A not so brief history of Cell Phones.
In a staggeringly brief amount of time the cell phone went from a prohibitively expensive luxury item to an omnipresent, if not obtrusive, automated companion. Replacing things like mobile computers, cameras, video cameras, voice recorders, portable televisions, e-book readers, portable video game consoles, and more, all in one thin device. The modern mobile phone is changing, like it or not, human interactions every day. When the first cell phone was invented, it's purpose was simple, to allow communication via voice while on the go. As time went on however the cell phone evolved. Through experiments with convergent concepts and new features like cameras and MP3 players that improved the hardware, the result was a device with expanded functional boundaries beyond just making telephone calls. Additionally, mobile friendly software applications like YouTube, iTunes, Pandora, Instagram, and of course Facebook, changed forever what consumers expected to be able do with their phones. Much more like computers, it seems odd not to call them "phones" given how little of their usage is devoted strictly to performing voice calls. This article is meant to highlight the milestones, the risks that were taken, the winners and the losers that brought us to this bittersweet moment in time where humans and machines are entwined like never before. We will examine how the cell phone evolved from simple communication devices for the rich to pocket-sized virtual magic mirrors for everyone.
By now we all have probably heard the story about the first cellular phone call ever made on a portable device. It was made in 1973 by a Motorola engineer named Martin Cooper and the call was placed to Joel Engel of Bell Labs. Mr. Engle and Mr. Cooper were competitors and they were each independently working towards the same goal: Mobile telecommunication. The brick-like device he used was the concept that would eventually become the first widely publicly available phone. It's journey of development from that first famous call to the public marketplace would take about a decade.
Suprisingly Motorola was not first to market with a publicly available mobile phone. They were beat to the punch by Nokia. Nokia's first mobile telephone was launched under the brand name Mobira in January 1982. It was a tecnological milestone, however it wheighed 22 pounds. At that size and heft, it was a bit too heavy to be considered truly mobile and it was sucesfully marketed as a prestegious car phone. Lookinf more like military hardware than a civilian device, it was very exclusive tech at the time. It could be had for the very exclusive price of $4500.00. The phone was developed through a venture by Nokia and felow Finnish compant Solora OY and marketed under the name Mibira. Its development ran parallel with and the creation of the Nordic Mobile Telephone Network (NMT) which was essentially 1G. Specifically it was used on the MTN 450 network. Nokia would not release mobile phone hardware under its own name until 1989.
Remember that concept phone that Motorola's Martin Cooper used to make the very first storied cellular phone call? That groundbreaking device would evolve from concept to reality through the course of a decade. It would become the Motorola Dyna Tac 8000X, available to those who could afford it, at a prohibitively high price of $3995.00. This exorbitant sum did not discourage pioneering early adopters and there was a substantial waiting list for one. This was in 1984 and in a sense, it was the beginning of the mobile phone market.
1988
Fast forward to 1988, phones still looked like bricks, but the mobile phone had become pedestrian enough to be advertised on television, and from your local Radio Shack store no less. Set to a jazzy, overwrought, altogether eighties saxophone score, the traditional American spiritual "Hes got whole world in his Hands" is blasphemously adapted in this commercial to introduce the world to the burgeoning reality of a truly portable phone available locally now at "The Technology Store". This mainstream commercial was signaling a reduction of prices for the portable telephone and heralding it's impending availability to everyone.
Meanwhile, cordless phones were beginning to push the envelope of how small they could be engineered. Connected to land lines via radio signals these were not truly portable, but started getting consumers used to the idea of a phone that was not connected by a cord to the wall. This Southwestern Bell Freedom Phone FF-1250 was one of the smallest cordless phones in 1988.
In 1989 the Motorola MicroTAC was a monumental leap forward in mobile phone industrial design. It was smaller, lighter, and with it's half-flip, was truly portable. Unlike the old Motorola "brick" it looked futuristic and cool. It started showing up in movies, music videos, and television shows, it got peoples attention. As a result, people aspired to own it. It's basic design would go on for years with subtle hardware and software tweaks along the way.
Still very much a burgeoning market by 1989 other companies were beginning to sell portable cellular telephones. Competition would eventually bring down the entrance fee to Cellular Phone ownership. Here a Radio Shack branded CT-301 (probably made by Tandy Corporation) demonstrates that while the design has hardly advanced, still emulating Motorola's familiar brick, the technological advancements meant it could now be had at a (relatively) lower price of $1499.00. Remember that the first mobile phone cost over twice as much just a few years ago. The price was lower, yet still out of reach for many consumers.
The same 1989 Radio Shack catalog featured their lowest priced mobile, a semi-portable car phone. The design kept the costs down as the base unit held the bulk of the components while power from the 12V car adapter meant it did not need an expensive battery. Interestingly, this is about the price you'd pay today for a current unsubsidized high-end cell phone.
This TC-132 from Blaupunkt, a German company known much more for audio components, is still quite large by today's standards yet marked a small step towards smaller more portable phones.
Thought of as the first smartphone, although the phrase would be coined later, this IBM powered Simon was built by Mitsubishi. That's right, that Mitsubishi. It featured a large monochrome touchscreen to access organizing tools. A pioneering device, highly collectable today, 50,000 units were sold for $1100.00 but with contract subsidies from Bell South it could be had for as low as $600.00.
1996
Another very early Smartphone, this one from Nokia is the Communicator 9000. This phone utilized a Symbian operating system. Before Android, Symbian was a popular, simple, and capable OS. More than just limited proof of concept device this phone flourished through several successors retaining the basic concept and Communicator name up until 2009, with the final Communicator the E90. An interesting design, the phone when opened resembled a tiny laptop, while closed standard bar phone controls can be found for making calls in a familiar way.
