They don't make phones like they used to. Ever since Ma Bell was dematerialized, phone makers jumped the market and now we have all so many wonderful and cheap choices. But cheap is the operative word. Today, you' would be hard pressed even to find a new phone of comparable quality to this classic 1949 model, let alone afford one if you did. These babies were build like tanks --indestructible WWII tech. And for good reason, they were leased, not sold. So they had to last to be economically viable.

Perhaps we could (re)learn a valuable economic lesson from this classic phone -- Ownership isn't everything. Our "mine mine mine", "cheaper cheaper cheaper", "choice choice choice" mentality has led to an erosion of quality, market confusion such that it's hard to even know what you are getting any more, and subsequently the products we buy cost us more, not less, in the long run.

I for one miss real phones.  ¶ 11:52 AM 1 comments