[boniver]

I'm a BlackBerry lover (or boy?) through and through. Guess it started with my parents owning these devices back in the day. My first phone was a black Curve 8520, in class 7, handed down by dad. Next phone was a white Curve 8520, handed down by mom. Third phone was a white Curve 9220, again handed down by mom. The first new BlackBerry I owned was a black Curve 9220. I used it till 2016, when it started shutting off and restarting on its own. No service centre could fix it.

Both the white phones were exchanged when my parents bought newer phones. However, I've managed to keep the black 8520 (my first phone) and the black 9220 (my first new phone). They are 10 and 7 years old respectively. Surprisingly enough, the 10 year old one works perfectly to this date, while the 7 year old one sadly conked off in 2018 :(

Attaching a couple of photos:

My first phone, the BlackBerry Curve 8520. I used this as my primary phone till late 2018, when it simply became too cumbersome to use two phones (this and an Android) all the time. But one thing no one can beat BlackBerry in is the calendar management system. Now I use this phone solely for reminding me about events, birthdays (especially since I'm not on Facebook) etc, stuff that my Android never reminds me about! Still really special to me.




My first new phone, the BlackBerry Curve 9220. Bought this in 2012, when the brand was already at the end of it's life cycle. Had actually wanted to buy a 9330 as an upgrade from the 8520, but the shopkeeper pushed this then new model, saying that it has a way better battery life, optimized specially for the Indian climate. Well sadly, this works no more. I've taken it to a dozen mechanics, but no one's been able to fix it.




Both the phones now lie in my drawer, with my other spare phone and tablet. The Samsung is now mostly kept hidden in the car and charged at regular intervals. This is to track the car in case it's stolen.




I'm a pretty old school guy, and I loved the days when phones were beautiful, to say the least. Dad had two Nokia N72s, both of which eventually got stolen, but their memories are still etched in my mind. Compare that with today's glass slabs, with are barely distinguishable.

I intend to purchase a BlackBerry Passport off eBay, since I love the design, but it's a tough battle between the head and the heart. My head doesn't see the point of buying a nearly unusable phone and keeping it lying, while the heart wants what it wants. Let's see.

I'd also buy the latest phones in a heartbeat, KeyOne and KeyTwo, but they're just too expensive in my opinion. My current phone is an Android with better specs than those, at 1/4th of their cost.

I'd like everyone to share any fond memories they have of these phones. If any of you still own any of these old beauties, I'd also love to see photos of those! Of course, if you want to get rid of the phones, you know who to send them to