Motorola reasserts it's dominance in the early years of mobile phones once again with their StarTac in 1997, a device that again re-imagines portability and elevates things to a new benchmark in design. The first clamshell or full-flip style phone with the display and keypad below the hinge and simply the earpiece above. The first generation had a cool yet simple numeric red led display. Later models would lose this in favor of a less cool looking LCD display that was necessary to facilitate new messaging functions. This futuristic and groundbreaking device could be had for around $1000.
The Ericsson GS88 Smart Phone was never officially released to the public, so it remains now an interesting footnote in the story of smartphone development. Ericsson built 200 concept units of this strange device that are now in the firm grasp of collectors. This phone was a landmark not only in terms of it's hardware and software, but in that it was actually the first to be referred to as a smartphone (Smart Phone on the packaging). This term would live on to this day, even as its definition would change. The GS88 appeared to be a thick bar style device that housed a fold down qwerty keypad that revealed a larger secondary screen for its E-Mail, SMS, Internet, Address Book, Calendar, and Notepad functions. Though never sold, the lessons learned in it's development would be applied to the smaller and sleeker Ericsson R380 smartphone that would see production in 2000.
Function meets Form
Through the years the physical design of cell phones began to evolve, demonstrating diversity and variety that would make Darwin proud. These different shapes and designs are sometimes called Form Factors. We probably first became collectively aware of form factors with the advent of flip phones. There was a time when people aspired to own a flip phone (flip phones were once predominantly high-end phones). Well, the age of the flip phone's design supremacy has come and gone and along the way the evolution of the cell phone has spawned an awesome array of curious mutations. From the inspired to the ridiculous, here are most (but of course not all) of the different form factors we have seen through the years.
The Bar
This is it, this is as basic as it gets. As cell phones began to become more accessible Nokia sold millions of seemingly indestructible bar phones like this one. The Bar is a humble workhorse form factor, nothing fancy, just a portable phone. But that does not mean it goes unloved, the Nokia 3310 shown above was regarded as bulletproof and became an industry icon. So much so, that the company brought back a re-imagined 3310 for 2017.
Some Notable Bar Phones: Motorola Dyna Tac 8000 (the first Cell Phone), Sanyo SCP-6000, Nokia 3310 (shown)
This is it, this is as basic as it gets. As cell phones began to become more accessible Nokia sold millions of seemingly indestructible bar phones like this one. The Bar is a humble workhorse form factor, nothing fancy, just a portable phone. But that does not mean it goes unloved, the Nokia 3310 shown above was regarded as bulletproof and became an industry icon. So much so, that the company brought back a re-imagined 3310 for 2017.
Some Notable Bar Phones: Motorola Dyna Tac 8000 (the first Cell Phone), Sanyo SCP-6000, Nokia 3310 (shown)
Flip Phone
The flip phone was one of the first alternative embodiments available, because it folded, it allowed the phone to be more portable and arguably more stylish.
Some Notable Flip Phones: Motorola RAZR, Sanyo Katana, Pantech Breeze (shown)
The flip phone was one of the first alternative embodiments available, because it folded, it allowed the phone to be more portable and arguably more stylish.
Some Notable Flip Phones: Motorola RAZR, Sanyo Katana, Pantech Breeze (shown)
Slider
Like the flip phone, this form factor made for a smaller device when not in use. The keypad could be covered by the screen on a sliding (some spring assisted) mechanism.
Some Notable Slider Phones: LG Shine, Nokia 8110, Sony Ericsson W595 (shown)
Like the flip phone, this form factor made for a smaller device when not in use. The keypad could be covered by the screen on a sliding (some spring assisted) mechanism.
Some Notable Slider Phones: LG Shine, Nokia 8110, Sony Ericsson W595 (shown)
Half Flip
The Half Flip is much like the Full Flip but leaves a portion the main body accessible, usually the screen. The example above leaves the screen readable as well as some controls available to use even while the flip is closed. The half flip could be hinged at the top and house the screen or hinged from the bottom to expose the keypad. The Half Flip can take on many forms.
Some Notable Half Flip Phones: Motorola MicroTAC, Ericsson T28, Samsung SPH-N400 (shown)
The Half Flip is much like the Full Flip but leaves a portion the main body accessible, usually the screen. The example above leaves the screen readable as well as some controls available to use even while the flip is closed. The half flip could be hinged at the top and house the screen or hinged from the bottom to expose the keypad. The Half Flip can take on many forms.
Some Notable Half Flip Phones: Motorola MicroTAC, Ericsson T28, Samsung SPH-N400 (shown)
Qwerty Bar
The qwerty bar takes your standard bar form, although they are usually wider, and adds a physical qwerty keyboard. This form factor is probably best recognized as a Blackberry. Certainly that company has pioneered this form factor and most of that companies portfolio is comprised of qwerty bars.
Some Notable Qwerty Bar phones: Blackberry Curve, Palm Pixi, Motorola Droid Pro (shown)
The qwerty bar takes your standard bar form, although they are usually wider, and adds a physical qwerty keyboard. This form factor is probably best recognized as a Blackberry. Certainly that company has pioneered this form factor and most of that companies portfolio is comprised of qwerty bars.
Some Notable Qwerty Bar phones: Blackberry Curve, Palm Pixi, Motorola Droid Pro (shown)
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Landscape slider
The Landscape Slider is a form factor whereas, touchscreen or not, the screen slides open to reveal a qwerty keypad hidden below. Far from mainstream, these early phones rose with the earliest Windows Mobile phones and were intended for business and enterprise customers. This form factor then got a second wind and became more inclusive in later years with the rise in the popularity of feature phones that prioritized texting. For a time this form factor could be seen on high-end flagships like the Motorola Photon Q and simultaneously on low-priced texter phones like the LG Neon. As the popularity of touchscreens rose, conversely the demand for qwerty phones fell, till they have become a rare form factor today. |
Some Notable Lansdcape Slider phones: HTC Cingular 8125, Samsung Stratosphere, Motorola Droid Milestone (shown)
Portrait Slider
The Portrait Slider is basically a slider form with a qwerty keypad. The term "portrait" comes from the screen orientation when the keyboard is in exposed.
