For the past two and half years or thereabouts, I have been using a Samsung SGH-E500 clamshell. I love that phone! It was a limited edition golden brown colour flip, with a LCD display in the front to tell the time, battery indicator, missed call and messages, that also doubles up as a makeup mirror. Due to this, I no longer have to bring a handheld mirror anywhere, just take out my phone and check myself on the front cover!

The phone comes with a sophisticated brown leather case. It is small, chic, user-friendly and a relatively long battery life. It is a quadband phone with a pretty good camera. I use it to call, message, take and send pictures, bluetooth songs and pictures, check my Singnet emails (before I switched over to gmail), alarm clock, note down appointments on the calendar.

I was lucky to be able to get this phone as there were only a few in the market. Since then it has been out of stock. I have not come across anyone else who has this phone. It is exclusively a ladies phone! People who have seen my phone remark that it is a pretty phone! I am really proud of it!

Unfortunately, the shelf life of a mobile phone is just about two years on the average. Recently, my phone has been showing signs of old age, of wear and tear. It is getting "deaf". People who called me have complained they can hardly hear me. The keys are no longer as soft as before, now I need to press even harder before the functions work. It is as if it is down with arthritis and rheumatism all at once.

Thus, it is due to retire. I am sad to let it go, but it has to be done. The phone will be kept in a box in my room as its final resting place. In the event I, or any of my family members, require a spare phone, then perhaps it will be resurrected, but meanwhile, it will be laid to rest, and I have to contend with its successor - a black Nokia 6600 fold 3G mobile. Hope it works as well as its predecessor!

To my golden flap : May you have a peaceful retirement! Thank you for all these years which you have served me well. Till we meet again ....