Then, text messaging became a thing. In 1998, an additional PhP 150.00 on top of your monthly cellphone bill could already give you unlimited text messaging. There began my love affair with Nokia.
Alright, I admit, I did have a Nokia 3310 back in 2001, but I only had it for a couple of weeks. Back then, everybody had a Nokia 3310, and it was just too pedestrian for my taste. An aunt gifted me with a Nokia 3310, and when I realized that every Tom, Dick and nobody on the street had one, I traded it in for a Nokia 7110. Since then, almost all of my Nokia phones were the high-end ones. I had a Nokia 6510, a Nokia 3650, an 8800 Scirocco, a 9300... Nokia was the cellphone brand of choice, especially since they offered their consumers a wide range of choices. Their product range was from entry-level phones, to high-end corporate gadgets.
I ended up buying a Nokia 3310 just this weekend because I felt nostalgic about the phone, it was because I felt nostalgic about the era. Back then, people could still disconnect from their phone. Social media wasn't some opium that you needed to connect to 24/7, and a phone was just a means of receiving calls and text messages. Cellphones weren't gigantic power-guzzling monsters, but small, sleek, and sexy devices meant to keep you reachable for 3 days per charge.
With that, I drove all the way to SM North, braving horrific Saturday traffic, and bought two Nokia 3310s.
I bought two because my sister wanted one. At the store, they were telling me how it had sold out just the day before, and that they held onto these two units for me, because I was one of the first few who had signified intent on purchasing it. Thank goodness they trusted me that much.
I got two, because Bianca wanted to use this as her primary phone while she's in between cellphones. Her iPhone is having battery issues - surprise, surprise!
I've used it the whole day of Saturday and Sunday, and voice clarity on the device was excellent. Texting on it is easy - you see, I never got the hang of texting on a touchscreen phone, and would still curse my phone every now and then whenever I would mistakenly press a different key. I had to charge it yesterday evening, as the factory charge had already run out, but that was after over 100 text messages, an hour of calls, and several Snake games.
I'm very much happy with the 3310. It does the job. It makes sending messages easy, receiving calls easy, and seems to promise minimal powerbank plugs. Now, if Nokia could only revive the 8800...
