My new phone – Ericsson 388

Ericsson 388

I posted before that my favorite phone I ever owned was an Ericsson 337 and 388. They both looked the same except the biggest difference was that the 337 had a metal front cover while the 388 had a plastic one. Also the 388 allowed me to send SMS while with the 337 I could only accept.

Anyway thanks to Jens a blog reader I now have in my possession an excellent condition Ericsson 388 with a perfectly working battery and home charger. Its gorgeous. Back when I had it the phone looked really tiny since its main competitor back then was the bulky Nokia 2110. Now the phone looks big compared to current phones. I still love the way the phone looks like and I love the green back light and the blinking green light on top of the phone telling me I have signal. Its all very retro.

The phone does lack some things. It doesn’t have a camera, no bluetooth, no infrared, no mp3 ringtones, no colored screen and no 3G. But I can make and receive phone calls and I can also send and receive SMS.

The Ericsson 388 is replacing my Motorola V3x which I have been hating more and more every day. Now I need to go and enter all my phone numbers manually into my phone. Its going to be a long night.

Note: To access the 388 service menu press right then * then left left * and left * one more time.



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31 comments, add your own...


  1. MiRoOoOo !! says:

    Dude ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND ??!!
    What kinda person ditches a new phone for and old piece of shit like this, maybe it reminds you of good memories ?? But functionality man !! Its like holding a brick all day long that does nothing but calls, you’d be stupid if you used it instead of the v3x !!

  2. Mark says:

    actually i dont have to hold it all day long, there is a little clip on the back and i can clip the phone to my jeans ;)

  3. zoomzoom says:

    WTF!!!???

  4. Maze says:

    This was my phone years ago!

  5. Mark says:

    i think it was EVERYONES phone years ago lol. We didnt have many options back then.

  6. CyberRowdy says:

    mark could u please rename the title…hehehhe!…I love it to be “My NEW-OLD phone”. LOL :D gratz

  7. jane says:

    finally someone with taste and individuality who doesn’t care what people think as long as he is satisfied , i think the phone looks great and i used to have one before and I’m thinking of doing the same and ditch my nokia n73 , phones are made to make calls and maybe sometimes send sms AND THATS IT, you wanna browse use a laptop , you want a camera ..GET ONE!, i love you’re style and individuality mark you’re my idol, you go man do you’re thing!

  8. kodder says:

    hehe I miss that phone, one of the best, I hit it so much on the floor and one thing only needed replacement, the antenna :P.
    but it was a very good phone, lasted 3 years with me.
    I miss it.

  9. kodder says:

    damn no, forgot I didnt have the 388 had the 688 sorry….bleh.

  10. Cerebral Assassin says:

    well..old is gold… :)

  11. 3abboud of rak says:

    for a long ass time i refused to change my favorite phone the Nokia 6150..

    i submitted to the aweful peer pressure a couple of years ago

  12. BlueSand says:

    LoL man it looks ancient!
    I dunno, I have a feeling you’ll get bored of it after a few days :)

  13. Marzouq says:

    Man thats just fantastic! Enjoy! At least now you a functional phone!

  14. TanGo says:

    always compared my ancient Ericsson 388 to a VW Beetle :) felt good in your hands…

  15. Cajie says:

    I predict the novelty will die in 2 weeks time when the withdrawal symptons of having the latest and the best will kick in.

  16. Fractal00 says:

    Now all you need to do is strap a 10 MP credit card sized Digital Camera to it’s back .. and voila your phone has a camera

  17. Sam says:

    Retro…a great phone you should keep. I still got my dad’s 338 in perfect condition; hoping that it someday becomes an expensive antique. Besides…the look on people’s faces when I sometimes pull it out in the middle of a busy hypermarket or long queue is priceless.

  18. Zack says:

    Is it just me or does anybody else find the current range of mobiles on the market really uninspiring? I can’t find ANY phone design I like.
    I miss the old days when a phone was…well, ehm, a phone! Anything else combined with it is like a total nuisance.

    Jane: I agree with you totally…Phones are made to make calls + sms….Come on, people, get a grip!

    Bring back the classic Ericssons and Nokias anyday.

  19. Fonzy says:

    hehe memories!! :) my favorite was the nokia 6110, that phone never gave me problems.

  20. moocherx says:

    Life should be more simple.

  21. iKuwait says:

    nokia 6110 the best phone that was ever built, i still use that phone.. as my second phone….i recently bought the nokia e50. great phone

  22. steve_leb says:

    Mark.. the Nokia 2110 was in competitor with Ericsson 688 and not 388.. as i remember.. correct me if am wrong..

  23. Mark says:

    yup you are wrong. 2110 was competing with the 337 and 388

  24. Mark says:

    Nokia 2110 was introduced in 1995
    Both the Ericsson 337 and 388 were also introduced in 1995
    The Ericsson 688 was introduced a year later

  25. SOS says:

    lol! i had this with me. never knew the model number :D

  26. steve_leb says:

    OUT OF SUBJECT

    apple HI FI is for:
    135 kD at clicknbuy.com.kw (p.s. they just changed the web layout)
    140KD in at apple store (marina)
    150 KD at Virgin

    NOW THATS JUST FUCKED UP… anyone knows of any better price..

  27. holla says:

    lol jane u want to be a guy? j/k

  28. [...] Yesterday I got an Ericsson 388 and today I started using it as my primary phone. I have been getting a lot of ooooooohs and ahhhhhhhs everytime someone sees the phone. Everyone owned one and everyone seemed to have positive things to say about the phone and good memories to go along with it. The phone simply rocks. [...]

  29. Mark deSouza says:

    I like that phone. You can travel with it worldwide. It makes an AWESOME weapon…if you are traveling and someone tries to mug you…throw the brick..i mean phone…at them.

  30. [...] I left the store and then literally started running to my car. It was raining so I didn’t look that odd but I just wanted to get away from the store before the guy realizes the phone wasn’t working right. So now I am home and using my old Nokia 2600. I would use the Ericsson 388 but sadly the phones battery no longer holds a charge. Now I just need to figure what phone to get. Filed under: Kuwait, Personal, Gadgets Posted by Mark on 01.12.07 | Related Entries [...]

  31. sylv says:

    I took ur phone image. Hope u dun mind. It reminds me of old days, back then. Thanks.


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