Some Notable Portrait Slider phones: Blackberry Priv, Palm Pre, Dell Venue Pro (shown)
The Portrait Slider is basically a slider form with a qwerty keypad. The term "portrait" comes from the screen orientation when the keyboard is in exposed.
Some Notable Portrait Slider phones: Blackberry Priv, Palm Pre, Dell Venue Pro (shown)
Dual Slider
Just like the name implies, the dual slider usually slides one way to reveal a traditional number pad than another to reveal a qwerty keyboard. There are variations, the Nokia N86 for example employed a dual slide mechanism that slid one direction for the number pad and another on the same axis for multimedia controls, different design, but still classified as a dual slider.
Some notable dual Sliders: Helio Ocean, Pantech Matrix (shown), Nokia N86 (shown)
Just like the name implies, the dual slider usually slides one way to reveal a traditional number pad than another to reveal a qwerty keyboard. There are variations, the Nokia N86 for example employed a dual slide mechanism that slid one direction for the number pad and another on the same axis for multimedia controls, different design, but still classified as a dual slider.
Some notable dual Sliders: Helio Ocean, Pantech Matrix (shown), Nokia N86 (shown)
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Tilt Slider
The Tilt Slider slides to reveal a qwerty keypad. The screen then tilts, mimicking a laptop, for a better viewing angle. Instead of the commonly used rails on the sliding mechanism, Nokia often used a set of hinges and arms that slide and rotate the screen into place such is the case with the wonderfully designed Nokia E7. Nokia and HTC have probably dabbled in this form factor most often and most successfully. Some models are called Arc Sliders due to the curved sails that produce the tilt. |
Some Notable Tilt Slider phones: HTC 7 Pro (shown), Nokia E7 (shown), F(x)Tec Pro 1
Curved Slider
The Curved Slider behaves just like a regular slider, it can be Portrait or Landscape yet it has a subtle curve in its motion that is meant to make it more comfortable to use, hold, or to view the screen.
Some Notable Curved Slider phones: Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 (landscape curved slider shown), Palm Pre (portrait curved slider shown)
The Curved Slider behaves just like a regular slider, it can be Portrait or Landscape yet it has a subtle curve in its motion that is meant to make it more comfortable to use, hold, or to view the screen.
Some Notable Curved Slider phones: Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 (landscape curved slider shown), Palm Pre (portrait curved slider shown)
Switchblade
The Switchblade form factor describes phones that transform using a rotating axis. This Motorola Flipout reveals a small qwerty keypad below the square screen. The Samsung Juke (U470) did the same trick to convert from a quite small MP3 Player to an equally trim mobile phone. Many of these Switchblade Phones utilize spring loaded mechanisms to make their transformations even easier to perform. Even though the famous T-Mobile Sidekick messaging phone has had many iterations and been manufactured by a few different companies this form factor, a spring loaded rotating screen, was a common design trademark for the phone.
Some Notable Switchblade phones: Danger Inc. Sidekick, Motorola Flipout (shown), Samsung Juke (shown)
The Switchblade form factor describes phones that transform using a rotating axis. This Motorola Flipout reveals a small qwerty keypad below the square screen. The Samsung Juke (U470) did the same trick to convert from a quite small MP3 Player to an equally trim mobile phone. Many of these Switchblade Phones utilize spring loaded mechanisms to make their transformations even easier to perform. Even though the famous T-Mobile Sidekick messaging phone has had many iterations and been manufactured by a few different companies this form factor, a spring loaded rotating screen, was a common design trademark for the phone.
Some Notable Switchblade phones: Danger Inc. Sidekick, Motorola Flipout (shown), Samsung Juke (shown)
Dual Keypad
The Dual Keypad form is two modes in one, wheras one keypad, usually a numeric is permanently exposed, the form then slides or transforms in some way to expose a second keypad. The Pantech Reveal, shown above, is meant to simplify texting by having these two keypads available. For their Symbian powered smartphone flagship, Sony Ericsson has featured a touchscreen phone with a keypad flip since 2000. Through three generations. In 2005 for their forth generation the p990i incorporated a new full qwerty keyboard under the flip located below the touchscreen. Making this phone both a partial flip phone and a dual keypad smartphone. In 2008 when HP announced some upcoming smartphones the photo of this cool looking device hit the webs and piqued my interest. Codenamed Oak, the phone featured a dual keypad design. In addition to the familiar landscape sliding qwerty keypad, it also incorporated a numeric pad just below the screen. Sadly, for reasons unknown, this concept never came to be. Almost as curious the phone that would materialize the next year , the HP iPaq Data Messenger looks almost exaclt like this concept but with out the numeric keypad. There must have been some logistic issue with creating the second keypad, as a result the phone that did hit the market was just not as cool.
Some Notable Dual Keypad phones: Pantech Reveal (shown), Sony Ericsson P990i
The Dual Keypad form is two modes in one, wheras one keypad, usually a numeric is permanently exposed, the form then slides or transforms in some way to expose a second keypad. The Pantech Reveal, shown above, is meant to simplify texting by having these two keypads available. For their Symbian powered smartphone flagship, Sony Ericsson has featured a touchscreen phone with a keypad flip since 2000. Through three generations. In 2005 for their forth generation the p990i incorporated a new full qwerty keyboard under the flip located below the touchscreen. Making this phone both a partial flip phone and a dual keypad smartphone. In 2008 when HP announced some upcoming smartphones the photo of this cool looking device hit the webs and piqued my interest. Codenamed Oak, the phone featured a dual keypad design. In addition to the familiar landscape sliding qwerty keypad, it also incorporated a numeric pad just below the screen. Sadly, for reasons unknown, this concept never came to be. Almost as curious the phone that would materialize the next year , the HP iPaq Data Messenger looks almost exaclt like this concept but with out the numeric keypad. There must have been some logistic issue with creating the second keypad, as a result the phone that did hit the market was just not as cool.
