18 Popular Phone Features That Kids Today Will Never Understand
Before smartphones ruled the world, phones had pull-out antennas, games like Snake, and T9 texting. These are features that today’s kids will never experience (or struggle with).
- Alyana Aguja
- 6 min read
Prior to the dominance of smartphones, cell phones possessed wacky and irrepressible characteristics that made talking entertaining and infuriating. From T9 texting and polyphonic ringtones to removing batteries and making free calls from 9 PM onwards, these artifacts of the past defined the way we communicated with other people. Kids today will never know the drama of the all-texts-exhausted moment or of concurrently aligning infrared file transfers, but to those who experienced it, all these were part of the charm of early mobile technology.
1. T9 Predictive Text
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Texting was an art form before full keyboards and touchscreens with T9. Every number key had several letters on it. For example, you had to tap “7” four times to write “S.” It was quick once you learned the rhythm, but a single misplaced tap could ruin your whole message.
2. Polyphonic Ringtones
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Back when ringtones were a way of expressing yourself, we used to have polyphonic versions of popular songs. These were MIDI versions with beeping, robotic tunes that hardly sounded like the original song. If you were high-end, you’d pay a few bucks to download one—provided your carrier allowed it.
3. Snake on Nokia Phones
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Each Nokia user played Snake, the classic game in which you had a pixelated line that lengthened as you munched on dots. The objective was not to bump into yourself, which became virtually impossible at full speed. It was easy, habit-forming, and the best thing we had, akin to Fortnite in the late ’90s.
4. Physical Keyboards on Phones
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BlackBerry and Sidekick addicts swore by their physical keyboards, which made typing texts feel exactly like typing on a teeny laptop. The keys had a nice crunch under your thumbs, and autocorrect wasn’t as nasty as it is now. After the touchscreen keyboard reigned supreme, the physical keyboard gradually disappeared.
5. Sliding and Flipping Phones
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The Motorola Razr, Sidekick, and LG Chocolate all had satisfying mechanisms that made answering a call dramatic. Some phones snapped open, while others slid open to expose a hidden keyboard. The motion alone made you feel like a secret agent, even if you were texting your mom.
6. Removable Batteries
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If your phone ran out of power, you simply replaced the battery with a new one rather than looking for a charger. Individuals had spare batteries in their pockets, like power banks, so they never ran out of power. Today, phones are sealed up tight, and we’re stuck with whatever battery life we’re provided with.
7. Antenna Pull-Outs
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Old cell phones had small antennas that needed to be extended for improved signal. Some were small pull-out rods, and others had fat, rubberized stubs. Smartphones today have concealed antennas, but at the time, if you didn’t extend yours, you’d have no signal bars.
8. Infrared File Transfers
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Prior to Bluetooth, we sent ringtones, wallpapers, and contacts using infrared. You needed to line two phones up exactly and hold them steady while the transfer inched along. If someone moved, the connection would be lost, and you’d have to start again.
9. Custom Phone Cases Were Stick-On Plates
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Instead of slim cases, older phones featured pop-on plastic faceplates that could be replaced with another color or pattern, such as flames or camo. Without phone support, you had to make do with stickers and rhinestones.
10. Keypad Backlights
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Before OLED screens, phones had small, glowing keypads that glowed blue, green, or orange. In the dark, this was the only way you’d be able to read your keys when texting. It wasn’t personalized, but individuals still enjoyed displaying their phone’s backlight color.
11. “Press 1 for Voicemail” Systems
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Voicemail wasn’t a visual list—you had to call your number, enter a passcode, and listen to messages in order. Skipping a long message meant pressing “7” multiple times and hoping you didn’t accidentally delete it. If you forgot your passcode, good luck retrieving your messages.
12. No App Stores—Just Built-In Games
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Phones included whatever games the company preloaded, and that was it. If you wanted more, you’d have to purchase a new phone or download questionable WAP downloads. Brick Breaker, Bounce, and Snake were the height of mobile gaming at the time.
13. “Sorry, I Ran Out of Texts”
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Text messages were kept to a few per month with plans that featured 100, 500, or (for the wealthy) unlimited texts. Running out, you had two choices: end texting or shell out per-message fees—generally 10 cents apiece. That is why T9 and abbreviations such as “brb” and “ttyl” became lifesavers.
14. No Wi-Fi, Only WAP Internet
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Mobile internet was previously slow, clumsy, and pricey. WAP pages were bare-bones versions of websites with little images. It took minutes to load a single page and to view a video.
15. MP3 Ringtones You Had to Download or Rip
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Getting a real song as your ringtone meant downloading it from a paid service or converting an MP3 file manually. Some people recorded songs from the radio onto their phone’s microphone just to set it as their ringtone. Today, it’s as easy as picking a song from your library, but back then, it was a full-on process.
16. Cameras with VGA Resolution
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Early cell phone cameras were so low in resolution that their photos resembled pixelated oil paintings. VGA (0.3 megapixels) was the usual resolution, and 1.3 MP was high-end. In comparison to today’s 50+ MP camera, it’s amazing how poor our pictures were.
17. “Call Me After 9 PM, It’s Free”
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Most cell plans included free nights and weekends, so calls placed after 9 p.m. did not count toward your minutes. If you called earlier than that, you burned through your monthly talk time. This caused individuals to wait until 9:00 p.m. to begin their lengthy conversations.
18. No Touchscreens—Just Buttons
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Before the iPhone, all phones contained actual buttons, and there were only screens for displaying text. You moved through menus with a D-pad or joystick, and texting played, as well as web browsing, was a thumb exercise. Touchscreens revolutionized everything, but then, it just felt right to press actual buttons.