I don’t remember the first cellphone I ever bought. I think I must have owned a normal looking one in the beginning, but I can’t for the life of me remember what it might have been. Suffice it to say, I leaned toward texting phones as quickly as possible. Lucky you… I’m going to take you on a brief historical jaunt through the cellphones I’ve used.

Nokia 6800

This has to be one of the coolest phones ever. I mean, it’s so small, and yet it flips out to give a full qwerty keyboard experience that I would take over any Blackberry or touchscreen phone. I’m guessing that this phone was circa 2003-ish. I can’t really remember. I used it for calls and texting, which increased rapidly due to the awesome full keyboard. I probably out-texted my friends 3-1 during this time, because they were all late to the texting phone party. And who really wants to punch the same key three times to get to the right letter?

Blackberry 6230

I got this wild hair that I needed a smartphone for work to manage text AND emails. I hopped on Craigslist.org and found a ton of Blackberrys for sale. I think I bought this purplish blue beauty for $100. Unlike the Blackberry Pearl which was taking the world by storm at the time, this Blackberry at least didn’t share keys for more than one letter.

It took some getting used to, but this was a decent phone for its time. Ultimately, I had caught the technolust bug and couldn’t stop here. I needed Web and IM access! As experience would continue to prove, buying used phones isn’t always a good idea. This one shorted out on me in less than six months.

T-Mobile MDA

Nothing could have prepared me for the awesomeness that was the T-Mobile MDA. Web, IM, Email, Text, Music, Excel, Word, touchscreen, and on and on. The features made me giddy. It’s the spring/summer of 2006. The keyboard wasn’t ideal, because the keys were all too close together and barely raised above the surface, but this was the phone of my dreams.

I took a temporary position around the same time as a property manager. I managed 32 rental properties with this phone. I kept spreadsheets of payments, repairs, and renters still owing rent. I scheduled appointments to show houses. I had no real complaints against the phone except for the sheer bulk of its thickness, which made it difficult to fit into my jeans pocket comfortably. I might still be using this phone if the screen hadn’t cracked when i dropped it on the driveway. Sadly, some of the phone’s functions could only be accessed through touchscreen, and not buttons. So I had to look elsewhere.

Sidekick ID

Shortly after rejoining the web marketing fray in 2006, I replaced the damaged MDA with a much cheaper Sidekick ID. I went ultra budget, and spent $50 and skipped the Internet package. I used my Sidekick for calls, text, and Twitter via sms. Later on, I added the Sidekick Internet package and used it for email, IM, and minimal web browsing. Web browsing was unattractive and ridiculously slow, so I left that functionality alone.

The Sidekick ID had the best keyboard of any phone I’d used up to this point. I could type very easily and quickly, and even blogged a few times towards the end. I cannot say enough about this keyboard. It is awesome. For a person who loves to write and communicate, ease and enjoyment of typing is a big deal.

iPhone 2G

As a new employee at MarketNet, I came in contact with several people who owned the 2G iPhone. My technolust kicked into high gear again, and I began to crave the hawtness that was the most desired phone on the planet. When my boss upgraded to the 3G, he mentioned he was selling his old iPhone. I jumped at the opportunity and bought it.

I’ve owned the iPhone for almost a year now. As enticing as all the apps are on the commercials, there are very few that I actually use. I’m not a big gamer, so 95% of all iPhone games are irrelevant to me. The apps I’ve used the most are TwitterFon, Twittelator Pro, Tweetie, Evernote, Facebook, Maps, Sol Free, EasyWriter, Moonlight lite, DomainPro, Whrrl, and Scrabble. I’ve found that I really don’t use my apps or my phone as much due to the amount of time I spend online at my computer. 8-10 hrs a day of online access doesn’t leave me itching to hop onto the mobile Web very often. Oh, the sad irony.

Of course, I also love the iPod factor and the supposed durability guarantee. I’ve heard that if your iPhone malfunctions (and you didn’t drop it in water), the Apple Store will at least sometimes replace it for free. Not bad, considering it would have cost me a nice chunk of change to get my T-Mobile MDA insured. Also, I’ve heard that you miss out on one or two cool features by hacking the iPhone and using it on another network – be aware of the risks before you go trying to switch the software.

The #1 reason why I am not satisfied with the iPhone is the lack of physical keyboard. I HATE touchscreen keyboards. They are not pleasant, accurate, or quick enough to keep up with my two-finger typing skills. I have stopped blogging via mobile altogether and I rarely text anyone. The touchscreen has radically altered the way I communicate via mobile phone. And by altered, I mean limited. I don’t keep in touch with people when I’m traveling as much because it’s a pain to type on the touchscreen. I’m very anti-phone conversation with most anyone outside of family… I think this can be traced back to my time as a property manager. Having dozens of people call each week with complaints and excuses is enough to drive me to text.

Sidekick LX?

I’ve revisited Sidekick and Helio Ocean websites repeatedly these past six months, wistfully wishing that one of the phones with the best keyboards would deliver more than a silly and irrelevant mobile MySpace app. After all, wouldn’t Paris Hilton be pushing for the coolest apps and functionalities on the phone she’s agreed to use for the rest of her young adult life?

Have no fear. Deliverance is near! I was checking out the new Google News Timeline (which is suh-weet, by the way) and chose “T-Mobile Sidekick” as my test run subject matter, and what do you know? T-Mobile is launching a new on Sidekick May 13th! Yes, this was potentially exciting news to me… and 60 million teens and tweens across the country. What can I say? I have the pulse of America’s youth.

We have a very possible winner here, sportsfans. As reported by CNet, the new Sidekick LX features 3G, GPS, Flash Video, YouTube, Photobucket upload, video recorder, and yes, Twitter! Oh, and Facebook. The LX is supposedly four times more sturdy than previous models and comes with a slimmer and yet more ergonomic design.

True, for being such a trendy phone, the Sidekick is ridiculously behind the curve by not offering custom apps like the iPhone. If I switch, I will have to say goodbye to Evernote, Tweetie, and the rest. I will be locked in to my apps, but at least I can add sparkles to the outside of my phone! Oh.. wait…uh… nevermind.

Despite the fact that I would love, love, LOVE to have a real keyboard, I’m going to sit and wait. The new LX launches next month and Apple should unveil its new mobile phone the month after. I’ll wait patiently until then, trying to pretend my thumbs aren’t making phantom typing motions when I grab my touchscreen phone. But I might switch, because every Apple fan I talk to says no way is Steve Jobs going to lower himself to offer a REAL keyboard.

I will continue to hope against hope, but if that’s true, I’m going to own a very expensive iPod by the end of Summer.