I remember getting my first mobile phone about a decade ago. It was in the heyday of analog networks—digital systems were still in their infancy (and had dismal coverage). My phone was among the smallest of handsets, but definitely not by today’s standards. Being new to cellular telephony, I was elated every time I received a call on my phone. Of course, that’s just about it—the only things that my mobile phone could do was make and receive calls.
A couple of years later I was able to buy myself a decent GSM digital phone. It didn’t have all the bells and whistles that the higher-end models had, but I was happy because I could already send and receive text messages through SMS. Two years on, I upgraded and bought a mobile phone with WAP capabilities. I was so happy to be able to browse the mobile web on my phone (albeit at a very limited capacity). I enjoyed checking my email, exchanging instant messages with my friends and reading up on news.
Today, looking back, I laugh at myself for having been so awestruck with what was then cutting-edge technology. Nowadays, digital is the mobile standard. SMS can be considered passé (why send text when you can already send multimedia through MMS?), and WAP is so old school. And while voice call rates have gone down, computer telephony, through Voice-over-Internet Protocol, gives you the option to call cheaper or for free.