perhaps it is time for a new phone.

this phone and i, we've had great times. we've been together for over two years--today marks our 25th month. but lately when i pull out my phone, people say, "wow, that's one old-ass phone" or "where's the rotary dial on that thing?" maybe, more than others, i'm just used to its scratched, pocket-polished housing. its dust filled, black and white screen. its creaky, squeaky keypad. no color on this one! no camera. no PDA. no downloadable ring tones. no internet. this is the ford tempo of cell phones, but it has served me well.

i've been a nokia man ever since my first cell phone in 1999--since then i have depended only on cell phones for my primary form of communication. i haven't had a landline phone since 2001. i'm a firm believer in a phone following a person, not a location, so it is even more important that i get with the times. reality struck last week when i called cingular to upgrade my cell plan from 300 daytime minutes to 500. not only have they discontinued the marketing of minute plans for my phone, but i can't upgrade to the national plans cuz my phone is still--gasp!--regional.


she's a beater: my nokia 8265.

in the past i have managed to call and ring my italian pen pal silvia, but not without wrangling with cingular customer service reps. it appears that my international service is disconnected if it is not used regularly. but this regional thing is now a bigger problem. the kicker was when i tried calling karin's swedish phone number and i was automatically directed to an overseas customer service rep somewhere in south asia who informed me that it would be 14 bucks for the first minute and 2 bucks and change for every minute thereafter to place a call to karin 50 miles away in ithaca. i guess it takes that much to direct a cell phone call to sweden and back to the US. i'm not sure what the problem is, but i'm sure it doesn't help that my phone is not supported by worldwide cell networks. $14 a minute? i ain't having none of that shit.

so this leaves me with the painful, expensive decision of signing up for a new cell plan and getting a new phone.

but what to get? all i know is: 1. i'm happy with nokia. 2. i HATE flip phones--they're too thick for your pocket, and why would i want the extra work of flipping it open? but it seems like they are the most popular now. luckily for me, nokia makes mostly non-flippy fones.

and it will be a nitemare to transfer over nearly 150 freaking fone numbers. yuck.

MUST. BE. SWEDEN. COMPATABLE.