Many years ago phones were dumb. My first mobile was the [Motorola c520](http://www.imei.info/phonedatabase/198-motorola-c520/) on the right. It did nothing clever, but then I only wanted to make calls. I later got a 'flip phone' that had a colour screen and a few simple apps, but no real connectivity. My first actual smart phone was the [Benq E72](http://www.gsmarena.com/benq_e72-2117.php) in the middle.

It was a case of what I could get that was cheap. This phone ran [Windows Mobile 6.0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Mobile_6.0). There was no touch screen, but it had wifi. The really annoying part was the lack of a standard headphone socket. The headset plugged into the USB socket.

![phones](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/GiHcfxyglwkUynFbSpDPozSBpsGidfngKNPHPN2GzCAnhOYkSACToHmtVlewebhOxM0hm_GTzF4UBDkh2SEE6FZyRwO14NW0WcFBn7mDywPbMCUPUvcVsTraUEee-BkVL6X80ibUi_C60bpKN-lgFaCGmARmIzEBFVtCNhEi8bZnae49VGit_UbQa6RfPHSARoTf59G7Wftbricmzwp4W4HOiYQAJWL3Hjw8X8UaZrCPX9jQeN-GNJLT--OpGX6m9lQ4QpBl8_NZEPTrrjZzGMPTQefqSCcM9T8hmamF5pr69ptEciW8C3Xiww_NYVV3IOO8EQNsbrrXcWRxl7ejomrjCjsOOE7LrVoVsA1ITg_xVBjJ2FRwJGd02Pn3zmfpHaHdd8lgxuwqsehBGviPaz_u2rcHqM_mcaiBULVDyth5L5dErl7257BM1k4k5B7SNrHoXd5g5En7YTyv4UbKGMDvLvbXpupNtX6tYGV0sAWrd2v6m9kepinqcEoKXQ_MTGTQdkO3fPB315hJ9yt4gvq5nLPj2_uxNOSoeLuIuztKUOwc4nWu3ubvW33vPRYIh4vH_UtgaHUyk8yQdotA8nCzTXM6EYPlcQuKApeuwfuv5lpo3w=w1288-h966-no-tmp.jpg)

This was a hassle as I couldn't plug it into the car radio or anything else. I did think about making a cable, but never got around to it. Eventually the screen got cracked when I sat on it and I moved on.

My next phone was an [HTC Tattoo](http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_tattoo-2932.php) that came with Android 1.6. I upgraded that with CyanogenMOD to 2.1 (I think). This little phone served me well and fitted better in a pocket than those that followed. I now use a [Nexus 4](http://www.gsmarena.com/lg_nexus_4_e960-5048.php) that is getting on, but I don't feel a strong need to upgrade.

Going back further I had a [Palm IIIx PDA](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_IIIx) and a [Palm Zire 71](http://www.cnet.com/uk/products/palm-zire-71/review/) (that I can't find right now). The latter was great for playing podcasts and music from a full size SD card. I also had a Psion 3, but I don't have that any more.

![Palm iii](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/cwT03YB9s83E9z_lze4Rib8X2ftaAOedT6h-odlQgCiy4uwMLYDmZKZ_QC0wcM3A7die1JawQN5LOf4Ol3msOcVd2kSMwlA3wT_GonNAc6cVwnOamDFsA9QcEpDZzIQh0d9iZexcVlcmxKiTnJne7NK2u_sj-2wYS3CmL3W8kBYviqhR982K_YUAQzIW_RWHIQg3XyCSAh8kUxcua2x0AOpIbkYoM4fQvJnVjVCh4INUJDmSQeHIWWfzWIjuNismJd2u3WKGNURJlDq5Z5dHAKsfOnDMY-Ohz7WGsGSkTSytcjR3SWKewBueaWF4nPdGp7uOoBsEvOy0M8arL8rQGrB7pGbmXGX6yjUbcg3FKBJybIplBrneK4FYX9IZHfHmtyzAszHjkl8Cw2nfS8x-CJiWg3ma20Qdl3BS1P_27bIZHlxByp1uV-FSMsBOnzA1DXzylWRGZmvXehLFatol4I68XC5lZBBAxaecYFxH8jJMiGcwDPiiJuBn4InsiRo6LGk9QibjN6QennUDFjeE_6c1XysxUI9EIMyhzKV0yuO-MQiQ7NkuJmPv6_PvAMDWfjbJfjjt8YJ7ZOD5cSoxN3JxSpCro85jrDTIiEe0Ge6IKory3A=w725-h966-no-tmp.jpg)

I could open a museum with all the old gadgets I have around. I'll show of some others another time.