What a neat thread.
Got my first mobile phone when (old, original) AT&T Wireless came to the market in November 1998... still with them, still with the same number (really came in handy when upgrading to the Bold 14 months early and asking for a deal ;) )
In order of ownership:
- The Nokia 6120 (I think, CDMA version of it anyway). Everyone seemingly had one of these.
- The Mitsubishi T250 (read a review here: Geek.com Mobile Phone Review: Mitsubishi T250 Wireless Internet Phone) I only know of one other person who had one, and that's the guy who I sold it to on eBay. The PocketNet service started free for Basic, and up to $15/month for Premium.
- The Nokia 82x0... whatever the CDMA version was of the 8210/50/90. Neat little guy. I could have swallowed it. I have 2 of them still in the house, in the envelope to be recycled.
- Motorola Startac (another one everyone had). Friend had one lying about and I was cheap, so he gave it to me and I used it for a while.
--Moved to GSM!--
- Nokia 6800. Has a neat flip keyboard, and worked well for the most part. Eventually the exposed contacts corroded enough where it was almost useless without proper care. (Eventually unlocked it cause I could.)
- Motorola RAZR (I unlocked it. It was locked to Cingular when I still had my old AT&T SIM. Didn't want to switch plans.) I wanted Bluetooth. Another phone everyone has.
- Blackberry 7290 (Unlocked). I wanted a BlackBerry, so I bought a refurb one online. (Used for 11 rough months)
- Blackberry Bold (AT&T). Locked to AT&T, but I don't care enough to unlock it yet.
Annnnd that's about it. The most interesting phone being the Mitsubishi. Trend-setter at the time in 1999/2000 by having the Internet in my pocket, and worked flawlessly on my road-trips across the US where service allowed. Yeah, it was slow .... 14.4kbps, but it was more than everyone else. I think Berries were still pagers at that point, no?
-m