History of mobile phone design…

Can you believe how far we’ve come?

Do you remember the days before you had a cell phone?  A friend and I were chatting recently about our first phones and how they were such “bricks” and rather “feature-less” compared to the phones we have today.  We laughed as we remembered those days of stretching your arm out and walking around to find signal so that you could make a call.

I thought this may be a great topic for Cellfhelp, so I did some searching on the internet.  To my absolute joy, I found an EXCELLENT blog post called “The Evolution of Cell Phone Design Between 1983-2009”.

I have replicated most of the information in this post and would like to thank the original author for the effort they went to in their research.  It is really a GREAT article.

Please note that this historical timeline only shows some of the phone models available at the time.  These were chosen due to their groundbreaking technology or design breakthroughs.

1983

Motorola DynaTAC 8000X

The world’s first mobile phone is launched!

Analog Motorola DynaTAC 8000X Advanced Mobile Phone System mobile phone as of 1983.  As you can see, it was not “pocket size”!

1989

Motorola MicroTAC 9800X

The first truly portable phone. Up until its release, most cellular phones were installed as car phones due to the inability to fit them into a jacket pocket.

1992

Motorola International 3200

The first digital hand-size mobile telephone.

Nokia 1011

This was the first mass-produced GSM phone. It was produced until 1994.

1993

BellSouth/IBM Simon Personal Communicator

The IBM Simon was the first PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) – Phone combination.  This device could be considered to be one of the first “smart” phones.

1996

Motorola StarTAC

The first clamshell cellular phone. Also one of the first display screens featured on a cell phone.  (It is strange to think that Nokia only released their clam-shaped handsets in recent years, yet Motorola had them since way back then…..)

Nokia 8810

Alternately called the “banana phone”, this phone was popularized in the first Matrix movie.

Nokia 9000 Communicator

The first smartphone series, driven by an Intel 386 CPU.   This was a groundbreaking device because the processing power was more powerful than most entry level computers!  It was also the first device with a full QWERTY keyboard, which made typing so much easier.

1998

Nokia 5110

This cell phone was the most popular consumer model at the time of its release and for some time afterwards.

1999

Nokia 8210

This phone was loved for its customizable design, but people hated the way its screen faded – especially in the sun.

Nokia 7110

The first mobile phone with a WAP browser.  At this time a lot of fuss was made about  WAP (Wireless Application Protocol – mobile web site viewing capabilities) but there were so few mobile sites that within a short time the fuss died down and WAP seemed to disappear until many months later when it came back with a bang!

Nokia 5210

This phone was known for its durability and splash-proof interchangeable casing.  The adverts had so many people thinking they could drop their phones that some did – and broke them!  It also sported the cool ability to be able to change the cover to another colour by buying extras.

Benefon Esc!

This was the first instance of a GPS(Global Positioning System) being integrated into a mobile phone, and was sold mostly in Europe.  Back then, I remember trying to sell this phone to 4X4 enthusiasts and some people said, “Why would you ever need a GPS in a phone?”   Today, almost every smart phone has integrated GPS!

Samsung SPH-M100 Uproar

The Uproar was the first cell phone to have MP3 music capabilities.

Nokia 3210

The internal antenna and predictive T9 text messaging sold approximately 160 million of these phones.

2000

Ericsson R380

The R380 featured a black and white touchscreen, partially covered by a flip.  Once again, this was truly groundbreaking technology and set the stage for a whole new design concept.

Nokia 3310

This popular phone sold 126 million units, and was particularly popular in Europe.  It offered excellent value for money.  As an entry level phone it was affordable, durable and feature rich.

Ericsson R320

One of the first phones with a WAP browser. A version of this phone was released in China that allowed Chinese character SMS.

2001

Nokia 5510

This phone featured a full QWERTY keyboard. It could also store up to 64mb of music.

