CHRIS – CELL PHONE COLLECTOR

Meet Chris.

Chris is a passionate cell phone collector and exactly the kind of person we like to get to know here at collectorizing. We asked Chris 10 questions and his answers will give you an insight into the mind of a collector.

Chris has included some pictures but if you want to see more, check out his Facebook page.

Enjoy!

Could you tell us a little bit about yourself?

My name is Chris Postnikoff, I’m a 40 year old guy living in Canada and I have over 240 unique cell phones in my collection (with another 40 or so duplicates).

I started collecting cell phones in 2004 when you could buy a brand new cell phone in Japan every few months for only about 15,000 yen ($125USD).

What do you collect and what inspired you to start collecting something so unique?

While I’m not a pack-rat, I always thought that I should hang onto my last phone ‘just in case’ my current phone died and I’d have a backup.

As I started getting more and more phones, it seemed I always had backups and by that point, I couldn’t even trade in any of my older phones for store credit, so I just hung onto them and kept them in boxes.

Do any of your items have an unusual story behind them or something that makes them unique?

With one of them, my Sharp V903SH from Vodafone Japan, I had purchased it the same day as my (then) girlfriend bought hers, so we had matching handsets.

I purchased the bright red version while she bought the shiney black model and we had placed stickers of each-other on the backs.

That relationship lasted about as long as our cell phone contracts did.

Do you have a favourite piece in your collection?

My favorite phone is either the Sharp V903SH or my HipTop2 from FidoMobile (also called the Sidekick 2 from T-Mobile in the USA).

The V903SH was an AMAZING powerhouse of a phone for it’s time.

While phones back in North America had puny 640×480 pixel cameras and ‘Snake’ for games, this one had a 3.2mp camera, mini-SD card slot, TV capabilities (with telescophic TV antenna!), a high-resolution screen and to top it off, 3D surround sound.

There were two speakers built into the sides and the entire front panel was made to vibrate acting as a speaker too. It was amaaaaazing.

The HipTop2 was incredibly special though, not only because it had a nice tactile QWERTY keyboard that ‘clicked’ under your fingertips, but because it was an awesome (and durable) swivel screen design and had (something unheard of at the time), unlimited data.

The unilimited data was offered because all of the data that went through for your internet, MSN Messenger chats, ICQ data etc went through the ‘Danger’ servers (Danger Inc [2002-2010] was the maker of the phone).

This was a godsend and also a curse as the phone had what’s called ‘volatile memory’.

This means that if the battery dies, EVERYTHING is lost on the phone… the only way to get it all back is to power up your phone and let it sync with the servers, but that was a minor annoyance since everything was kept server-side.

How do people usually react when you tell them about the unique items you collect?

The first thing people ask is “Why!??!” Well, some people collect stamps, others collect Marvel trading cards.  Heck, I know a person from Brazil who collects cigarette lighters [and she has nearly 4000].

I collect them because I think phones are one item that has made a profound impact on humanity (for the better and worse) and feel that the technology and innovation that went into the original flip-phones, swivels, sliders and brick/candybar style phones was pure creative genius when you consider some of the outlandish designs.

How has being a part of a collecting community helped you? What communities are you part of (groups, clubs, forums etc.)

I’ve joined a few Facebook groups dedicated to collecting phones.

It’s sort of opened my eyes to see just how many different handsets are out there.

On occasion I’ll see some that I already have in my collection but more often than not, I see these phones from the UK, the Middle East and other parts of the world that I’ve never even heard of.

How has your collection changed or evolved over time, and have your interests shifted the more you learned about it?

At first when I realized I was actually collecting and not just hoarding phones (I only try to keep 1 of each design in my collection and trade away any duplicates), I was thinking I’d try and collect one of each phone ever made.

But as I started going through my collection, I noticed that Smart phones all look the same.

They’re black tablets of boringness… there’s nothing special about them (outwardly), so I made a conscious decision to only collect ‘feature phones’, the style of phones that were available before the iPhone and other smart phones became so prominent world-wide.

How do you care for, preserve, and display your unique items?

I try and keep the phones in a dry space, hanging in my workshop.

Along with that, I make sure to remove all of the batteries. They are display pieces after-all, not something I’ll ever be able to use, so why keep a LiPo battery that can get puffy, rupture and burn my house down on the wall when I can just bring them to the fire depot close-by for proper recycling?

Beyond that, every 6-8 months, I take out my air compressor and give them all a spray-down to get rid of any dust.

They’re quite simple to care for, the only issue are those that had plastic or rubber nubs placed overtop of screws or that acted as ‘bumpers’.

Over the years, that material breaks down and the plastic/rubber becomes like a goopey glue and makes a big mess if not removed.

Not something I bet the designers ever thought would be a problem!

Has collecting brought enjoyment to your life? How?

I’ve been able to meet some really neat people both locally and abroad through collecting cell phones.

It gives me a bit of happiness to track down a specific handset and get a new one to add onto the wall.

While I currently have 244 handsets, I’m hoping that within the next 12 months, I can push that up to 300.

Plus, when the time comes to get rid of the collection, I already have plans to donate it all to a tech museum that resides in the Engineering department at the University of Saskatchewan.

What advice would you give someone who is starting out collecting the same items as you?

Be prepared to hunt through e-recycle bins, chat with little old grannies and grandpa’s on facebook, and check out a TON of yard sales.

Also don’t be dismayed by people who try and gouge you.

I see a lot of people trying to sell old Motorola StarTac phones from the late 90s on Facebook, Craigslist and Kijiji for several hundred dollars.

The phones don’t work, and even if you power them on, that network has long since been decomissioned so these goons are just out to try and profit on someone elses nostalgia.

Take your time and if they are asking too much, just walk away and remember you can always get those handsets elsewhere.

Cheers!

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