April 13th, 2009
#740 – Sim
It sometimes seems so ridiculous how small mobile phones are now. I remember when I was a kid and some friends down the street had giant walkie talkies that could reach almost a full mile. “A mile! That’s impossible!” I wonder if we will ever reach the point where the entire phone fits in your ear and is 100% voice controlled. It seems like a lot of them have actually been getting larger lately. But I guess not everyone needs a little window into the internet in their pocket, so the earbud phone may still have a market.
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April 13th, 2009 at 12:11 am
Wow…just wow… Steam powered, to match his slippers, no doubt
April 13th, 2009 at 12:30 am
that phone reminds me of my first cell-phone. i never used because it looked like a big, gray brick and i thought it would microwave my mind.
April 13th, 2009 at 12:47 am
I think they’ve been getting bigger because mobile phone makers kind of hit the limit for button driven phones. We need screen space, and we need pressable buttons. So now the craze isn’t about a small phone, but more about the features – the quality of the camera, maybe touch screen, video playback and so forth. Personally, I wouldn’t want to use the internet on anything so small, and the prices in Australia are horrendous anyway. I do have an affection for the chunky monstrosities people were so proud of in the 80s though. Born in 88, I grew up watching America’s old 80s shows, and Australia’s crappy 90s shows, so big mobile phones were a staple of my childhood.
April 13th, 2009 at 1:10 am
Someday those first phones will be collectors’ items… really though, who doesn’t feel a twinge when you replace your old phone with the upgrade? It a bit like parting with a familiar friend…
April 13th, 2009 at 1:14 am
This takes the “brick phone” into a whole new dimension: The mansonry phone!
April 13th, 2009 at 1:34 am
@Michael: Also, there is still a limit as to how small you can make the battery and other components.
I’ve been through several phones, and my only gripe with new phones is that they have the worst battery life. I have a Nokia N1 Navigator, and it can barely last three days without being recharged. My old 3315 could go for nearly three months. I guess a colour screen and lots of apps drains the battery.
Still, I would like an earbud phone. It would only be good for calls, though. What I would truly love would be a way of sending SMS from a computer…wait, that’s already been done.
April 13th, 2009 at 1:49 am
Biff often confuses his cell phone with a phone booth.
April 13th, 2009 at 2:02 am
Hmm, Biff seems to bend awkwardly. And… is it me, or has his mouth slipped a little off in both directions today?
Regards,
James
April 13th, 2009 at 2:10 am
Steampunk Biff Week!
April 13th, 2009 at 3:36 am
If you painted it green, it would remind me of those old army field telephones that you’d occasionally see in old movies. The ones that were bigger than bricks and had like three feet of antenna to them. Those things were awesome.
April 13th, 2009 at 3:58 am
I had one of those!!! …worked better than my iPhone for sure.
April 13th, 2009 at 4:42 am
…it has a starting key?
I want one too!
April 13th, 2009 at 6:17 am
I’ve been working in wireless retail for 2 years now, so I have a bit of experience. See, for a long time, the trend was getting smaller and smaller, because that was the status symbol for advanced technology. They had tiny everything. This came to a conclusion with phones with the Pantech C300, the tiniest phone ever- http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://gizmodo.com/images/2006/06/pantec_c300_1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/cellphones/pantech-c300-available-through-cingular-177697.php&usg=__S93zklV6oebxVOA3NhPn2U3Zdao=&h=400&w=400&sz=119&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=AzvwT9IfX3x_FM:&tbnh=124&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpantech%2Btiny%2Bphone%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1G1GGLQ_ENUS322%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1
Now, though, people don’t want to pay to get a tiny phone because people want things that are larger and more legible. Practicality has been making a comeback over the past few months, with less morons buying iPhones and Blackberries and more people buying Shines.
April 13th, 2009 at 6:40 am
Nothing like something with vacuum tubes to “light up” your day, right Biff? Haha
Great comic.
