Proselytising Nokia is like preaching the virtues of Craftsman or Honda. It isn’t so much that they already have market dominance; but, that anyone who cares already knows. And, yet, I do anyway.
My one-sided affection was born in the ’90s. The black candybar-shaped pieces of plastic were the only usable phones on the market. Their left button-right button-directional pad interface is so ubiquitous that no-one remembers any of the previous contending paradigms. Nokia’s simple mobiles were epochal in the same way as Apple’s iPhone is proving.
But, time marched on and what I thought of as perfection degenerated.
The market flooded with half-baked features like the first generation “web” browsers and Java applications. It seemed like every new phone became slower and more awkward to use. And, worse, the core interfaces became inconsistent— one button would be used to accept input, then in the next moment used to cancel it.
I felt like all was lost until— in Auckland— I purchased the “cheapest phone in New Zealand.”
The 1208 is from the “ultrabasic” series of mobile phones. This means it’s a direct descendant of the fast, feature-slim, and usable phones for which I reminisce. Except, it’s also the result of another decade of research and development.
Yes, I want a phone chargeable by a USB cable. And, I’m all about a built-in LED flash light. Excellent battery life? Sign me up— name your price!
$30?
Wow, I guess that means I can lose it too.
