My first phone was one of those large, heavy devices that were exclusively for calling someone. I think I called it my car phone. Note that it was not as large as my dad’s car phone from the 1980s. Mine was more like the phone in this photo.

My second phone was likely a flip phone, but I honestly don’t remember it much. A workmate tried to teach me how to text on it, but it was so laborious, I never did it. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to text, I did, but I didn’t want to deal with a numerical keyboard.

I wanted a real keyboard, so that’s why I saved my money when T-Mobil announced the Sidekick would be available in early 2003. I was the coolest kid on the block (except for everyone who had Blackberries). The screen swiveled out and revealed the physical keyboard. It had a large (black and white) display. I loved it. I named it Loki because it could shape shift. I ended up getting a couple more Sidekicks, until I saw a commercial for an iPhone.

I wanted that iPhone, but I didn’t (and still don’t) like the brand. Not long after the iPhone came out, the first Android phone was announced. Again I saved my money to buy one of the first Android phones, the T-Mobile MyTouch. It was my first phone without a physical keyboard and that was hard to get used to. I bought it the day before we went to Northern Wisconsin where there was no service which kind of sucked, but it had enough on it to keep me busy. It was such a cute phone.

My next phone was a Samsung Galaxy SIII. I think by the time I go this one, my excitement about smart phones was over. Not that I was not excited about it at first, but there was not much different, other than size, from the MyTouch.

There were a couple other phones in between the Galaxy SIII and the Pixel 3a that I use today, including an LG G6 that I still have, and could use if something happened to my Pixel phone. Those phones were either LGs or Samsungs and I gave them to Andrew when he broke, lost or had it stolen.

My three outdated phones in the photo above might find themselves at the recycling center along with Franklin. Maybe just the Samsung, since it is completely dead and kind of boring.