Reginald James' cell phone dies. Cause of phone's death unknown

After 30 months of service, on August 12, Reginald James' phone broke. Permanently. The cause of death is unknown.

The phone had been "tripping" for weeks, James said. In recent days, the END call/power button seemed unresponsive. Suddenly, the phone's LCD screen went totally white.

"I just arrived at KTVU to cover a protest. I was planning on doing some live tweeting. When I pulled out the phone, the screen was all white," James said. "The phone had been tripping for a minute; buttons not responding, the phone calling other phones on it's own."

"I guess it was really time to get a new phone," he added.

Earlier this year, the phone's screen was damaged after being dropped. A large diagonal crack on the screen remained. It is unclear if the phone's death resulted from these injuries.

"I told him he should've been got a new phone," said Brandy Smith. "His (James) cheap ass didn't want to listen. Now he gotta get a new phone. Even though, he didn't answer that phone half the time."

James got the phone for it's texting dexterity. Although James tried not to talk too much on the phone, he frequently used it to send updates to Twitter. Last year, the phone stopped sending Twitpics, drastically changing James' usage of the service.

"I had the same crack on my phone's screen," said Dawna Williams. "I got a new phone months ago. I guess he held onto the phone for sentimental reasons."

James originally got the phone in 2008 to replace a malfunctioning Kyocera Strobe. Prior to that, James had a T-Mobile phone and Nextel service.

"This is the longest I've kept a single electronic communication device since a pager," James said. "I guess I was kind of attached to it. I just received a replacement in the mail, but it doesn't feel the same. The buttons are clean, there's no crack in the screen and I can't even smell my own breath when I speak into the phone. It doesn't feel right."

The replacement phone was sent in the mail the same day and arrived to James' home Friday. Ironically, but not uncharacteristically of Metro PCS, the phone was shipped without a battery. James was forced to harvest the organs of the old phone and use them in the replacement, even though the phone was not registered as an organ donor.

All of the phone's contacts -- including phone numbers and email addresses -- are gone. All of the phone's pictures are UNretrievable, also.

"All of our memories are gone. Even though the mind and soul of my phone is gone," James said, fighting back tears, "I'm using the battery of my old phone in this new one. It's like the heart is still with me, pumping and radiating energy."

"My phone don't pump no Kool-Aid," James said as he broke down and cried. After he wiped away the tears, he was seen on Craigslist.org looking for smartphones.

A private ceremony in memory of the phone at Alameda Beach will be held Saturday, August 28 (Although there is no MetroPCS service there).

In lieu of flowers, email James your name and phone number, or, you can call James at five one zero - seven seven six - one six nine five, and stay connected.

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