Imagine: One day – you wake on a normal average day. Nothing seems out of the ordinary; you are simply preparing for another day and another couple of dollars in the bank. After stuffing two slices of toast in your face, you grab your briefcase and rush for the door, twirling back momentarily to find your iPhone which is always kept on the dresser. You feel ridiculous for even forgetting it. You have no idea how you’d get through your hectic day without it. Yes, everything seems fine. Until that is, you reach for your iPhone.
You are aghast! Your trusted iPhone is nowhere to be found! You search up and down the house, shoving cushions on the couch and searching the cracks, checking the dog basket, even the garage. But nothing. The TV is blaring as you search, probably left on by your kid’s before they trotted off to school. You look up momentarily, stressed. This is when you see it. Advertisements. Furbies. Ring Pops. Pogs. Tazo tops.
Welcome to the nineties, my friend. (Back) to the future without iPhones.
But the fact is – if we can imagine something as unpredictable as this happening, can you picture just HOW many applications the average male or female would have to pocket all day to make up for the missed comforts of an iPhone?
In the sweet 90’s of course, nobody in their right mind would have carried this much around on an average work day. But with the rise in technology, our iPhones have become much more than simple phones, and people depend on them everyday for tasks and reminders that we may not remember on our own. This tiny little iPhone is basically a luxury for ourselves which most people may not realize.
This list contains all the equipment we would need to carry in the event of a 90’s Back To The Future scenario to replace our beloved iPhone. Ready?
1. A Simple Phone.
Sure, you can design your own ringtone by layering different beeping tones, but this phone doesn’t have much else. It has your basics: the ability to call, text, tell the time – and sometimes it comes with a nifty little light on the end of it.
2. An Organizer.
Oh yes – remember when these were popular? Before the swarm of applications you could buy on phones for organizers, these were all the rage. They do simple tasks: reminding yourself what to do with an alarm, keeping names and notes, and dates. There is also the inconvenience of price. A decade into the future at 2014, people can obtain organizers for free. You are spending at least $15-$25.
3. A Walkman + CD’s
Nobody can forget Walkman’s. They were the most cool and convenient new music system since tapes. What, with their bulky round appearance, abundance of tapes which you had to carry or mix onto one CD yourself, the moments where the disk had scratched so you needed to manually take it out and clean it, or the fact you only had twenty or so songs to choose from, rather than the 100’s a music application can store today. On the plus side, these little systems kept the music industry from suffering, as many musicians face their music being downloaded rather than store-bought. Remember: Like the song, support your artist.
4. A Nintendo
Just to be simple, lets go with a Gameboy Color. Until there was a new console, these little hand held gaming devices were on everyone’s wish list. This will replace all those little games such as Angry Birds and Candy Crush you used to enjoy playing on the train until you arrived at work…..And then you’d still play secretly. Luckily, it’s not all bad here. You have the choice of a lot of new and trending games, such as Pokémon, Super Mario, Legend of Zelda, and more.
5. Books
Some people still do carry a book here and there, which is great to see. But in your case, your bag is already flowing with different devices, and books just fill up the room even quicker. It might be especially annoying if you are an avid reader and currently use a Kindle- not only are the books cheaper and can be bought anywhere at anytime, but now it is almost impossible to read 2 or more on the go. Also – those work emails and instructions you read in PDF? – Forget em. You’ve been gifted a rather large stack of papers and pamphlets to work through now.
6. A Camera
Another luxury that people seem to take for granted. fortunately, the 90’s doesn’t seem to have gotten on to the idea of selfies or snapping pictures of their lunch just yet- but just wait until the children of the generation grow up! Playing by the rules though, you would need to have one on hand. I’m not sure generally why as there is currently no Facebook to share your happy snaps – but maybe you can start an archive of duck faced photos for later.
This is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of iPhone users, and it is true that sometimes we do take these small yet incredible devices for granted. Having something slim and easy to side into your pocket just feels so much better than carrying a heavy bag full of devices AND their chargers (that will run flat quicker) that do everything an iPhone can already do at the tap of a button.
So take time today to appreciate the wonder that is your iPhone, iPod, or other device. They do so much without us even realizing; and ask nothing more in return that the occasional three hour charge.