Nokia 8310

This phone contained premium features not normally found on handsets of the time, such as Infrared, a fully functional calendar and a FM Radio.  It was also very small and extremely popular as a phone for ladies.

Ericsson T39

This tiny handset was the first Bluetooth-capable phone.

Ericsson T66

This diminutive entry from Ericsson was the height of a cigarette.

Ericsson T68

This was the first handset in the world to have a colour screen.  It was a lovely little device with full calendar and joystick toggle for easy navigation.  It also had a desktop with icons.  (I had a white one and loved it!)

Siemens S45

Siemens’s first ever GPRS mobile phone with 360kb of internal memory – high at the time.

2002

Nokia 3510(i)

The first Nokia phone to bring GPRS internet services to the mass market. The 3510i, pictured here, was a more advanced version with a colour screen. It was cheap, simple to use and quite popular.

Nokia 7650

This was the first Nokia set to feature a built-in camera and was featured in the movie Minority Report.

Sony Ericsson P800

This smartphone featured a touchscreen and up to 128mb of memory.  A great smartphone, the P800 also featured handwriting recognition and a virtual keyboard. This phone was used in one of the James Bond movies – as it was truly considered to be the industry leader in a category of its own!  It was my first true smart phone and I was hooked on Sony Ericsson from then on!

Nokia 6100

This model sold from 2002-2005. It featured an LCD screen and internet connectivity through GPRS.

Nokia 6310i

The 6310i quickly gained popularity in the corporate world for its simplicity and long battery life.  (In South Africa, Nokia tried numerous times to discontinue this phone but due to popular demand, they kept bringing it back.  Many companies would ONLY use these phones for business and had gone to the added expense of installing car kits for staff and buying accessories.  For this reason and because of the reliability of this phone, they did not want to “upgrade” to any other phone.  Even newer, colour screen phones were no temptation for companies to move.  It took many months before Nokia could pull this phone off the market.  Then for months or even years afterward, this was a hot item on the second hand market.

Sanyo SCP-5300

The first camera phone. Despite the low quality images it produced, it was the first camera phone.

2003

Nokia 1100

This extremely popular design has sold over 200 million since its introduction in 2003. This phone is rumoured to have sold for up to $32,000 in online criminal communities due to its ability to intercept one-time banking passwords.

Nokia N-Gage

Nokia’s answer to the Game Boy advance, this phone/games system had a couple of award winning titles before it succumbed to its clunky interface design.  Yet it was a revolutionary device and competed well with other handheld gaming devices.

PalmOne Treo 600

One of the “it” gadgets from 2003-2004 until BlackBerries overtook them in popularity. Three or four days between charges and a successful merger of phone, PDA, and camera made this the business tool of choice.

Nokia 6600

Considered very advanced at the time of its introduction due to its Symbian OS-based Nokia Series 60 platform. Released in the US market as the Nokia 6620. (The biggest complaint customers had with this phone was that it took so long to boot up – due to the number of applications on the phone.  Others complained that the system would “freeze” and they would have to reboot – but in general it was the beginning of a very successful new operating system for mobile phones.)

BlackBerry Quark 6210

Research In Motion’s first integrated phone/PDA.  The BlackBerry pushed email (where email arrives on your phone automatically) made mobile corporate communications a reality.

BlackBerry 7210

BlackBerry’s first colour screen.

Nokia 7600

One of the first 3G smartphones by Nokia, still one of the lightest and smallest.

2004

Motorola Razor V3

When this was introduced it set the standard for sleek design in the industry.  Mobile phones CAN be beautiful and SEXY!

Sony Ericsson P910

An attractive flip smartphone with full internet connectivity.  A great upgrade from the Sony Ericsson P900 but unfortunately did not maintain Sony Ericsson’s leadership status in the smartphone market.

Nokia 7610

Nokia’s first smartphone with a 1 megapixel camera.

Nokia 3220

The first entry-level Nokia phone that offered full internet access.

Nokia 6630

The first cell phone to allow for global roaming.

