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Anybody remember bag phones? Who had one?

Posted by Feeling_Manner426@reddit | GenX | View on Reddit | 211 comments

Anybody remember bag phones? Who had one?
When I graduated from college in the late 80s, a friend of mine became a real estate agent and got one of these and thought he was the shit.

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211 Comments

Sauterneandbleu@reddit

Money never sleeps, pal
View on Reddit #69682332

JDHgtr@reddit

The Amish.
View on Reddit #65628505

Flat_Cantaloupe645@reddit

My husband and I STILL have his Motorola. It cost so much around 1991 that we couldn’t bear to throw it away. A few years ago, someone called our landline, asking for my husband. I said, “he’s out, but I’m sure you can get him on his car phone!” Eep… where did THAT come from? 😝
View on Reddit #65623274

Jakes-buddy-1307@reddit

Bought my wife one so for when she traveled from Yuba City to take college classes in Sacramento at night
View on Reddit #65555378

BobbyRockPort@reddit

Car we got from my in-laws when we were first married had the corded car phone in the console. Was choice.
View on Reddit #65490268

Funny-Nature-4602@reddit

Still got it
View on Reddit #65489568

Gr8danedog@reddit

My ex had one.
View on Reddit #65486571

Substantial-Toe96@reddit

My weed dealer had one…
View on Reddit #65443247

Salt_Worldliness9150@reddit

My mom had one of those
View on Reddit #65425660

kmanGVL@reddit

My first cellular phone and still have it!
View on Reddit #65415854

Mulezzz@reddit

I had that exact model in early 90s. Was going on a long road trip by myself so I got a bag phone and also installed a CB in my truck as a back-up. Had a blast talking to truckers.
View on Reddit #65256531

nevmo75@reddit

A bag phone AND a CB?!? Send my regards to the Rockefellers.
View on Reddit #65370787

Mulezzz@reddit

I was 23 years old and only making $22k/year at the time, but it was my first long solo road trip thru the Appalachians and splurged because I was feeling anxious on my own.
View on Reddit #65394119

nevmo75@reddit

I was really joking. It’s a quote from the show Bojack Horseman where a character is amazed that someone had two refrigerators.
View on Reddit #65409135

He_that_Is357@reddit

My best friend in high school had a 71 super beetle with a cb in it. That car was full of memories.
View on Reddit #65289582

Amythecoffeequeen@reddit

Me and all my friends had CB radios in high school. We drove in circles and up and down the same road for hours talking on our CB radios like a bunch of morons, good times 😆
View on Reddit #65265519

fedexmess@reddit

People in my home town would play some kind of hide n' seek games using CBs.
View on Reddit #65284331

Feeling_Manner426@reddit (OP)

I had a CB radio when I drove myself across the country in 1990! My dad was a trucker so he insisted.
View on Reddit #65264821

fridayimatwork@reddit

Had one for working in a remote area. Had to walk to the top of the hill to use
View on Reddit #65385178

Typical_Version_7487@reddit

The first phone I had was a Nextel. My dad had one of those brick phones in a bag though.
View on Reddit #65379235

Maximillian73-@reddit

Yep, I used to install the in-car car versions and kits for bag phones.
View on Reddit #65378837

Ok_Recipe12@reddit

only .99 cents per minute!
View on Reddit #65370216

Peas_Are_Upsidedown@reddit

I had one.
View on Reddit #65369038

glg59@reddit

Yeah was baddass with this thing! Battery lasted almost 2 hours 😝
View on Reddit #65364177

beegsyboo@reddit

One of the "managers" at my $1 movie theater job had one. And he also used to wear a three piece suit to work. HHAHAHAHHA joker
View on Reddit #65354038

mtoomtoo@reddit

Parents bought me one for the long commute to school. Was only allowed to use it for emergencies.
View on Reddit #65340278

lestbone83@reddit

Was my first mobile phone.
View on Reddit #65338442

Free_Negotiation4026@reddit

My dad had one. He thought he was so cool.
View on Reddit #65334004

toodog@reddit

Motorola 4800x the size and weight of a small car battery 1983. work phone NEVER make a call it will bankrupt the company!
View on Reddit #65257053

