Using a 10 year old phone (Nokia N95) in 2017 (for 12 long days)

Yesterday (Thursday, May 11) my trusty Lumia 950 broke down and had to be taken to service under warranty. Since it will stay there 5 to 15 days, I needed a backup phone. The only "smart" device capable of running a relatively modern OS we have around the house is a 2012 Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1". This tablet, however, is way too bulky and heavy to carry around and I will only use it because I rely on Whatsapp and 9gag. The phone I will be taking with me these 2 weeks (hopefully less though) will be a good old Nokia N95. It should be able to handle calls, SMS and some music playback while I'm out and about (you would think I have some sort of older smart device around, like the Lumia 640 I used to own before I bought the 950 or the 625 before I got the 640 or the Samsung Galaxy Young 2 before that, but I usually sell the old phone after I get a new one).
I thought it would be interesting to share my experience with the N95 so I will log my thoughts every day here until my Lumia 950 is back.
If you can't remember this legendary phone and want to see some pictures, reviews or even the spec-sheet, I will leave a link to the GSMarena page of the phone right here: Nokia N95.

Day 1 (Friday,  May 12)

On the first day, we started to get to know each other. I did not know that phones from 2007 had 3G+. All I know is that back in the day when I was using a similar phone, I developed an amazing speed in pressing the "end call" key when I launched the browser by mistake. I also remembered how fast I could type on those T9 keyboards of yesteryear. Also, I noticed that most online services and support sites bookmarked in the very basic internet browser are offline or unreachable. There are no games like the Snake I remember playing as a kid, only a trial version of Sims 3 that can't be downloaded because the N-Gage app store was discontinued. Downloading, for instance, Worms or whatever is impossible.

Day 2 (Saturday,  May 13)

Today I noticed something a bit odd. I think that everyone remembers the insane battery life Nokia phones back in the day... Mine barely lasted a mere day on a charge with no heavy usage. I was disappointed, but maybe changing the battery would fix this. I also find the lack of a Vibrate-only ringer profile disturbing. Fortunately, I was able to create a custom one after looking online for some tutorials.

Days 3 & 4 (Sunday & Monday,  May 14 & 15)

I barely touched the N95 on Sunday, so there was no reason to properly log the day. 

Today, however, I tried to manually install some apps to it, via USB, after I looked online for some tutorials. Even after I followed said tutorials word by word, I did not manage to get this Worms game to run properly. Every attempt returned some kind of error... If it would get installed, there would be an "unhandled exception" and the game would fail to launch. Trying a different method wouldn't even install the game, the error I would get stating that the "Certificate expired". Such a bummer. I really do miss my Lumia. I don't think I can carry that Galaxy Tab 2 around in my backpack just to be connected to Whatsapp anymore... The stupid thing weights more than my laptop!

Days 5 & 6 (Tuesday & Wednesday, May 16 & 17)

Nothing interesting has happened during these 2 days on the software-side of things. I think I can safely assume there are no hidden features to discover and that phone OSs were still relatively basic in 2007. On the hardware side of things, I think I broke the volume buttons as it no longer works. Unfortunately, as I was trying to fiddle around with it hoping to fix it, I managed to lower the volume enough to make listening to music near impossible. On the bright side, I think that the battery life issues I had at the beginning are now solved. The battery probably needed to be formatted before it would reach its full potential, as it was a brand new part.

Days 7, 8, 9 & 10 (Thursday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday, May 18, 19, 20 & 21)

When I first started writing this article, I had no idea that it would stretch over so many days and that adding these logs would be so much fun. The only issue there seems to be with this type of article is that only the first couple of logs will be interesting and contain any interesting information because there are not so many features to discover after that. 

I started getting this odd "SIM Error" since Friday. The phone's screen would simply freeze on a blank, white page with the text cited earlier. I have no idea what causes this and what the long-term solution might be. For now, removing the battery and reinserting it seems to do the trick. 

I hope this phone won't break down on me before the Lumia gets back.

Days 11 & 12 (Monday & Tuesday, May 22 & 23)

Only two things happened during these 2 long days: first, that "SIM Error" stopped occurring for some reason (don't know if I did anything or if it fixed itself or even what fixed or why it's now fixed). Secondly, I discovered an interesting new feature: If you set an alarm and then turn off the phone (and keep it off until the alarm needs to ring), it will boot up moments before it needs to set the alarm off and ring. I don't think that any modern smartphone can do this, but it would surely be a very useful feature. 

Since my Lumia got back repaired (motherboard had to be replaced apparently), I will stop adding anything to this article.

Final thoughts

This forced "experiment" was a step back, to the past. None of the people I know would have used a 10-year-old phone as their daily driver for more than 1 day under normal circumstances. They probably wouldn't have been able to be literally disconnected from their real worlds (this is a rather dramatic sounding sentence, don't take it ad literam). It's crazy how fast people became so absorbed by the modern smartphone, with everything it can do. The smartphone is the ultimate all-in-one device and we're addicted to it. 

10 years is not that much. Maybe someday in 2027 someone's smartphone will break down and he or she will have to use a Lumia 950 until their Nokia (HMD) 9500 is repaired. Maybe he or she will write a similar blog post and be as thrown away as I was when I realize how far technology got within this short period of time.