Some Notable Dual Keypad phones: Pantech Reveal (shown), Sony Ericsson P990i
Leapfrog
The leapfrog form behaves much like a landscape slider but instead of using a horizontal track or rail, a hinged armature slightly lifts the screen into place. The design allows for, in some cases, the screen to be titled when open.
Some Notable Leapfrog slider phones: HTC T-Mobile G1 Dream (shown), Nokia E7 (see Tilt Slider)
The leapfrog form behaves much like a landscape slider but instead of using a horizontal track or rail, a hinged armature slightly lifts the screen into place. The design allows for, in some cases, the screen to be titled when open.
Some Notable Leapfrog slider phones: HTC T-Mobile G1 Dream (shown), Nokia E7 (see Tilt Slider)
Clamshell
The Clamshell form is hinged like a flip phone, but its footprint is wider, more rectangular or squared off. This form usually houses a qwerty keypad. When closed it may have a secondary keypad or a secondary screen.
Some Notable Clamshell phones: LG Envy, Pantech Impact (shown)
The Clamshell form is hinged like a flip phone, but its footprint is wider, more rectangular or squared off. This form usually houses a qwerty keypad. When closed it may have a secondary keypad or a secondary screen.
Some Notable Clamshell phones: LG Envy, Pantech Impact (shown)
Dual Clamshell
The dual keypad is a phone engineered with a specialized hinge that allows it to open two ways so the phone can be held like a traditional flip phone, then again as a mini-laptop style. The keys may be printed with text that is meant to be read one way, or both. The Verizon Samsung Alias was a dual clamshell flip phone, with the second generation, the company ingeniously used E ink which was utilized on displays of digital E-readers. The technology boasted low power consumption while providing an easy to read monochrome display that could be seen in virtually any light. On the Samsung Alias 2, E ink was used on the keys themselves. The active nature of the technology allowed the text on the keys to actually change depending on the form the phone was taking. The Motorola MPX was an early smartphone collaboration between Motorola and Microsoft this phone employed possibly the first Dual Clamshell design and is very rare and very collectable today.
Some Notable Dual Clamshell phones: Samsung Alias (2) (shown), Motorola MPX (shown)
The dual keypad is a phone engineered with a specialized hinge that allows it to open two ways so the phone can be held like a traditional flip phone, then again as a mini-laptop style. The keys may be printed with text that is meant to be read one way, or both. The Verizon Samsung Alias was a dual clamshell flip phone, with the second generation, the company ingeniously used E ink which was utilized on displays of digital E-readers. The technology boasted low power consumption while providing an easy to read monochrome display that could be seen in virtually any light. On the Samsung Alias 2, E ink was used on the keys themselves. The active nature of the technology allowed the text on the keys to actually change depending on the form the phone was taking. The Motorola MPX was an early smartphone collaboration between Motorola and Microsoft this phone employed possibly the first Dual Clamshell design and is very rare and very collectable today.
Some Notable Dual Clamshell phones: Samsung Alias (2) (shown), Motorola MPX (shown)
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Flip and Twist
The Flip and Twist is a complicated form factor that makes use of a single display. It might also be called a Transformer. The display flips and rotates so it can be utilized in several modes. The HTC Universal was sold in several markets by several carriers and under many different names. This example, the 02 XDA Exec can be closed and opened like a laptop then converted into a small tablet. The Toshiba 904T is a large flip phone whereas the screen rotates to create a small handheld tablet and also to better create a easier to handle Camera mode. There is a small secondary screen on the Toshiba. Some Notable Flip and Twist phones: HTC Universal (shown as 02 Exec), Toshiba 904T (shown), Nokia N90 |
Dual Screen
Like the Devil, the Dual Screen can take on many forms. It can be redundant in its categorization because of this, but if the phone features two prominently featured screens, it can be considered a Dual Screen form factor. The three examples shown here all achieve Dual Screen glory in three distinctly different ways. The Kyocera Echo is a small, brutally squared off, touchscreen phone that opens to reveal a second touchscreen of similar specs. It then, through some mechanized gymnastics interlocks to become a wonderfully strange square-shaped tablet device. The Doubleplay by LG is a slider android phone with a 3.5" main touchscreen display, it splits the qwerty keyboard with a small 2" secondary (also touchscreen) display that can show selected items without taking up real estate on the main display. Finally the LG Genesis appears as a simple Android powered 3.5" touchscreen phone but reveals itself to be a clamshell with a qwerty keyboard and secondary 3.2" display. These are just a few examples of this curious form factor.
Some Notable Dual Screen phones: Kyocera Echo (shown), LG Doubleplay (shown), LG Genesis (shown)
Like the Devil, the Dual Screen can take on many forms. It can be redundant in its categorization because of this, but if the phone features two prominently featured screens, it can be considered a Dual Screen form factor. The three examples shown here all achieve Dual Screen glory in three distinctly different ways. The Kyocera Echo is a small, brutally squared off, touchscreen phone that opens to reveal a second touchscreen of similar specs. It then, through some mechanized gymnastics interlocks to become a wonderfully strange square-shaped tablet device. The Doubleplay by LG is a slider android phone with a 3.5" main touchscreen display, it splits the qwerty keyboard with a small 2" secondary (also touchscreen) display that can show selected items without taking up real estate on the main display. Finally the LG Genesis appears as a simple Android powered 3.5" touchscreen phone but reveals itself to be a clamshell with a qwerty keyboard and secondary 3.2" display. These are just a few examples of this curious form factor.
