A man claims his mobile phone in this oldest being used in Britain – a 17-year-old Nokia 3310 which survived a tour of Iraq and his washing machine.

Dave Mitchell, 49, bought the 90s classic in 2000 and has never looked at getting a replacement for the indestructible phone he says is made out ‘kryptonite’.

Mr Mitchell says he is subject to a ribbing by his friends for carrying the now ancient handset – which allows users to text, make and receive calls, work out sums on a calculator and play ‘Snake’.

The device doesn’t have access to the internet – but Dave says he enjoys being able to get through a day without scouring the internet and actually sit down at a computer.

Dave, of Hull, East Yorkshire, said: ‘For me a phone is for making and receiving calls and texts – for a long time the phone lay gathering dust in my drawer.

‘But my daughter has just gone to college so I was under pressure from her and other family members to have a mobile handy so we could keep in touch in case of emergencies. It is really for peace of mind.

‘I was given a newer phone with internet access by my son a few years ago but I just didn’t want it – my needs are very basic and the phone has a calculator and games like Snake 2 if I’m bored.’

Dave has taken the mobile with him during a decade of service in the army and has taken the phone on tours of Iraq, Afghanistan, Jordan and Germany.

The phone has been thrown, stood on, dropped, gone through the washing machine and dipped in curry sauce.

Dave said: ‘Whenever something happens to my Nokia, I just have to click it back together again – it seems to be made of kryptonite.’

Mr Mitchel, who works for WP Everingham memorial masons in Hull, admits he gets a lot of flack for refusing to keep up with the times but he often has the last laugh.

‘A lot of people laugh at me but when push comes to shove their phones break much more easily,’ he said. ‘I try not to look too smug when I see someone with a cracked screen.’

Dave said he only has to change the 17-year-old battery on the device ‘every couple of weeks’ and the battery pack has not needed replacing.

He added: ‘I don’t need a camera on my phone – I’ll take a camera with me if I want to take photos and I don’t do selfies.

‘I’m not a dinosaur and I know how new technology works – but I don’t want to be looking at my phone every minute.

‘If I want to go on the internet I am happy to wait until I get home or at work and sit at a computer. I think there is a real sense of freedom in doing that.’

Source:
courtesy of METRO

by Richard Hartley-Parkinson

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