Nokia 7280

Listed by Fortune Magazine as one of the best products of 2004. Also referred to as the “lipstick” phone. (In the beginning it was really funny watching customers trying to figure out how to switch it on and make a call! It may be pretty but it is not the most user-friendly phone around!)

2005

Nokia 1110

Released as a low-end GSM phone, and widely used in developing countries.

Nokia 6680

One of the first 3G phones, the Nokia 6680 was considered to be high end at the time of its release.  With the second camera in front, this phone was the start of video calling.

HTC Universal

This was the first 3G Pocket PC phone at HTC and the first to come with Windows Mobile.

Motorola RAZR V3 Magenta

This hot pink phone gave the fashion set something to talk about!  Once again, Motorola came to the fore with awesome design!

2006

HTC TyTN 100

This model was sold as the Orange SPV M3100 in the UK, keeping with HTC’s tradition of private labelling for individual carriers.

Nokia N73

This immensely popular smartphone has sold millions of models worldwide, and is still in wide use as of 2009.

Motorola Q

The supposed “BlackBerry Killer” from Motorola.

BlackBerry Pearl

The first design-conscious entry from RIM (Research in motion – they are BlackBerry), the Pearl is still being offered on the market today.

KDDI Penck

A fabulous design available only in Japan.

O2 XDA Flame

The XDA Flame is the first dual processor PDA-phone in the 02 line.

LG Chocolate KG800

One of the first well-designed phones made for mass market use.

Samsung i607 BlackJack

Research in Motion sued Samsung over the name of this phone. The lawsuit was settled out of court.

2007

iPhone

The original iPhone was released in June 2007 with an auto-rotate sensor, a multi-touch sensor that allowed multiple inputs while ignoring minor touches, a touch interface that replaced the traditional QWERTY keyboards, and many other features that helped to give Apple an almost instant healthy market share on its release.

As EVERYONE knows, the Apple iPhone was a killer device and it totally changed the mobile industry! From then on other handset manufacturers were all in a hurry to design and deploy an “iPhone killer” – in Cellfhelp’s opinion – no one has even come close and it is over 2 years later!!

LG Prada KE850

Touchscreen phone that took home a Red Dot Design Award for “Best of the Best” in 2007.

LG Voyager

This design was touted as LG’s take on the iPhone.

HTC Touch

HTC’s answer to the iPhone with its own multi-touch interface and a high screen resolution.

Nokia E90 Communicator

This update of the first smartphone launched the fifth generation of the series.

Nokia N95

Nokia’s popular smartphone features a slider to access multimedia buttons and a numeric keypad.

Helio Ocean

Work on this “ultimate messaging and talking machine” began before Helio was a company.

LG Shine

This phone won another Red Dot for LG in 2007. Also released in Gold and Titanium Black.

Motorola RAZR²

This phone features the Opera internet browser and CrystalTalk technology.

Palm Treo 755p

The Treo 755p is a smartphone developed by Palm, Inc. It was released on May 14, 2007 as the first CDMA Treo without an aerial antenna.

LG Viewty

A phone firmly focused on visuals. DivX Certified playback and 5 megapixel digital camera with Schneider Kreuznach optics are just a couple of the features of this simply designed phone.

2008

iPhone 3G

The iPhone 3G was made even more desirable by all the apps that could be purchased for it in the AppStore when it was released in July of 2008.  Cellfhelp rating: UBER hot and sexy!! We love iPhone!

LG Vu

The LG Vu was one in a series of phones that included the LG Prada phone.

T-Mobile G1 Phone

The G1 phone was the first phone to be released with the Android operating system designed by Google. Also known as the HTC Dream. One million devices have sold as of April 2009.

Nokia N96

This GPS-enabled entry in Nokia’s smartphone line features a sleek, compact design.

