( CNN ) -- These days , almost all new cellphones look alike : They 're sleek black rectangles with glowing color screens . They 're handsome , slender , well-dressed and a little predictable . If they were human , they 'd be infomercial hosts . We often take them for granted . But as anyone over the age of 15 remembers , it was n't always this way . In hindsight , mobile phones used to be downright ugly . As Mobile World Congress -- the planet 's largest mobile-tech show -- prepares to kick off in Barcelona , Spain , we thought we 'd offer this gallery to remind us all how far we have come . Twenty-five years ago , early adopters like Gordon Gekko and Zack Morris were lugging around phones the size of footballs . Even a decade or so ago , most phones had dull gray screens , clamshell designs or tiny keypads that made you hit a button over and over to text one letter of the alphabet . So , the next time you complain about your iPhone , Evo or Galaxy S III , remember : You could still be trying to communicate on one of these balky relics . What was your first cellphone ? Does it conjure up any old stories ? Do you still have it ? Let us know in the comments .
In honor of Mobile World Congress , here 's a gallery of ugly , outdated cellphones . Even a decade or so ago , phones had dull gray screens , clamshell designs or tiny keypads .