Hilsam_Adent@reddit

My stepdad had one installed in '85 or '86. Had to pull over when he got a call, because sometimes coverage was only a block or two radius. Four dollars *a minute*. "If my phone rings, it better be a millionaire with a checkbook in his hand or somebody just died."
View on Reddit #65321446

13maven@reddit

Me but I never used it because it was crazy spendy
View on Reddit #65315952

OkAsparagus2644@reddit

I had one
View on Reddit #65313317

empericisttilldeath@reddit

I'm not THAT old.
View on Reddit #65311934

sven_bohikus@reddit

Answering machine message: “Hi, I’m sorry but I can’t answer the phone because I’m at home right now. Please leave a message with your phone number and I’ll call you back when I’m out.”
View on Reddit #65311903

Phobos1982@reddit

I had one.
View on Reddit #65311450

Successful_Hour3388@reddit

I workedfor Bell South cellular and sold these. It was an experience convincing people they needed to spend $500 in 1991 on a bag phone!😂
View on Reddit #65311258

pappyvanwinkled@reddit

The moment when you called someone just to say “I’m calling you from my car.” Reply: “what do you want?” Me: “Nothing, I just wanted to let you know I am calling from my car”.
View on Reddit #65307678

Hillbilliblues14@reddit

I remember when i had one for a short time it cost like $4.25 a min for air time.
View on Reddit #65303133

EdwardDorito@reddit

I don't think it was any brand i recognized but in the very early 90s my grandfather bought my mom a "car phone". Heavy-ass phone in a bag, with the loud ass velcro and antenna poking out of the bag. This seemed like the absolute most futuristic thing I could ever imagine. It was definitely only for emergencies and life or death situations though. I can remember it being used maaaaaybe 10 times between 1991 and 1995. My brother and i def used it as a play item though, pretending we were cops or whatever.
View on Reddit #65302467

EnigmaX-42@reddit

My mom had one when I was a teenager.
View on Reddit #65301351

Open_Mortgage_4645@reddit

I had a car phone. This was back in 93 or 94. I also had a regular cell phone and I'd use them constantly. This was when you paid by the minute. I remember my bill came in a box and was close to $20k for a month. I Fortunately, my company paid it, but it was suggested that I use it less. Lol
View on Reddit #65301132

GoldenGirl925@reddit

I wasn’t rich.
View on Reddit #65300101

CUNT_373@reddit

Fuck, I *MADE* these at Motorola in the 90’s. lolol Along with Star-tac’s lmao.
View on Reddit #65257982

My-dead-cat@reddit

I installed them in cars!
View on Reddit #65265066

CUNT_373@reddit

I still miss the days of being unreachable…
View on Reddit #65265196

bloodsoed@reddit

On my days off I still am. No cell service at my favorite fishing hole.
View on Reddit #65295164

Suspicious_Juice9511@reddit

There may be service in my garden, but not so much when the phone stays indoors. 😀
View on Reddit #65300040

stimber@reddit

We called them "car phones." My aunt was a business bigwig and had one in her car. I thought it was so cool
View on Reddit #65273148

063anon@reddit

had one in work truck, in some ways still the best mobile phone I've used
View on Reddit #65288195

fruitcup729again@reddit

My Auntie had a long commute and her car broke down once and she got a car phone after that so she wouldn't be stranded again. We all thought it was amazing that you could call from your car. But it was expensive per minute so we weren't allowed to use it for fun.
View on Reddit #65267033

Ambivert111@reddit

I had one for the same reason. But it was so expensive to use, I don’t think I ever actually used it other than to test it out when I first got it. It also weighed a ton!
View on Reddit #65273667

IndyElectronix@reddit

Same here. Used to program nam chips for them. 3 watt car phones baby
View on Reddit #65265325

funkdafied818@reddit

I sold them at the mall during college
View on Reddit #65295158

jazzkween1@reddit

I still have one.
View on Reddit #65289772

GeneralPatten@reddit

These things had such amazing sound quality. I totally miss full duplex.
View on Reddit #65285182

MNPS1603@reddit

I had a star tac as my first phone in 95. My friends all had bag phones so I went out and showed them the future. I still have it, just don’t have any way to charge it to see if it will still turn on. 😂
View on Reddit #65279123

