Cell Phone - A historical prospective from my point

It is said that in 1960s Elvis Presley, the famous American singer possessed one of world's first mobile (cell) phones. The King of Rock 'n' Roll  carried it  with him in a suitcase so that he could make calls from his limousine. The cost of a call from it was so exorbitant that only a celebrity like Elvis could afford it. My first exposure to cell phone was in1996 in Calcutta when I was approached by a mobile salesman. I was just back from a stint in England and the guy thought I could afford the luxury of a cell phone. He showed me the phone which about the size of a foot long Subway sandwich. The thought of carrying a bulky item with me all the time was not quite appealing. With its protruding antenna carrying it in pocket would cause further embarrassment. I was initially tempted into buying one as standing in line at STD booths after 9 PM (for cheaper rates) was a real pain in you know where. Having a mobile with me would save me a trip to the dingy, sultry and stinky STD booths with the next guy behind the line frantically scratching the dirty windows making gorilla like gestures. But the price of the calls was what dissuaded me from purchasing one. Each incoming and outgoing call would cost me 8 rupee a minute. I was not very enthusiastic about paying per minute what Dosa or Chicken Roll would cost me at that time. A few of my friends who bought kept their mobile numbers the best kept secret. One guy reluctantly shared his number with me so that he can sneak in incognito to my place for weekend bachelor parties without his wife's knowledge. He strictly told me to call him sporadically and hang up soon after saying "Party is on". Juxtaposition of cell phones with internet was still a fantasy. Internet access at work in India was limited to office. During the regular hours at work it was surfing (the term has given way to browsing) time. During the day it was mostly viewing Hotmail and after hours hot females. No website was blocked, hardly any security measures were followed. I am sure anybody trying to access such sites now at work these days will pay a hefty price.