Do you remember those simpler times when phones weren’t so smart?

Now, every other day, you get to hear and read about a new phone that has just hit the market. It could be a Samsung Galaxy Note 10 today and an iPhone 12 Plus tomorrow.

The repetitive nature of new phone launches took me back to 2006, when I had just arrived in Doha for the first time. I had with me a Nokia 3310 (those phones that could alternatively be used as hammers) and not much idea about how expensive calling in Qatar could be.

So I took it to the friendly neighbourhood Qtel salesman (call me old fashioned, but I still prefer it as Qtel) and he had me hooked within no time (No micro nano mini Sim cards, just the old grandma pants kind).

He had a single payment plan for me — international calling rates at close to QR2.5 a minute and local calls at 55dirhams a minute. Can you believe that, newbies of Qatar?

Nowadays, we’ve cellular companies proudly proclaiming 4g+ speeds on smartphones. Back then ‘G’ was still just the seventh alphabet on your road to learning English. Internet data was still something confined to a desktop or laptop near you.

But all that changed on January 9, 2007, when the first generation iPhone hit the world’s collective consciousness. Almost overnight, a black market for iPhones (and subsequently used ones) sprang up and Qatar Living was awash with ads selling the incredible technology for up to five times their original price.

I waited patiently for five months before getting my hands on a second-hand piece, via Qatar Living ads, for QR2,900. It was listed at QR3,200 and I had to literally beg the seller for a discount (which he gave). Does it sound crazy? I WAS crazy.

But was the experience worth it? Let’s just say I was a bit underwhelmed with the end product. It taught me another valuable lesson… be patient while buying a phone. Give the company time to iron out any bugs the phone may have. Early birds are certainly more prone to catching bugs, you know...

In 2006, I couldn’t have foreseen how the telephony market would change. The rates of international calls have now dropped to 20 dirhams a minute and local calls to 12 dirhams a minute. Phones have become smaller, bigger and thinner all of a sudden.

You now see a lot more people with their head buried in their phones, fingers flying over their keyless keyboards and swearing at the sheer number of messages coming at them via Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, Messenger, Instagram….

Did the telephone revolution help us? Probably. But I look back at those simpler days with a hint of sadness and longing. Do you?