Bl8kStrr@reddit

The Star-Tac would get reception on the moon
View on Reddit #65275238

M_831@reddit

The Star-tacs were the first "Cool" phone I remember. I loved those things.
View on Reddit #65259945

CUNT_373@reddit

Yep, first pocket phone, clamshell. They were cool and very popular.
View on Reddit #65260607

Owlthirtynow@reddit

Very cool.
View on Reddit #65258200

CUNT_373@reddit

Idk, I burned my fingertips all the damn time, lol.
View on Reddit #65258342

CharmingGuide919@reddit

I had one. It sounds crazy now, but at the time it was incredibly convenient.
View on Reddit #65296835

BrainSqueezins@reddit

A number of years ago I came across an OLD bag phone in a thrift store. It had an old-school handset that looked just like the stereotypical 1940’s rotary phone in everyon’s house, the ”standard” coiled cord, and a leather satchel with about 50 lbs of lead acid batteries. I came SO close to buying. Wish I had…
View on Reddit #65295143

capthazelwoodsflask@reddit

My dad had one in the early 90's after he got a big wig job at the county Port Authority. It had a wired microphone that attached to the visor and a magnetic antennae for the top of the car. As much as I always wanted to make a call on it I never was allowed to because of how expensive it would have been.
View on Reddit #65294159

blooobolt@reddit

My dad had one. He worked at a power plant and they needed to get in touch with him if there was a meltdown (joking, but he did have one). We got to make a few calls on it. Was the coolest thing ever. Just for age reference, I'm genX, he's silent generation.
View on Reddit #65294122

Gen-X-Moderator@reddit

I worked in public affairs at a military installation in the early 1990s. When we had crisis drills it was a big deal to get to be the person lugging around the bag with the phone! Good times!!
View on Reddit #65294095

Evening-Top-4245@reddit

This is a flex. Have a Bitcoin story too?
View on Reddit #65293364

OccasionIntrepid2291@reddit

I have one still, my brother kept it since he bought it in 1990 I think and when he passed away a while ago it was the only thing I wanted to keep of his. To remember how goofy he really was thinking how cool he was with his briefcase phone slung over his shoulder... now, I can be that cool too!
View on Reddit #65292363

TapeFlip187@reddit

Had one?? What am I gordon gekko?? Sheez!
View on Reddit #65290932

VoiceCharming6591@reddit

This was my first cell phone oh what a memory
View on Reddit #65290827

Head-Major9768@reddit

In 1990 I sold phones for Cellular One. Remember some of the insane rates? .26 per minute on some plans. What a difficult commission-only sales job. 99 of the business owners yelling "My employees will never need to have phones in their vehicles!" And quickly showing me the door or a hanging up on me. 😆
View on Reddit #65290421

WiseAce1@reddit

Loved my old bag phone. Awesome battery life.
View on Reddit #65290037

Jericoholic_Ninja@reddit

My old man carried one well into the mid 2000s because he claimed it got better reception.
View on Reddit #65256795

bcrock02@reddit

Oh yea. Actually for a couple years it did. 3 full watts of power
View on Reddit #65266434

Jericoholic_Ninja@reddit

Yes, something like that!
View on Reddit #65288848

savoryreflex@reddit

3 watts of glorious analog power
View on Reddit #65288302

VinylHighway@reddit

Danny Glover used like a suitcase one in Lethal Weapon
View on Reddit #65288102

SlinkyMalinky20@reddit

Bag phone. My mom had one when I was in high school.
View on Reddit #65287833

Historical_Flow_1029@reddit

What do you mean “had”? 🤭 I just found ours stashed away in a plastic bin.
View on Reddit #65287152

Flufnstuf@reddit

I had one of these but it got stolen at a party.
View on Reddit #65286025

Dalmatian_Carl@reddit

I had one. It was something like $30 a month for 30 minutes.
View on Reddit #65285835

wakattawakaranai@reddit

The radio station I worked for in the 90s had one, in the unofficial station minivan we took to events. I had to use it a couple of times to call in a "live report" of what we were doing. Fun when it's a concert, lame ass when it's skate night at the roller rink.
View on Reddit #65285730

