I've had a pretty low key few days. Nothing much exciting has happened, which always seems to give me too much time to think. And let's face it, that's always a dangerous proposition.
My high-tech redneck hubby got a new smartphone this weekend--not his first, but certainly his new favorite. As we were perusing the options at the phone store, I noticed the new trend in smartphones. They've gotten bigger...like...way bigger, and that made me think back to my very first cell phone, almost thirteen years ago.
Around the turn of the century, the trend was moving toward, "smaller is better" with regard to mobile phones. My phone was a relatively large, clunky thing with a black and white display. It did little more than make calls and send the occasional text...and I loved it.
A year or so later, I graduated to a tiny phone. It fit into the palm of my hand and could do crazy things like look up movie times as well as making calls and texting. I thought it was the coolest thing ever!
Fast forward ten years and mobile phones no longer fit into the palm of your hand. They aren't even called phones anymore. They're "mobile devices" that access the internet in high definition. You can send or receive email, take better pictures than the expensive camera I bought five years ago, message your friends via texting, Facebook, Twitter, (insert your favorite social media or messaging app here), schedule appointments, set an alarm to wake you up, and check the day's weather. When you're done with that, you can play and store all your favorite music...and movies, navigate to your destination using the GPS and maps programs, and transfer funds or deposit checks into your bank account. Oh, and if you're so inclined, you can even make a phone call.
Smaller is no longer better. The mobile device of today is far more advanced than the home computer I paid a fortune for not even half a decade ago. Still, I can't help but feel a warm fuzzy when I look back at that first phone of mine. The phone that didn't have Angry Birds or iTunes. That stupid little phone that did little more than make calls, then charged me a premium for every text message I sent or call I made. Much like my first kiss, my first car, my first house...I'll remember that phone, and how totally cool it was...once upon a time.
Until the next time...I'll be playing games on my smartphone.