Life before smartphones can be hard to remember, especially since they replaced maps, clocks, calendars, and cameras, to name a few.
But one day we all pressed buttons instead of touching screens.
Cell phones have come a long way since the Motorola DynaTAC 8000X, which was introduced in 1983 and was the first cordless phone that took ten hours to charge.
MailOnline looks at the ten most popular mobile phones of all time, from the old Nokia 3310 to the game-changing iPhone.
1. “Nokia 3310”
The Nokia 3310 is arguably the most famous touchscreen mobile phone in history.
It first appeared in 2000, its main new feature was the “chat” function, which allowed instant messaging using SMS.
A press release at the time said: “With this change, online chat groups are no longer limited to the desktop. The Nokia 3310 is specifically designed for the youth.”
The phone features a calculator, stopwatch and reminder feature, which was rare back then.
You can also download new ringtones, although many are satisfied with the unique “Grande Valse”.
You can also replace the case with a personalized version, turning your mobile phone from a functional device into a stylish accessory.
However, the real reason this 133g device has stood the test of time is that it is considered virtually indestructible.
Over the years, many videos have been created that demonstrate the safety of the device.
2. Motorola RAZR V3
In second place is the stylish Motorola RAZR, which was the thinnest mobile phone on the market when it was launched in 2004.
Its sleek design sold more than 130 million copies, elevating it to other phones of the era, making it the best-selling clamshell phone of all time.
The V3 comes in several colors, including pink, and Motorola has teamed up with Dolce and Gabbana to create a limited edition Gold Edition.
3. “iPhone 3G”
The first iPhone was introduced by Apple CEO Steve Jobs at MacWorld San Francisco in January 2007 with the slogan “Apple is reinventing the phone”.
In June of the same year, the 8GB version was made available to the public for $599, selling more than 6.1 million units, making it Apple’s most successful product.
The touchscreen and layout app revolutionized the smartphone industry forever and was named Time Magazine’s Invention of the Year in 2007.
The original iPhone, unofficially called iPhone 1 or iPhone 2G, came with 4, 8 or 16 GB of storage and a 2 megapixel camera.
That’s a far cry from the 1TB of storage and 48MP camera offered by the latest iPhone 14 Pro.
It also has a headphone jack, home button, and wide bezels around its relatively small 3.5-inch display.
4. Motorola DynaTAC 8000X
The Motorola DynaTAC 8000X weighed 784 grams (1.75 lb) and cost £3,000 in the UK in 1985.
Although it looks huge, it’s actually very elegant compared to other devices that are usually attached to trolleys or bags.
The so-called “brick phone” took ten hours to charge the giant with a standard charger, so you could make calls for up to an hour.
This is mostly associated with young people working in high-paying corporate jobs, usually in advertising or the stock market.
The phone also starred in several movies in the eighties of the last century, including “Wall Street” and “American Psycho”.
5. LG Chocolate
The LG Chocolate appeared in 2006. While variations of the original design were released in different countries, they all featured red touch-sensitive buttons and beautiful curves.
The UK version, the KG800, featured a slider design that revealed the keyboard underneath.
And while they come in a variety of colors, they are believed to have sparked the pink gadget craze of the late 2000s.
6. BlackBerry Bold 9000
With a full QWERTY keyboard and trackball controller, BlackBerry phones were unrivaled when they were popular.
Perhaps the most famous of these is the BlackBerry 9000, which helped transform it from a business device into an “it” product for young people.
And who can forget BlackBerry Messenger, or BBM, the answer to WhatsApp, made available to a dedicated club of BlackBerry users in 2008.
Despite its popularity in classrooms, the Bold is marketed as a premium black and chrome device with a leather-like back panel for “successful professionals” and “career builders.”
7. “Nokia 7280”
While the name “Nokia 7280” may not mean anything to you right away, once you see a picture of it, you’ll probably take your memory back to 2004.
This rectangular device is purposely designed to appear cosmetically as part of Nokia’s “fashion phone” lineup.
It had a red camera and a floating tip that revealed a Navi-Spinner instead of the traditional keyboard.
The “Nokia 7280” is made of plastic, metal and leather and has a “Nokia” sticker on the side.
The screen also turns into a mirror when inactive, but if that’s not enough to attract the younger demographic, its music video features seal the deal.
8. Sony Ericsson W800
The Sony Ericsson W800 was the first phone to team up with the Walkman and truly marketed itself as a music player first and a communication device second.
This was fueled by the massive success of Apple’s iPod music player, which sold over 10 million copies in 2005 when the W800 was released.
The device comes with a 512MB Memory Stick Duo card that can store 250 tracks that can be downloaded from a computer as MP3 or AAC files.
The white and orange color scheme and massive 2 MP camera lens also helped it stand out from other phones at the time.
The small joystick for navigating the phone is also a funky addition, but it has led to some complaints because it breaks easily.
And a full charge can support 30 hours of music playback in airplane mode or 400 hours in standby – statistics that are the envy of today’s smartphone giants.
9. “Nokia 9000”
The Nokia 9000 was released in 1996 and shook up the industry with a massive 24 MHz processor and 8 MB of memory.
From the outside, the 397g looks like a regular phone, but can be flipped to reveal an additional screen and a full QWERTY keyboard.
It has many top features, including a document processing and editing tool, an alarm clock, a calendar, and a composer for creating your own ringtones.
The device also has an internet connection that allows the user to access e-mail and faxes – an important function in the 1990s.
10. Samsung Galaxy Note
When the first Samsung Galaxy Note arrived In 2011, its 5.3-inch (13.5cm) screen looked ridiculous – who would need a phone this big?
And it got a new “phablet” designation, a crossover between phone and tablet, which was quickly abandoned after other devices changed their screens to similar dimensions.
At the time of its release, Samsung said the massive display allows the user to “do more to create and consume more on the go with minimal swipes and screen transitions.”
The device is equipped with a proven successful “S Pen” that allows the user to touch or draw on the colorful HD Super AMOLED screen.
It is widely seen as paving the way for giant smartphones on the market today, including the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 with its 7.6-inch (19 cm) screen.
Source: Daily Mail
Source: Arabic RT