GeneralPatten@reddit

I have one of these stored away somewhere
View on Reddit #65285313

fedexmess@reddit

Did they model these after military field communications equipment?
View on Reddit #65284451

jamesdee3rd@reddit

I got one back in '95 with Airtouch Cellular. The rates were crazy. I don't remember where it ended up when I got a Nokia to replace it.
View on Reddit #65284252

Reasonable-Bus-2187@reddit

https://i.redd.it/mrijjaeasslf1.gif
View on Reddit #65255614

Jericoholic_Ninja@reddit

Nihilists dude.
View on Reddit #65256864

handsomeape95@reddit

What if they call during a game?
View on Reddit #65257248

Chopping_it_up@reddit

Were you listening to the Dudes story?
View on Reddit #65259618

GratefulDawg73@reddit

Okay, we proceed. But only if there is no funny stuff.
View on Reddit #65276982

deformo@reddit

Dude, are you fuckin this up?
View on Reddit #65283126

Krimreaper1@reddit

We had one like this in the car, but it wasn’t portable.
View on Reddit #65282541

lissam3@reddit

Had one? I SOLD them.
View on Reddit #65282393

CreepyGrapefruit9@reddit

I hated that phone! My parents made me carry it in my car so I could call in an emergency. I hated not being able to disappear
View on Reddit #65281939

brumac44@reddit

I carried a big sat phone for hundreds of miles on youth hiking trips in the eighties. Weighed a ton, and price per minute was astronomical. The one time we needed it for a kid whose nose wouldn't stop bleeding, it didn't work. I had to run 7 miles down an old logging road for help.
View on Reddit #65281659

TWDDave1988@reddit

Those were the shit. I could make calls WAY offshore. Far beyond areas that modern mobile phones lose service.
View on Reddit #65281424

missmarimck@reddit

My mom had one. The leather in the bag was soft and smelled leathery in a good way. I'm not even sure why she had it because she also had a car phone in her car. It had a cord and everything...
View on Reddit #65280867

Difficult-Novel-8453@reddit

I used the bag from one of these as my travel toiletries bag for so many years 😂
View on Reddit #65280827

jbug671@reddit

My mother bought me one of these when I commuting to school in ‘93. I was on a highway, and some bricks from the overpass fell onto my car. I called 911. 911 wasn’t really set up at the time to be mobile friendly. I was explaining that I was calling from my car on the highway, then I lost the signal.
View on Reddit #65280019

classicsat@reddit

I have some as an antique curiosity.
View on Reddit #65278285

redbeard914@reddit

My first phone was a StarTac
View on Reddit #65277073

nightmer5@reddit

Yup, had Dad’s to use in case of emergency 1000 miles from home. Looked just like this.
View on Reddit #65277058

Mobile_Aioli_6252@reddit

1988 - thought I was the shit - hardly ever used it, since reception was at a bare minimum
View on Reddit #65276574

MassConsumer1984@reddit

I had the same one!
View on Reddit #65276443

itgoesineasy@reddit

My mom had one
View on Reddit #65276426

Due_Reading_3778@reddit

Coke dealers
View on Reddit #65276227

No-Sheepherder448@reddit

My Grandfather had one. He retired LAPD in the 80’s and became a realtor. I always thought he was baller with his Crown Vic, nice suits and his bag phone.
View on Reddit #65275587

ExhaustedMouse@reddit

My father had one because his job required him to be reachable at all hours and often out in the country or less developed parts of the province. The huge leather bag sat in the dining room and we were absolutely not allowed to touch it “in case you broke it”.
View on Reddit #65275506

TubaDog9705@reddit

I worked for a TV station and we had one in the news car.
View on Reddit #65275191

WrenchMonkey47@reddit

I had the Radio Shack version. 3W of power! I used it on the road to run credit card transactions.
View on Reddit #65275058

Excellent-Ride8319@reddit

I had one
View on Reddit #65274984

MentalOperation4188@reddit

I had one. Got it for a penny at Circuit City.
View on Reddit #65274481

HiddenUser1248@reddit

I did...when I was 16 (if I remember correctly). I got it from an appliance store. I think the battery lasted like 10 minutes.
View on Reddit #65274305