Nokia 5800 XpressMusic

This phone was featured in The Dark Knight. (It was originally touted as an “iPhone killer” but just didn’t match up.  It is, however, a really good media device for the more price conscious.  Cellfhelp had a demo device and we were really impressed with the music and video quality – overall a good phone.)

LG Secret

The outside of the LG Secret, a 3G slider phone, is constructed from carbon fiber. Also features the world’s slimmest 5.0 megapixel camera on a smartphone.

Samsung Instinct

The Instinct was introduced as the “iPhone killer” from Samsung at a low price of $129.00. (Cellfhelp has not had the opportunity to test this phone so we cannot comment).

BlackBerry Storm

Designed to be a direct competitor to the iPhone 3G and other 3G smartphones; RIM’s first device to do away with the QWERTY keyboard and incorporate a touchscreen.

BlackBerry Bold

Blackberry’s “middle ground” solution for those who wanted a 3G phone and a QWERTY keyboard.

Samsung Gravity

The Samsung Gravity is their first to feature a slide-out keyboard that has proved popular in other brands.

Motorola Krave

The Krave design features a transparent flip that acts as a secondary touch surface to access additional features.

Samsung Omnia

The Samsung Omnia features a simple touchscreen interface and a speaker on the back.  It also introduced Samsung’s first Windows Mobile phone.

LG Dare

The handwriting recognition and simple touchscreen styling of the Dare is enhanced by the easy-grip back.

Sony Ericsson W760i

Includes the “Sensme” music feature, as well as all of the other features from the Walkman phone brand.

Nokia N79

The Nokia N79 has a Naviwheel, GPS, a 5 megapixel camera with a Carl Zeiss Optics Tessar lens and more.

HTC Touch Diamond

This attractive smartphone featured a resistive touch screen.  When you touch it, you can actually feel it move under your fingers!  The only downside to this phone is the shiny black surface which reflects fingerprints really quickly.

LG KC910 Renoir

The LG Renoir has an 8-megapixel camera with xenon flash and Schneider-Kreuznach optics.

Nokia E71

The steel frame of this sleek smartphone from Nokia fits into your palm.

2009

Prada II or LG KF900

The second iteration of the Prada phone designed by LG. The sliding QWERTY keyboard is new, as is its 3G capability.  (Not only a fashion accessory – this phone is a real communicator too!)

LG Arena

The first phone with LG’s 3D S-Class user interface. This UI reorients with the rotation of the phone and allows you to scroll film-reel style through available apps.

BlackBerry Curve 8900

Released in February 2009, the Curve features an improved trackball and a higher resolution screen. Still a 2G.

(Cellfhelp editor is currently using this phone – it is truly incredible! A GREAT device.  The small keyboard does suite a woman more than a man.  For a male user, we would recommend the new Bold.)

LG Versa

Comes with an attachable QWERTY keyboard and a virtual keyboard on the touch screen.

Sidekick LX 2009

This 3G incarnation of the Sidekick includes improved support for social networking applications.

Samsung Magnet

The Samsung Magnet is a cheap alternative for pricier smartphones with much of the same functionality and a cool design.

LG Xenon

Another slide-out QWERTY keyboard and compact design. Comes with AT&T’s Navigator, AT&T’s turn-by-turn GPS service.

HTC Magic

The next HTC entry to sport Google’s Android operating system. No US carriers have yet been confirmed for this model, but T-Mobile has been rumoured to be the carrier of record. Vodafone has exclusive rights to the phone in all markets that they service.

HTC Touch Diamond2

HTC made the LCD display screen as large as they could at 3.2″ for their next incarnation of the Diamond.

Samsung Propel Pro

The sliding QWERTY keyboard and slick design make this an attractive entry by Samsung.

LG Rumor2

Built for e-mail, the Rumor2 supports Lotus Notes where its predecessor didn’t.

Motorola Renew

This eco-friendly phone is the world’s first carbon-neutral cell phone. Made with recycled water bottles, cheap, and an abundance of features for the low price.