“How long are you going to keep that cell phone? It does no go with your job designation”. I have a Nokia 2100 which was initially known as “Tube Light” because of number of lights that go on when it is activated. It does not support funky tunes, does not have a camera, does not have an LCD screen, cannot run GPRS and so many extra features that come with newer mobiles. But I don’t need those extra features as I won’t be using them. It is serving the purpose I need it for Voice Call, SMS and alarm for waking me up in the morning, so why change it.

Cell phones have come a long way from being a necessity only. It’s a necessity, a fashion statement, a status symbol and a luxury all rolled into one. I see a bigger role for them in future when there will be exclusive designs for fashion houses. Its not too far when Nokia might be brining out a limited edition range in collaboration with Armani, Samsung with Christian Lacroix, Sony Ericsson with Louis Vitton, Gucci and Bird (Chinese mobile) with Chee Paun Chee Paun (Chinese fashion house) etc. We can have a particular mobile set going along with a particular dress or particular occasion. I can even visualize Fashion Police on E! TV criticizing some Hollywood actress on Oscar Night carrying a cell phone which is unstylish or out of sync with her otherwise perfect dress, shoes and hairdo.

Coming back to Pakistan. Though Mobilink has the largest subscriber base in Pakistan, it is more commonly known as May Be Link because of frequent downtimes on its network. But having a Mobilink connection is always considered one step up from Ufone which comes as a close second. It is followed by Instaphone and the recently revamped Paktel. As Paktel is offering cheapest rates, if you have a Paktel, you are considered just that i.e., Cheap. Yet Paktel is gaining ground among students and newly engaged who either are short on funds or need to talk a lot of useless talk.

Regardless of what the people think of these cellular service providers, one should look at their advertising campaigns. Except for Paktel, the models and their poses in the adverts of the cellular companies indicate that these companies are selling some other kind of service. A cousin of mine who had come after a long time to Pakistan from Canada remarked after seeing an Insta (Iraj was striking an inviting pose) Billboard on NIPA Chowrangi, “I knew we had come a long way since Zia days but never in my dreams had I thought I would see such a big billboard of a contraceptive”. I told him that it was cellular service provider and its service was OK. He told me that he was deceived by the name “Insta”. Next day while watching PTV along with extended family, he turned to me and asked “How does SAATHI perform?” The silence that followed was deafening. Later he told me that Pakistani companies have their branding strategies mixed up.

On a different note, people also try to judge other’s status by the type of connection one has. A colleague of mine always complains that since she has a pre-paid connection (as opposed to post-paid one), people consider her to be middle class despite having a state of the art cell phone or PDA (the line between has become thin).

Mark Twain once said, “Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society”. In today’s society, anyone without a cell phone is naked.

I did not buy a cell phone for quite sometime. Under immense social pressure (people became tired of me being naked), I gave in after two years and bought the top of the line stuff. It was Samsung N400. It was a slim mobile with a blue LCD screen and a hidden antenna which went up with a stylish whistle when the mobile was activated. I had purchased it from a friend for Rs.10,000/- which was half my monthly salary then. After only a month, one fine day its screen melted and it became useless. The next one I bought was Nokia 6210. It was just introduced for Rs.16,000/- which was more than half month’s salary. It was expensive, stylish and TOP OF THE LINE. One evening, some one picked my pocket while I was riding a bus and that was the end of it. The next one was a gift from my uncle. It was ugly but FREE and SERVED THE PURPOSE. One afternoon, it was stolen from my office. The next one I bought is my present one and had cost me one-fifth of my salary. I have had it for more than one and half year during which my salary has increased by more than 50% and I have even been promoted. But I am sticking with it. As they say, “If it ain’t stolen why buy a new one”.