Full-Nefariousness25@reddit

This was my first mobile phone...
View on Reddit #65273996

Noodle_Nostril@reddit

I had one in college, and it cost almost as much as tuition to use! 😂
View on Reddit #65273941

ExtentFluffy5249@reddit

Won one of these in a raffle. Sold it immediately to help with a down payment on a house. It was worth quite a bit.
View on Reddit #65272300

AuggumsMcDoggums@reddit

My work gave me one. They never told me how much calls cost. I was calling everyone.
View on Reddit #65272279

JustHereforNachos@reddit

Got one when I graduated college in 1992 - mom didn’t want me driving my “flashy car” without one. To be fair it was a super sweet red 1965 Mustang. Good times.
View on Reddit #65272250

bjahn88@reddit

Yep. My purse when I was on call.
View on Reddit #65272080

strait_lines@reddit

those things were awesome! you thrown them into testmode and start listening in on conversations.
View on Reddit #65272046

zazon5@reddit

My mom had one in her Toyota Celica Sunchaser
View on Reddit #65271990

KaetzenOrkester@reddit

Meeee! I had a phone the size of a box of tissues. I commuted from home to grad school and back through a national forest in the mid-90s, and it was pretty isolated.
View on Reddit #65271745

JurisUrsus@reddit

My parents did. Sometimes I'd borrow mom's if I needed to drive to another city. For emergencies only, as they were quite expensive to use.
View on Reddit #65271431

dadofsummer@reddit

When I was young and dumb and walking around neighborhoods in the night and checking for unlocked cars, definitely grabbed a couple of these, and removable stereos people didn’t remove.
View on Reddit #65271401

Val32601@reddit

Yep but mine was an in car install.
View on Reddit #65270493

fromamomof2@reddit

Omg I just ran and showed this to my teen. I was fancy with mine as my boyfriend threaded the wires through the car and mounted me an antenna on my trunk.
View on Reddit #65270488

guiltyas-sin@reddit

Used to be a parts runner for an electrical contractor. I brought one of those with me everywhere.
View on Reddit #65270466

Mjhandy@reddit

Sold them, and car phones, when I worked at Radio Shack. When Radio Shack was cool.
View on Reddit #65270464

Commisceo@reddit

Still have this one in the shed.
View on Reddit #65269917

eyecandynsx@reddit

That was my first cell phone. I sold them at the time.
View on Reddit #65269900

JacPhlash@reddit

Yep, had one that my parents bought me just as I started driving. Got it stolen out of the back of my car in Lynn massachusetts. Not surprising.
View on Reddit #65269820

Baking_Dude@reddit

I worked for clearnet (now Telus) in mid-90s. We got our own phone…the brick…complete with shoulder holster. It was so fashionable & chic…and so damn heavy!
View on Reddit #65269282

Princessferfs@reddit

Rich people had bag phones.
View on Reddit #65268937

ae74@reddit

I had a bag phone in 1992. Later I upgraded in October 1993 to a Motorola PT550 Gold Series from CellularOne. They offered free weekend calling for $10/month.
View on Reddit #65268789

VanillaCola79@reddit

I shared one with my mom. She didn’t even require it to be on when I was 16, just have it in case. I needed it. For what ever reason I decided I didn’t want to keep it in my car so I left it at home. Was taking a short cut and broke down in a methy area. Started taking it with me after that.
View on Reddit #65268697

warrior_poet95834@reddit

At $.99 per minute how can I forget. I was among the first two million cellular phone users in the US in 1990 and I had a “friend” who liked calling me as a flex to his friends that he was talking to someone on a mobile phone.
View on Reddit #65268678

funvibes77@reddit

Yes! One came with my dad's new Honda Prelude. I thought it was so cool right up to the point where I didn't have an excuse to not check in with my parents if I was out late.
View on Reddit #65268571

Yisevery1nuts@reddit

My dad
View on Reddit #65268423

GrimSpirit42@reddit

Saw a guy driving down the road with one of these driving a Yugo. A freakin YUGO. I think the Yugo was offered as a carrying case for the carrying case.
View on Reddit #65268334