Some Notable Dual Screen phones: Kyocera Echo (shown), LG Doubleplay (shown), LG Genesis (shown)
Twister
This odd form swivels to provide two separate controls for two separate function sets. Here the Pantech Razzle features a qwerty keyboard for messaging functions then with a twist is presents music controls and a built in speaker. The Siemens SK65 is bisected through the middle and rotates out to reveal s split qwerty keyboard.
This odd form swivels to provide two separate controls for two separate function sets. Here the Pantech Razzle features a qwerty keyboard for messaging functions then with a twist is presents music controls and a built in speaker. The Siemens SK65 is bisected through the middle and rotates out to reveal s split qwerty keyboard.
The Two Faced Phone
This Samsung UpStage SPH-M620 debuted in 2007 it featured a very basic bar phone on one side and an MP3 player on the other.
This Samsung UpStage SPH-M620 debuted in 2007 it featured a very basic bar phone on one side and an MP3 player on the other.
Touchscreen
There certainly have been touchscreen phones before the iPhone, but in the wake of that landmark devices introduction in 2007 the success of the iPhone made it a necessity that every company up their touchscreen game. They became more responsive, more durable, the displays became bigger and more beautiful to look at. Once the rare form factor reserved for the high end devices now the majority of phones are touchscreens. Buttons would be a thing of the past as screens would get bigger soon dominating the entire facade. Something called a Phablet would emerge that combined a phone with a tablet making the screens even larger, Samsung's Galaxy Note line being a "notable" example.
There certainly have been touchscreen phones before the iPhone, but in the wake of that landmark devices introduction in 2007 the success of the iPhone made it a necessity that every company up their touchscreen game. They became more responsive, more durable, the displays became bigger and more beautiful to look at. Once the rare form factor reserved for the high end devices now the majority of phones are touchscreens. Buttons would be a thing of the past as screens would get bigger soon dominating the entire facade. Something called a Phablet would emerge that combined a phone with a tablet making the screens even larger, Samsung's Galaxy Note line being a "notable" example.
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The Modular Phone
For many years the concept of a modular phone has been floated. Outlandish concepts were created and shown, many featured components like cameras, speakers, hard drives, that allowed you to assemble your perfect phone like a Lego playset. One of the biggest names who developed a modular phone of this type was Google with their Ara concept. Lofty, thought provoking, and ambitious, it never went beyond concept and was suspended indefinitely in 2016. The more down to earth LG G5 made production in 2016 with limited but interesting modular options. The unassuming smartphone that had a secret, the bottom section of the phone could be removed along with its battery. In its place you could attach a Hi-Fi Plus DAC (Digital to Analog Converter) module developed in part by Bang & Olufsen, or the Cam Plus module that provides a two stage camera shutter, extended battery, and a precise zoom dial. All this in a package that performed double duty as a camera grip bump. Undoubtedly the most fully realized modular offering is the Lenovo Motorola Moto Z in terms of breadth of available modular options. Unlike other concepts the Moto Z starts simply with an extremely thin smartphone. The difference is the exposed terminals on the back where you can attach a DSLR inspired camera, stereo speaker, projector, extended battery, game pad, a slide out qwerty keyboard there's even an Alexa smartspeaker attachment and a photo printer made by Polaroid . All "Motomods" all held secure by grippy magnets. When not in use the terminal can be covered with optional back covers that allow you to customize the color of the phone. there have been a few versions of this phone and each one has been backwards compatible with the Moto Mods. I wonder though, how long that will be sustained. |
By 1999 the majority of cell phones sold were still meant simply to be used as phones. That being said, manufacturers were starting to realize that although they should work well, perhaps they can be beautiful too. Companies like Nokia, Samsung, and Ericsson were churning out attractively designed phones. The Ericsson T28 and R320 shared a family resemblance as well as offering the same colors this cohesive design language gave the Ericsson phones of the day an upscale feel.
Of course you cannot talk about the history of cell phones without paying some respects to Nokia whom for a time dominated the market all over the world. It's rise came from their reputation as being builders of sturdy reliable phones that were available to anyone. They even were the first to pioneer the concept of customization with switchable face-plates that allowed one to chose the color of their phone.
Launched in 2000 the Samsung Uproar (SPH-M100) was the first phone that doubled as an MP3 player.
Of course not a phone, but the iPod was introduced by Apple in 2001 and it's success as well as the requisite framework for the iTunes store would usher in a new relationship between man and machine. The now iconic minimalist design was said to have been inspired by the Braun T3 Pocket radio, it is also said that a Bang and Olufsen home telephone was where the idea for the original scroll button came from. It solved the problem of the Apple designers abhorrence of buttons. The original had a 5GB hard drive that put 1000 songs in your pocket. No doubt the success here lead to the iPhone which would change the industry forever.
This unassuming Sony Ericsson T68i was the first phone from that company that featured a color screen.
The Motorola Accompli 009 was an interesting device that was meant to replace your phone and your PDA. It could place phone calls using a headset but as evident by its mini laptop appearance and qwerty keyboard, its focus was written communication. It was a Triband GSM phone available through Cingular. Its screen was small but colorful with 256 colors. Utilizing a Motorola proprietary OS, it apparently featured the ability to play Battleship with another player over the air.
Sanyo SCP-6000 worlds thinnest phone screen colorchange metalic finish short battery life and lack of speaker phone
The flip phone was the phone of choice for those looking for the fashion forward choice. The Sanyo 5300 (silver) was the first camera phone sold in North America in 2002. The red phone is a Sanyo PM-8200 a newer version, it adds an led flash to the mix (2004).
A truly unique device hit the market in 2002. The sidekick was a phone that had a shared focus on instant messaging. A color screen version would come out in the next year. Designed by a company called Danger the Sidekick (Hiptop) was sold exclusively by T-mobile. The original was manufactured by Flextronics while most other following models would be made by Sharp. The phone proved especially useful to the deaf and hard of hearing community as the instant messaging feature allowed them a portable and intuitive new way to communicate.
