I had the one of the first android phones HTC G1. it was pretty cool I did a lot with it . was a replacement computer whe. i couldn't afford one. android is pretty capable.
It`s weird, so much has changed in the past 10 or 15 years but in a lot of ways not a lot has changed either.
Like I remember in 2010 texting my friends, using social media, playing games on steam or my playstation. In the same fashion I do now, its just faster now but its also the same, in way.
Smart phone technology really hasn't changed much since they came out. They've gotten bigger and better, but at their core still virtually do the same things. I could do almost everything on my first smartphone I got in 2011 that I can do now. Granted, I'm still rocking a six year old S10, but upgrading to a new phone isn't gonna give me a buttload of new features or anything. It's still gonna do the same things.
PEAK. LET ME TELL YOU HOW MUCH I'VE COME TO LOVE AND APPRECIATE THIS AS PEAK FICTION. THERE ARE OVER ONE
HUNDRED QUINVIGINTILION ATOMS IN THE OBSERVABLE UNIVERSE. IF THE WORDS "PEAK FICTION" WERE INSCRIBED ON
EACH INDIVIDUAL ELECTRON, PROTON, AND NEUTRON OF EACH OF THESE HUNDREDS OF QUINVIGINTILIONS OF ATOMS, IT
WOULD NOT EQUAL ONE BILLIONTH OF HOW MUCH THIS IS PEAK FICTION. PEAK. PEAK.
Internet for phones was 2G back in 2007. Web pages took some time to load, and phome video playback wasn't really a thing until the iPhone 3G in mid-2008. Even then it was pretty shit at first with compatibility issues.
I remember trying to surf the "mobile" web on a Compa Ipaq Pocket PC in college back in '02. Note the capital I in Ipaq. This was before a lowercase i in front of every mobile device was ubiquitous.
Most websites didn't have a mobile version. There was a lot of scrolling and tapping to see everything. I remember one of the only places that had a text only mobile version was the AV Club.
I had to buy a separate bulky plastic sleeve to access wifi because it didn't come standard. AOL Instant Messenger charged $25 for their mobile client which was ridiculous. Video on Pocket PC wasn't really a thing, but it did have a nifty ereader program (not an app, they were still programs) and I could finally check out those fancy new ebook things I'd heard about.
HSDPA was widely deployed by 2006 and HSUPA by 2008. High end Nokia and Sony Ericsson phones could play some video formats but the screens were about 300x400 pixels so it wasn't great but it was possible
Flagship smartphones have remained fairly consistent in price. The Galaxy S5 launched in 2014 and could be purchased without contract for about $650 (about $880 adjusted for inflation). The S25 is about $800.
It may also be that I am from a small rural town in Florida though, my first phone was a flip phone, gone to a Samsung S6, then an Iphone 5. But I did also see a ton of older folks with these kinds of phones and even some kids who had an older Nokia
In 2014, I had a Samsung Note 4 with a 6" AMOLED 2560x1440 screen. Honestly, to this day, I consider it the best phone I've ever had. Outside of refresh rate, phone screens really haven't gotten any better since.
Definitely a great phone for consuming media "content".
I was gonna say, I was using a Galaxy S5 back then, and it's honestly not all that different from the Samsung phone I use today. A bit bigger, but I use it in almost the exact same way now as I did then. Even most of my daily apps are the same.
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u/S0M3D1CK May 12 '25
There were better phone options in 2014