OrganizationNo3457@reddit

My father in law had one. The absolute height of chicken! Lol
View on Reddit #65267591

Mr-Snarky@reddit

I still have one kicking around in the back of the garage somewhere.
View on Reddit #65267441

hank987@reddit

Used it only once when I broke down, it saved my ass!
View on Reddit #65267420

JEStucker@reddit

I loved the mobile field radio, er, bag phone. all my friends were getting pagers, I was more practical. My brain said, which would help more when my truck throws a fan or alternator belt at 2am on some 2-lane county road, a phone that can call for help, or a pager that does nothing. 60 minutes of "talk time" for $20 per month, pray you never exceeded those minutes.
View on Reddit #65267413

nixtarx@reddit

Radio station I was an announcer for got two of them to use during remote broadcast in exchange for bandwidth on our tower. This was in the middle of nowhere, so it was about the coolest thing ever when I got to use them.
View on Reddit #65267370

bStewbstix@reddit

I had a bag phone in 88’ but went ahead and installed it in the car. Looking back at the build quality always makes me think we lost something.
View on Reddit #65267242

EducationalOutcome26@reddit

I not only had that model but the boosted external antenna for it, worked construction on the road, prior to this it was a radiophone which was even more expensive and and worse service in the company trucks.
View on Reddit #65267181

RaybeartADunEidann@reddit

As a courier yes.. we hated the thing, usually we “forgot” them in the van
View on Reddit #65266789

Excellent_Recipe7257@reddit

Was telecom manger for a huge law firm. Suddenly most of the partners got one. 50+ ordered. Was a nightmare to keep the charges billed to clients correctly.
View on Reddit #65266683

FLBirdie@reddit

I had that exact phone -- it was my dad's but he gave it to me since I was doing a lot of night driving through some sketchy stretches of road.
View on Reddit #65266613

No-Coat-5875@reddit

I never had one, but I was selling cellular phones and pagers when these were in the way out, for smaller Motorola 'flip' phones.
View on Reddit #65266560

OneOldBear@reddit

A good and caring friend bought one of these for me in case I ever got stuck in the middle of nowhere. It probably saved me more times than not.
View on Reddit #65266520

Mobile-Boss-8566@reddit

That takes me back, it was my first mobile phone.
View on Reddit #65266366

Fulghn@reddit

When a phone took up as much space as a laptop and all it's accessories(back when laptop accessories were a thing).
View on Reddit #65266215

nahman201893@reddit

Mom did field nursing at people's homes. She had to have one for work.
View on Reddit #65266174

Dclot2020@reddit

I remember my dad had one like the one pictured, he acted like a wall street high flyer!, he was a lift(elevator) engineer lol
View on Reddit #65266043

4estGimp@reddit

I still have my OKI bag phone. I swear that thing pumped out enough juice to warm a person's leg.
View on Reddit #65265879

dB_Manipulator@reddit

Started off with a NovaTel and then upgraded to an Oki. Was something like $1.99/min IIRC.
View on Reddit #65265578

Amythecoffeequeen@reddit

I had one!
View on Reddit #65265385

mojdojo@reddit

Had that phone in the mid 90s. The only time I had to use it was 1am, January in Wisconsin. Went into the ditch. It was dead. Was able to drive out of the ditch because there wasn't much snow and everything was frozen. Still salty about it because of the time wasted trying to get the phone hooked up do the cigarette lighter so it would charge enough to work, instead just trying to drive out in the first place.
View on Reddit #65257801

vinegar@reddit

Ha so much sympathy. I’ve spent too much time trying to fix the ‘solution’ instead of the problem.
View on Reddit #65265129

Testy_Coyote_@reddit

I didn't myself but my grandparents did!
View on Reddit #65256562

Feeling_Manner426@reddit (OP)

Grandparents? Using tech back in the 80s and 90s. Unicorns, for sure!
View on Reddit #65264886

