La nouvelle ère de la portable.

The new era of mobile. And it is NOT an upgrade from my previous handset. My BlackBerry Bold 9700 was stolen whilst I was boarding a bus on the way home. And to make it more theatrical, and nonetheless dramatic, it was stolen on the exact day I got it a year ago. As if written in cosmic cursive penmanship in the stellar-bound book called life.

OK, that’s too much articulation for being careless and letting cunning middle-aged mongrels take my phone, but you know where am trying to get at.

Naturally, I immediately thought of a replacement, and the only acceptable candidate I have in mind at that time was a BlackBerry Bold 9900. Look how über dashing this piece of electronic is. Aaah, this is definitely digital love at first sight.

So I duly went to a nearby mall and look for the unit. However, being a recently released model, it’s tag price is the exact opposite of immensely cheap and ultimately reasonable. And with all the stuff I need to pay towards the last quarter of this year, I need to take a step back, and do some heavy contemplation. I had an inner battle, between evil and greater evil (lesser evil was on vacation). So, 2-minute-phone-call-with-my-girlfriend later, it was agreed that I will wait for 2-3 months before I get the BB I oh-so desire, and settle for a much cheaper handset.

Now, I was looking for the perfect interim alternative, when I accidentally glanced upon this eye-catchy mobile. A subtle crimson Nokia handset. But what really caught my attention is the price. It’s only 1/23 of the price of the BlackBerry Bold 9900. What finally sealed the deal was when I asked the sales guy the ultimate question … Does it come with a built-in flashlight? And when he aptly said yes, and informed me that it can handle two SIMs at the same time, I immediately took it down the counter, and paid for it.

The unit is so basic in function (SMS and calls), that it does not even have a built-in camera. And to prove how basic this handset is, its official model name is Nokia 101.  Talk about fundamentals. LOL.