Landmark Phones: The Handsets That Made History

 

The first mobile phone invented for practical use was by a Motorola employee called Martin Cooper who is widely considered to be a key player in the history of mobile phones.

From ‘80s menhir-like “brick phones” to the iconic Nokia handsets, these are some of the phones that pushed the boundaries of what was possible and paved the way for today’s smartphones.

1985: Motorola Dynatac 8000X

Known in the industry as “the brick” and visible in many scenes of the 1987 movie Wall Street, the Motorola Dynatac 800X was the first handheld mobile phone and loudly announced the beginning of a new era.

1992: Nokia 1011

This is the world’s first mass-produced phone that used the new GSM digital standard.

Nokia 1011 was ‘available in any colour, as long as it’s black.

Specs included a monochrome LCD screen, extendable antenna and a memory capable of storing 99 phone numbers.

1996: Motorola StarTAC

The most expensive and desirable phone on the market at the time of its release. The StarTac debuted the clamshell design and was the lightest and smallest phone on the market.

It was also the first phone to be openly marketed as a luxury item.

1997: The Hagenuk GlobalHandy

This little known German-made and the impractically minimal handset was the first phone that had no visible external antenna.

1998: Siemens S10

The first phone with a colour screen, Siemens’ S10 was a landmark device by any yardstick.

Although its uninspiring design and tiny 97 x 54-pixel display failed to set the world on fire, it more than merits a place in the annals of mobile phone history.

1998: Nokia 5110

Sponsor of London Fashion Week in 1999, Nokia 5110 was an instant success and kick started the vogue for customizing your handset.

1999: Nokia 7110

Another first, for the Finnish phone-maker, the 7110 was the first handset to feature a WAP browser.

That meant it was capable of browsing the internet. Or at least a stripped-down and incredibly slow version of it that was of little use to most people.

But for all that, it was a big step towards the multi-functionality that’s at the core of today’s smartphones.

1999: Motorola Timeport

This was the first tri-band GSM phone, meaning it worked everywhere around the world.

A must-have for self-proclaimed citizens of the world. And the hordes of Gen X-ers heading to Asia on the backpacker trail. As was the fashion of the time.

2000: Nokia 9210 Communicator

The first serious attempt at an internet-enabled mobile phone, the Communicator was ahead of its time.

It weighed around 400g, so was no-one’s idea of pocket-sized. But on the plus side, it had 8MB of storage and a full keyboard, you could use it as a personal organizer, as well as a web browser and email support.

2000: Sharp J-SH04

Billed as the first commercially available camera phone, Sharp's effort was only sold in Japan and had a camera resolution of 0.11MP. ‘Blurrycam’ didn’t begin to cover it.

2000: Nokia 3310

Legendarily sturdy, the 3310 was the phone that launched a thousand memes. And with 126 million units shifted, stands as one of the biggest-selling phone of all time.

The battery lasted for days and it was light and truly pocketable at only 133g.

It also introduced the Snake game, customizable ringtones and a silent 'vibrate' mode.

2003: Nokia 1100

The Nokia 1100 was launched as a basic phone for developing-world countries back in 2003.

The best part of a decade and a half and one smartphone boom later, it remains the best-selling mobile phone of all time.

2004: Motorola Razr V3

The last great flip phone, the Razr was impossibly thin at only 14mm. Unusually for the time, it also had an aluminum casing that looked achingly slick.

Ironically, the overwhelming success of the Razr was probably the main cause of the downfall of Motorola.

In hindsight, it’s apparent that the US phone-maker’s over-reliance on this successful and iconic series caused the company to fall behind, failing to innovate and compete with the soon-to-arrive large-screen phones from LG and Samsung.

2003: Blackberry 6210

The first true Blackberry phone, which integrated a phone with fully functioning email, web browsing and the much loved Blackberry Messenger.

2017 and beyond

Modern-day smartphones are pretty unrecognizable from the analogue bricks we used to cart around.

The likes of 2017’s iPhone X and Samsung S8 have brought us stunning all-screen fronts that are perfect for watching videos and playing games. Meanwhile their face-scanning technology enables you to unlock your device just by looking at it.

Professional dual-lens cameras are now becoming standard on high-end smartphones while the handsets themselves are becoming ever more durable, with impressive waterproofing and tough Gorilla Glass screens.

This article was first published on U switch on February 1, 2021.

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