CarolynsFingers@reddit

The guy who carried one of these into our pub on a Friday night was forever known as "Tony the Phone".
View on Reddit #65264575

vinegar@reddit

I’m surprised to hear about people having these mid-nineties. The first time I saw cell phones was in 1992. I was traveling through Mexico with a backpack like a hippie. I walked around Mexico City one afternoon and every manly man had a big blocky phone on his belt. Like the size of my 70s walkie-talkie. (I don’t know shit about the timeline of cellphones. I didn’t get one until 2013 and then only under duress. I upgraded from my flipfone 3 years ago, again under duress).
View on Reddit #65264567

2TonCommon@reddit

I had one. Few remember that these were like 3 Watt in transmit mode, so you could really reach out if you were on high ground.
View on Reddit #65264542

rianpie@reddit

My first mobile phone experience in ~1991: a babysitting client called me from her car *in my driveway* to tell me she was there to pick me up and it blew my mind. It wasn’t unusual to get a call that they would pick me up soon so I could watch for them, but I was completely confused when she said she was already there.
View on Reddit #65263053

SouthernCanuck673@reddit

Yes, I remember having one around 2000-2001. I was recently telling my 2 kids, ages 25 and 18, that I had one of these. They'd never heard of bag phones before LOL
View on Reddit #65263011

husky_whisperer@reddit

My dad still has his. Long since decommissioned though 😎. I should try and see if I can power it on one of these days
View on Reddit #65262470

Equivalent-Speed-631@reddit

First phone out of college. It’s probably still in the basement. 😁
View on Reddit #65260940

tutamuss@reddit

I had one. I worked for a mobile phone company. They were huge and a pain in the butt
View on Reddit #65260803

Jasonstackhouse111@reddit

My wife is a very nervous driver and when cell phones came out, I bought one of these bag phones and semi-permanently mounted it in her car. You could buy dedicated hard-wired car cell phones, but I wanted to be able to move it without a huge hassle, so I used some connectors and presto, the best of both worlds at the time. She loved knowing that if anything happened she could summon me, the police, roadside assistance, whatever. Later we had brick phones, then flip phones and on and on. We were very early adopters of some tech, like PCs, laptops and cell phones.
View on Reddit #65260543

lcdroundsystem@reddit

My mom had one I thought it was the coolest thing ever.
View on Reddit #65260195

BabyKing5865@reddit

My Dad got one from the dealer when he bought a 1986 Mustang GT. I think he paid more in minutes than he did for the car.
View on Reddit #65260029

QueenofGreen79@reddit

This was my very first "mobile" phone 😂
View on Reddit #65259948

Flat_6_Theory@reddit

Dad got one in the mid 80s so it didn’t matter which car he drove.
View on Reddit #65259861

West_Boot7246@reddit

I had the same one. That was back in the day when scammers would stand on an overpass looking for cars with antennas so they could scan for your phone number. Then you’d get a bill for thousands for phone calls to places like Afghanistan. I used to run the magnetic antenna through the back seat andnup through the trunk so I could place it as close to the rear window as possible, to hide it. They were expensive and I only used it when out of town on business.
View on Reddit #65259358

Occams_AK47@reddit

saw one at a goodwill recently and was tempted to buy it.
View on Reddit #65259324

QuokkaNerd@reddit

I dated a guy who had one. Turns out he was a coke dealer. Cool phone tho
View on Reddit #65259240

LonnieChilds@reddit

I had the Novatel. I won it in a raffle in the 80's. Became an attic filler after I saw the first phone bill.
View on Reddit #65259155

HandAccomplished6285@reddit

I had that exact model!
View on Reddit #65259086

CombatWombat1973@reddit

My Dad had a car phone for work
View on Reddit #65259037

YoureSooMoneyy@reddit

My husband and I had one! We were so ridiculous though. The only calls we ever made were to his mom because it aggravated her so much and to radio stations to request songs or participate in contests. Sometimes we’d let his little brother call people to be “cool” Haha I wish I still had it!
View on Reddit #65258760

Edu_cats@reddit

I did not but one of my supervisors traveled a lot and had one. That was the first time I saw anything like that, early 1990’s.
View on Reddit #65258716

Biofred@reddit

Definitely had one of these in my lowered Suzuki Samurai in the late 80's and then had an Ericsson mounted phone in the early 90's.
View on Reddit #65258619

