I switched my iPhone for a Motorola Rzr

In 2004, the Motorola Rzr sold 13,000 units. It brings back nostalgic memories of school, strutting around the corridors flipping the iconic device up and down, reading Mizz and paying £1.99 to download the new crazy frog ringtone.

But now Lenovo, the brands latest owner, is producing a new Android powered version of the phone. Teasers from the brand promise to “flip back to the Razr days of yesteryear and get ready for the future.”

Instead of waiting for the new one, I decided to take a trip down memory lane and spend a week using the original Motorola Rzr. The pink one, of course.

Monday

I’m guilty of spending a lot of time on my phone (Instagram, Snapchat, WhatsApp) so assumed the first day would be the hardest. Surprisingly though, it was probably the best. The excitement and nostalgia of the phone made up for the lack of internet access, and it was actually quite soothing to only be able to talk to people by phone call (texting was too fiddly).

I saved all my emergency numbers, changed the theme, set myself a polyphonic ringtone (the “Hello Moto” one of course) and tried to take some photos on the camera. The pictures actually weren’t as bad as I thought, despite everyone looking a little bit grey. Also, there is no selfie camera.

Tuesday

By the second day, the novelty had well and truly worn off. Despite testing the alarm the night before, it didn’t go off and I ended up waking up an hour and a half late. To make things worse, I’d meant to be dog-sitting for the day and the woman had been left standing waiting for me for half an hour.

I tried to text her to let her know, and realised how painfully slow it was to text. In trying to send an apology message (she was on the tube so I couldn’t ring) but the texts kept accidentally sending too early, turning out as a single cryptic “Hello.” Predictive text is really, really shit.

So I was running late for work, dog-less, and then my battery died. I thought the best thing about these phones was that their battery lasts for ever?

Wednesday

I went and bought an alarm clock the night before, so managed to actually get up on time this morning. I’d slept quite well and got to bed earlier too – usually I’d have wasted some time on my phone before I went to sleep.

Without those 20 minutes scrolling through my phone in the morning, I managed to get out of the house a lot quicker and felt way better for it. I felt a bit calmer not having checked my emails and notifications, and had a strangely relaxing walk to the tube.

The journey in made me realise how much I rely on my phone to pass the time – listening to music on the tube or scrolling through Instagram waiting for the bus. How do you screenshot texts on a Motorola Rzr?

Thursday

I set my new alarm clock and the phone alarm again the night before, and this time neither of them went off. I woke up to a call from my boss at 9.20, and had about ten minutes to grab all my stuff together and get out the door. I miss my iPhone.

Friday

Bringing it on a night out was quite fun, everyone either loved it or thought I looked ridiculous. They’d pick it up, flip it up and down and laugh at how shit the camera was. Even by the end of the week I hadn’t tired of the in-your-face”Hello Moto” ringtone, and would still be laughing every time I answered. I wasn’t as worried about it getting stolen too which was nice, and if it slipped out of my pocket it was less likely to smash.

Funnily enough though you can’t get Uber’s on Motorola Rzr’s, or Google Maps. Getting home was harder than usual, but I just had to borrow my friend’s phone to work out a route.

I thought I’d miss WhatsApp and Instagram the most, but this week reminded me of all the little things I rely on my phone for. Writing down things I have to get done, timing my cooking, listening to music, Google Maps, screen-shotting news stories or Googling numbers and information.

I think if I’d had it for longer than a week, it could maybe actually be quite good for me. Maybe I’d learn not to rely on technology and organise myself in other ways and maybe I’d get out of the house quicker and feel calmer. But for now, I’ll be sticking to the convenience and comfort of my iPhone.