Basic bar phones like this Motorola 120t were still quite popular in 2002. And why not? They were durable and did what they were supposed to do.
The Handspring Treo 180 featured the Palm operating system. Housed within an odd yet attractive design with a flip up protective cover with a "window" that allowed the screen to be viewed even as the qwerty keyboard remains covered. The Treo 180 was the second Treo device, a name that would live on for a healthy run, and the first Treo with phone capabilities. It has a 160X160 monochrome touchscreen and 16MB internal memory.
Here Handspring/Palm shows off their affinity for qwerty keyboards. The Device to the left was a non phone enabled color screen PDA, the Handspring Treo 90. The middle device is the aforementioned Treo 180 and the device at the right is the Palm Tungsten W which did have phone capabilities. This device would come along in 2003 it was based on a PDA and you could only make phone calls with the included headset. Initially Handspring was building the devices and Palm provided the operating systems until 2003 when Palm became responsible for the hardware as well.
One of my personal favorite phones of all time, the Sony Ericsson P900 was the successor to the similarly designed P800 but improved in every way. It utilized an open Symbian operating system and was for a time the worlds most popular smartphone. It featured a flip down numeric keypad that revealed a 3 inch touchscreen. This phone had lots of options for navigating its software, there was a full touchscreen and stylus, and also featured a 5 way scroll wheel that allowed for single handed use. The control wheel went forward, back, up and down (scrolling), and select. You could navigate virtually anywhere through the phone, one handed, with this ingenious design.
A group photo showing the evolution of Sony Ericsson's P Series: From left to right P800 (2002), R380 (2000), P900 (2003), P990 (2006), P910 (2004).
Not exactly known for its phones, this Hitatchi was one of the earliest readily available smartphones. This massive Hitatchi G1000, available from Sprint, featured Windows CE operating system, a built in keypad, and rotating camera. One thing of note was the lack of a backlit keyboard making nighttime use of the phone tricky.
The Specialists
"Convergent devices" is a phrase coined for technology that attempts to do one or more things that are usually separate. In the beginning, phones were just phones, but as time went on even in these relatively early days phones began to specialize. This Nokia is one of many in the Nseries line that put an emphasis on Multimedia. This example, the N90-1 presented as a pretty standard albeit large flip phone that converted to a camcorder. Both the screen and the camera module could rotate. The pistol grip way of holding the camera was even reminiscent of then new compact camcorders on the market.
When Sony adds the Cybershot name to a phone, you know the emphasis is photography. This Sony Ericsson Cybershot C905 from 2008 took industrial design a step further than just having a camera module attached to the back. This phone, when in the closed position, could easily have been mistaken for a tiny, stylish digital camera of the day. It even featured a large, dedicated shutter button, xenon flash, auto-focus, and a sliding lens cover that would hide or reveal the (then impressive) 8MP camera lens. It was, in fact the first GSM cameraphone to escalate the Megapixel wars to the 8MP benchmark. The slider phone function revealed the phones keypad, while the camera controls were available while closed.
Samsung was, for a time, the king of superzoom cameraphones, not many manufacturers were catering to this kind of customer. One who would give up slim designs for a camera that is so close to a professional setup. For many years Samsung had cameraphones that looked like zoom cameras but were not, until 2009. It was then that they released the impressive w880 Amoled that featured 12MP sensor and 3X optical zoom! In 2014 the idea was resurrected with vengeance as the Galaxy s4 zoom was a 16MP cameraphone with an amazing 10x optical zoom. It basically looked like a camera with a smartphone screen on the back. In 2014, the Samsung Galaxy K Zoom (shown above) took things even further. It featured a 20mp sensor and 10x optical zoom all in a slimmer, sleeker, package. I owned one of these phones and along with being a great camera, it was quite the head turner and conversation starter.
MP3 Phones. Joining a surge of music-centric phones in the early 2000's This Samsung phone converges an mp3 player and phone in one remarkably small device. Instead of the common flip phone this one rotates out with a spring loaded switchblade like mechanism.
Another convergence device concept was the game-centric phone. This one is the first, the N-Gage from Nokia. First introduced in 2002 it was not a hit. The required phone keys often got in the way during game play and others mocked the design calling it a "taco phone." There were 58 games available through download using the internet and the Symbian system. In 2004 a successor to the N-Gage came out called the N-Gage QD it's redesign was meant to address some of the design missteps of the original but it still looked like a taco.
Like the MP3 phone here we have another music-centric phone, yet in a distinctly different way, the Surround HTC Windows Phone features a sliding mechanism that houses a panel with stereo speakers supplied by Yamaha. There is a button that is supposed to activate a surround sound through Dolby Mobile and SRS WOW. I have tried this device and have to say, the sound quality is not that good. Actually the sound quality might have been good but the volume was just so low that it didn't matter. For a device who's very design was dictated by its pursuit of a superior audio experience I found the sound volume capability to be below some mono-speaker phones I had encountered. That being said, a cool design element is a built in kick stand that allows the speaker to stand up with the speaker exposed. The problem is the operating system had limited support for landscape so often the phone was not user friendly in this mode to say the least. This would be great I assume for watching videos as well. I think this was a good idea that was hurt by the windows operating system and by the speakers underwhelming performance. Another miss there is no Memory card expansion, however it does come "standard" with 16GB on board memory. If this phone had decent sound, an operating system that leant itself more to customization, and full landscape support, this could have been a compelling device. Shame.
The LG Thrill promises a glasses-free 3D experience including built in content. It combines the screens 3D capabilities with a stereoscopic camera that allow you to create your own 3D photos and videos. The 3D effect on the screen was utilized with a parallax barrier that allowed the phone to show two images at once creating a simulated depth of field. YouTube did it's part to bolster the technology by offering a 3D channel filled with content. HTC offered a similar device in the HTC Evo 3D. And certainly there were others that offered 3D parallax in other markets worldwide. The fact that these phones seemed to come and go, lend themselves to a fad that never quite caught on. Limited content, poor photo quality, shallow viewing angles, causing of headaches, were some of the gripes associated with this technology.