LedZebulon@reddit

I that exact one! No long distance charges.
View on Reddit #65258477

FearlessRepeat2925@reddit

I bought a used giant sized Lexus back in the day & it came with a bag phone in the console. I don’t think I ever hooked it up.
View on Reddit #65258371

PeorgieT75@reddit

My brother the obstetrician had one when he was on call and not at home. 
View on Reddit #65258178

Owlthirtynow@reddit

I had one for work. I was working in a mobile lab and needed it to communicate with the office.
View on Reddit #65258055

RDOFAN@reddit

I had one. Back in the day I had to drive 50 km off the main highway into work. A forested, windy, gravel road with blind corners everywhere. Bag phone with a booster was the only way I could call for help if needed.
View on Reddit #65257995

DirectionFront1865@reddit

My ex-wife had one when we were married. When it started to fail, it randomly called our home phone. We didn't have caller ID, so we thought we were being pranked. It got to the level that the police got involved. The bag phone called while an officer was there. It was majorly embarrassing to learn that the call was coming from our own phone. The officer was great about it. She said other bag phones would call 911 when they were failing.
View on Reddit #65257945

BTTN8TR511@reddit

In the early 90's we had one for a sales team of 5 outside reps. You had to reserve the phone in advance for the day you wanted it. Calls were restricted to 5 minutes.
View on Reddit #65257639

DoomOfChaos@reddit

Had one!
View on Reddit #65256630

Low_Cook_5235@reddit

Has one for work. Came with the company car I was allowed to drive.
View on Reddit #65257560

Caliopebookworm@reddit

A girl I knew as a teen had one in her car. I thought it was so cool.
View on Reddit #65257529

KatieROTS@reddit

One of my friends had one. We dragged it everywhere but never really used it since minutes were outrageous back then!
View on Reddit #65257374

whirlydad@reddit

One of my exes had one in her car. We never used it, even when we probably should have. Her Dad threatened her with severe consequences saying it was "far too expensive to actually use unless you were bleeding out on the side of the road". He was a real piece of work.
View on Reddit #65257343

PaleDreamer_1969@reddit

I had one! Worst mistake of my life
View on Reddit #65256787

Latitude22@reddit

I had one on cellular one, then I moved to the Motorola brick.
View on Reddit #65256782

doozle@reddit

We had one that was in the style of a massive fanny pack and showed people hiking in the woods on some promotional material. It didn't even work in the city and I wasn't allowed to use it because of how expensive it was to make calls.
View on Reddit #65256733

zymurginian@reddit

My parents had one. They insisted I take it with me while I drove to an interview 4hrs away. This was in 1997. Got the job, them bought myself a much sleeker Ericcson candy-bar phone.
View on Reddit #65256671

jaynewreck@reddit

I had one in 95-96 when I was in college. I was only to use it in total emergencies. I think the only time I ever had to actually place a call was when my tire blew out on a rural highway at 3 a.m., but it was handy for that!
View on Reddit #65256578

pagit@reddit

I had one for work. Was worried that I’d loose it.
View on Reddit #65256516

Western-Safety6746@reddit

guilty
View on Reddit #65256361

IceSmiley@reddit

My dad had that and it's probably in his house somewhere but I remember when he called our house and said "hey I'm outside!" 🤣
View on Reddit #65256097

17175RC7@reddit

18.95 per month for 60 mins talk time.
View on Reddit #65256080

ONROSREPUS@reddit

I have never even seen one in person.
View on Reddit #65255733

stevemm70@reddit

I had one for work that was in more of a book form. You'd zip it open and lay the "book" flat. I didn't understand phone plans at the time and was terrified to use it for anything non-work related.
View on Reddit #65255643

VeritosCogitos@reddit

I had one … hangs head in shame
View on Reddit #65255563

PirateHungry8293@reddit

I had a Nokia bag phone…. Worked great!
View on Reddit #65255471

IMTrick@reddit

I didn't own one, but my first mobile phone was one of these that I had to lug around for my job. I'd say I had a love/hate relationship with it, but there was no love whatsoever. I hated the damned thing.
View on Reddit #65255335

ctgjerts@reddit

yep. the old bag phone. had one for a couple years.
View on Reddit #65255302