paid £99…. it had snake on it!