The Ruggedized Phone. The Samsung Rugby is perhaps the best know of the ruggedized phones, these were among the first to adopt military grade water resistance and dust protection. While Casio known more for their watches or keyboards, have their own popular rugged phone in the G'zOne line has several models with varying form factors. Ranging from a flip phone, a PTT enabled qwerty device, then more recently adding an android touchscreen model as pictured. The NEC Terrain from AT&T was an Android touchscreen phone that also featured a physical qwerty keyboard. This strange yet useful phone unfortunately never saw a second generation.
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The Text Friendly Phone. This early Nokia 6820B model employed an innovative approach to incorporating a qwerty keypad. In the past the qwerty keyboard was emblematic of a top of the line enterprise user smartphone. As the 2000's marched on with the help of family plans and cheaper devices more and more people began to text. Often times it was the youth of the family that wanted a phone that they could easily text with. As a result the low cost texting device was born. They often were youthful in appearance, came in different colors, and had trendy names like Matrix. Although they might have looked like smartphones they didn't necessarily require data plans. Pantech was a brand who's bread and butter was low cost texting phones like this Pantech Impact. Available in blue or pink, the phone featured a simplified monochrome touchscreen on the outside for phone controls and a color screen and full keypad on the inside.
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Projector phones were convergent devices that combined a phone with a pocket sized projector. Obviously useful in the business world for presentations this promo above from an overseas market shows the multimedia benefits for leisure time as well. Samsung yet again took the lead with this unusual form having several models called Samsung Beam with the first one launching in 2010 then an update in 2012 and finally the Beam 2 (above) in 2014. LG tried their hand in projector phones with a windows smartphone with qwerty keyboard equipped LG Expo. Instead of the projector being built into the phone with the lens at the top, the LG had an available modular projector that you could attach to the back of the phone by removing the battery door.
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The Minis. When something completely new comes along like the cell phone, a natural challenge to engineers is to improve it with each new generation. Being that the first cell phone was a massive "brick", making the phone smaller and more portable was an early and obvious goal. Just look at the progression from that first Motorola "brick" to the Motorola Startac. Here we will look at just a few cell phones who's claim to fame was being minuscule. The Samsung Galaxy line is one of the most popular lines of phones ever. They distinguished themselves from Apple and others by serving up larger and larger screens. The Galaxy Mini (shown: Galaxy S3 Mini compared to regular S3) is a departure by placing much of the features of the flagship phone in a smaller, less expensive package. There have been many versions of Galaxy Minis through the years in North America and worldwide. The last Mini was the Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini in 2017. There were rumors of a Mini devices return along side the Galaxy S8 in 2017 but it was not to be. A shame since I believe there are those who are weary of the ever expanding screens. I believe a small version of a Galaxy with S8 design sensibilities could be a winner. We go back in time a bit for the Pantech C300 (above middle) this 2013 release was the world smallest camera phone, might still be. The Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro was part of the last batch of Sony/Ericsson branded phones in 2011. It was an Android device that slid open to reveal a full qwerty keyboard. It's small size meant it's foot print was no bigger than a credit card. Of course the trade off was the phones humble specs, 5mp camera, and small 3" screen. But still it was an interesting piece of engineering.
The Kid Phone. As cell phones began to more and more be in the hands of consumers one thing people realized it the safety benefits of carrying a cell phone. This concept eventually trickled down to kids, and the safety benefits of your child having a cell phone. But the idea of kids being responsible for using a full blown cell phone seemed unlikely. The solution emerged in the form of cell phones made specifically for kids. These devices we simplified to the extreme. Gone was the traditional number pad and in it's place were just a few speed dial options that allowed a child to call their parents or other trusted individuals. There was also a panic button that could call the authorities in the case of an emergency. This bright green LG Migo vx1000 from 2006 was considered on of the best of this type of phone at the time.
The Motorola MPX Windows Mobile was a flagship dual clamshell smartphone. This unusual phone was packed with features and was a pioneer by having 3 communication formats on board GSM, Bluetooth and WiFi. The phone only had a limited release making it very rare and very collectable today. The dual flip design meant it could be used as a flip phone and as a qwerty mini laptop style. The keyboard had multiple characters on a single key, some that were angled as to be viewed in one of the two orientations making for a busy, dare I say, confusing keyboard. Samsung would later release a phone with a similar form factor, though not a true smartphone in the Samsung Alias.
Sony Ericsson's flagship smartphone received a refresh for the 2004 model year. The P910 Retaining most of the internal components of the P900. The new body did away with the dark blue accents and went for a more formal silver on dark grey look on the body. The main difference here, is the flip now housed a new qwerty keyboard on the inner side. Signalling this change, the phone now had Quickshare branding prominently displayed. Like Cybershot is to photography and Walkman to music, Sony Ericcson's Quickshare was a sub-brand distinction that emphasized messaging.
At its peak Nextel had 20 million customers. This new company came into a competitive market and was for a time relevant by offering a unique cho8ice of network, hardware, and an enterprise ready push to talk service. Nextel was synonymous with Motorola whom provided their handsets and developed their iDEN (Integrated Digital Enhanced network) technology which gave customers the added unique benefit of push to talk "walkie talkie." In 2005 Nextel Merged with Sprint. Currently, Nextel has been absorbed, its technology is still quietly around, currently referred to as Sprint Direct Connect.
