I went to London and all I used was this stupid phone from 1998

I was in London over the weekend with my wife celebrating our 10 year anniversary.  I decided rather than go through the process of switching my iPhone over to work in London for those 3 days, I’d just buy one of those cheap, pay-as-you-go phones and experience London without the distraction of always wanting to check my iPhone.

The first day was the toughest, constantly reaching down to grab my phone each time we were waiting in a line, realizing that I was holding not the greatest phone ever invented but rather one that I think probably was conceived in the late 90’s.  But over time I got used to keeping my A.D.D. in check and was able to experience more of London than if I had been iPhoneized the whole time.

So while I don’t think I’ll be doing that again, because, let’s face it, I’m an addict, I do think I’ll be more conscious of not constantly checking it when a single moment of down time presents itself.  Sometimes, as they say, its better to stop and smell the roses.

Don't I look thrilled using this thing instead of my iPhone?

8 Comments

  1. andrewwatson on January 20, 2011 at 1:51 pm

    Is that picture backwards or did they write Alcatel on the phone backwards like an ambulance? :)



  2. Jeff Hilimire on January 20, 2011 at 1:54 pm

    Ha, yeah its backwards. You can’t imagine how HARD it was to do simple things on that like text or make a call. I felt like a moron trying to figure that out.



  3. andrewwatson on January 20, 2011 at 1:59 pm

    Yeah, I bet. I remember my first cell phone didn’t even have T9! It was invented by cavemen!



  4. Amy on January 20, 2011 at 7:08 pm

    Oh Jeff. You were in London, you shouldn’t have been focused on your phone anyway! Josh is trying to figure out what he would need to do to use his iPhone while we’re in Australia for two weeks. I think he’s crazy. :) It will be nice to disconnect and get away. When you travel, you should focus on the area surrounding you – not your phone! :)



  5. Tessa Horehled on January 21, 2011 at 10:13 pm

    I spent the money and bought the international roaming when I went to Morocco last summer and it was a huge waste, mostly because I rarely ended up even being able to pick a roaming provider so I relied on wifi the few times I did use it. (Unfortunately no Moroccan mayorships were acquired!) It was really nice disconnecting.



  6. Tessa Horehled on January 21, 2011 at 10:14 pm

    Sidenote: I did carry around my iPhone 4 despite the above comment specifically to take photos with as it was smaller than my point and shoot and handled light much better = better photos, despite lower resolution. That said, I lost all those photos when my iPhone 4 was stolen.



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