April 13th, 2009 at 6:46 am
wow… I thought my first cellphone was big…
April 13th, 2009 at 7:06 am
I always laugh when I think of the first cellphones. They were huge! right now, I have a little razor, so it’s all good.
April 13th, 2009 at 8:41 am
My first cell phone was a Motorola brick that stayed in my truck at all times. No one ever called it but my mom (from her brick). It had a total battery life of 50 minutes and an unheard of (at the time) 90 minute voice plan for $80 a month. I was the coolest kid on the farm.
April 13th, 2009 at 8:57 am
My mom hates bluetooth headsets. She says they remind her of some sci-fi movie she saw were a bunch of bald men with headsets like a bluetooth headset were all “assimilated” and it was creepy. When we go to Staples, I always take a bluetooth headset and chase her around the store going “YOU MUST ASSIMILATE.” (The whole “mother must embarrass daughter” stereotype? It works the opposite with us. XD)
April 13th, 2009 at 9:58 am
When ever I hear someone talking on a bluetooth type phone I always always assume they’re a crazy person talking to themselves. They really do look pretty stupid.
April 13th, 2009 at 10:17 am
Steampunk biff week.
I just upgraded my old cell phone to a shiny new PDA. the kind with the keyboard. Of course, I do have some gripes. The auto shut-off is a real pain, and it’s hard to dial. I’m so used to pressing the END key to close programs I keep accidentally shutting off my phone.
April 13th, 2009 at 10:19 am
Oh, I do so hope it’s steampunk week.
April 13th, 2009 at 11:01 am
Wow, Chris, I always pictured you as an older guy. No offense. Comics are still as great as usual.
April 13th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
Ah yes I had a gray brick when i worked for the county. I was told by friends it would microwave my brain. My mother worked for AT&T/BellSouth for 30+ years, so she’s seen just about everything.
April 13th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
Opie: “If you painted it green, it would remind me of those old army field telephones that you’d occasionally see in old movies. The ones that were bigger than bricks and had like three feet of antenna to them. Those things were awesome.”
You mean this? My grandfather had one (that I wanted) that he used to tinker with, but he got rid of it at some point. They’re apparently collector’s items now.
April 13th, 2009 at 4:25 pm
I agree with Lazer Wulf! Steampunk biff week! I wonder how steam powered robot hands would work….
April 13th, 2009 at 5:57 pm
Biff may be grown up again, but he’s still acting like a kid…
And maybe this week’s theme is “Obsolete”.
April 13th, 2009 at 6:13 pm
I had a job at the place that made that phone!
Okay, I am going to ask this until i get an answer from Chris, so everyone else please bar with me:
Chris do you mind if i make myself a Biff poster, the current design is an array of 6*7 Biff comics, including the by chris halbeck and thebookofbiff.com so it is not like I am not giving you credit for using your comics. I would buy your poster if you made one, but you don’t.
April 13th, 2009 at 6:24 pm
-2! – Fine with me. You would only get in trouble if you tried to sell it.
April 13th, 2009 at 7:17 pm
If this is going to be Steampunk Week, my brother is in heaven.
April 13th, 2009 at 8:11 pm
@ Chris
Sweet!! As of this weekend you were the first website ever to pry my home page away from the all powerful Google, keep up the awesome work!
April 13th, 2009 at 9:53 pm
Old fashion modern week. Old fasion versions of modern tech.
April 13th, 2009 at 10:14 pm
I think that “warmth and presence” is the massive amount of heat/exhaust that phone would give off.
April 13th, 2009 at 10:47 pm
I think that it is funny that you mention a little window into the internet, in our pocket. I am reading the comic, and writing this post from my fully internet capable phone.
June 16th, 2009 at 7:12 pm
they dont have phones that small but you can get a wireless headset for your phone that is 100% voice controlled and fits in your ear
July 27th, 2010 at 8:03 am
@Michael – we DONT need pressable buttons (*apparently*) because my touch screen phone has none.
Which sucks when your phone has a dent in the screen and theres no buttons for backup.