In 2004 a phone would hit the market that would change everything. The Motorola Razr V3 undoubtedly one of the most popular cell phones of all time. Easy to find, the Razr V3 was available at practically any carrier. By 2006 over 50 million V3s were sold, by the end of 2007 the phone racked up over 130 million in sales, solidifying its place in history as the best selling flip phone ever. Perhaps bested today only by the iPhone and Galaxy phones. It was one of the first phones that people wanted, I mean really wanted, and was designed to look cool. It was also unquie in that is was heavily advertised. With its slim proportions, partial flip, tron inspired keypad, heavy metal construction, multiple color choices, it became one of the first phones that people asked for by name. After the Razr, brands and carriers realized the importance of design and marketing. Aside from perennial winners like the iPhone and Galaxy its sucess is yet to be duplicated. At the time of this writing rumors abound of a return of the Razr in the form of a foldable smartphone. Time will tell.
The Name Game
Before the Razr, phones usually had boring, difficult to remember model numbers for names. Something like the Samsung SPH-N200. That was actually the name of my first phone back in 2000. There are, of course, exceptions but it is certainly true that after the Razr enjoyed such success phones were more often than not named in a similar manner to cars. This simple change, to give it a slick, memorable name, would have a ripple effect in the industry. A smart form of marketing, it made it easier for customers to refer to what they were looking for. It also made is easier for kids to tell their parents what kind of phone they wanted for Christmas. Many of the names given phones were nods to their designs like the AT&T Tilt, which featured a tilting screen, or the Pantech Duo, a phone that slides in two directions, or the Motorola Backflip which featured a reverse clamshell are some examples. Even if the manufacturer does not give a phone a trendy name the carrier will many times step in to provide one. Often times when a phone is popular, its next generation would keep it's name but it is noted with a number like a movie sequel like the Razr2 and the Tilt 2. Ongoing phones like the Samsung Galaxy and the iPhone are into the 8th or 10th generations respectively. In rare cases the name of the phone caries so much clout, as is the case with the Sidekick, that multiple manufacturers can produce different iterations of the phone. There have been Sidekicks manufactured by Danger, Sharp, Motorola and Samsung. Of course not all phone names can be winners and in the rush of names that creative minds had to churn out with for every phone that came along there were bound to be some duds. Again, here I'm not talking about the merits of phone, just the names. Here are a few of my least favorites: Samsung Prevail, LG Fathom, Nokia Mural, Motorola Gleam, and Pantech Reveal just to name a few.
The Treo 650 was the successor to the popular Treo 600 launched just a year earlier. The Treo 650 was improved over the 600 model with a higher resolution display, Bluetooth capabilities, faster processor, slightly redesigned keyboard, newer version of the Palm operating system, and a battery that is now replaceable. Still no WiFi. Available through most major carriers, this Palm was a successful competitor in a crowded smartphone market despite its chunky size and substantial price at $549.
Decidedly more sleek than anything from Blackberry before, the T-mobile's Blackberry 7100t joins in on the smartphone boom with a new, slick looking, every-mans Blackberry. With a relatively low price tag of $199 the 7100t aimed to conquest new consumers into the Blackberry fold. The unusual keyboard has three or more characters per key. The design may be a departure, but the emphasis is still email and personal information management. New features are a cross-compatible Instant Messenger application and a full HTML web browser. The quad-band GSM radios make it a perfect traveling companion. All this in an attractive and relatively small package complete with a body embedded antenna (at this time some phones still had stubby growth antennas), excellent speakerphone, large color screen (for the period) and not to mention the quirky lanyard hole in the bottom chin of the device.
2005
The HTC Universal arrived in 2005. It was quite unique in its mini laptop design that could transform into a tablet phone. Form meeting function, it was the first 3G enabled PDA with Windows 5.0 on board. This particular phone, while called Universal by HTC, had many names depending on the carrier that sold it. In the US it was sold by T-mobile under their smartphone subbrand MDA as the T-Mobile MDA Pro. Overseas it was sold by O2 in its handsomest iteration the Xda Exec (shown above on the right). While most of the Universal variants were some shade of silver the O2 Exec looked sinister and slick in all black with cool blue leds backlighting the keypad. Almost as attractive was a version offered by Orange, a UK cellular carrier that dissolved in 2015, the SPV M5000 (shown left). It was finished in a darker silver, almost gunmetal, with a darker keyboard with red accents. On the outside cover was a brushed metallic panel with a simple Orange logo centered on it. The keyboard was even backlit red. Being that there were more at least 10 different versions of this phone sold throughout the world, it was refreshing to see carriers doing their best to make them distinctive for each brand.
The p990i was Sony Ericsson's continuation of its Symbian powered P-series flagship smartphones. Unique in the field of smartphones, it featured an odd form factor whereby a large screen was covered partially by a removable flip. The idea was that the phone could be used and held like a standard bar phone, then converted to a multimedia smart device when required. All the these smartphones shared a flip with a traditional numeric pad for placing calls. 2004's p910i switched things up a bit by including a keypad on the reverse side of the flip. This new p990i (in 2005) keeps the secondary qwerty keypad but places it on the body. Like the previous three versions the p990i allowed the flip to be removed giving you the option of a pure touchscreen form factor. In the case of the p990i, the screen was smaller (with better resolution) to make room for a full qwerty keyboard. The keyboard's frosted white translucent keys glowed with an ice blue electroluminesent backlighting. The p990i also featured a nice circular lens cover for the 2mp camera. In hand the phone look very much like compact digital cameras of the day.
paraphrase:
With no major competition in the smartphone OS then (Palm OS and Windows Mobile were comparatively small players), Symbian reached as high as 67% of the global smartphone market share in 2006. ... The Symbian platform was officially made available as open source code in February 2010.
paraphrase:
With no major competition in the smartphone OS then (Palm OS and Windows Mobile were comparatively small players), Symbian reached as high as 67% of the global smartphone market share in 2006. ... The Symbian platform was officially made available as open source code in February 2010.
The Qool QDA QD-700 is an odd and very, very, rare Palm OS powered device. it is small, about the size of a large flip phone. it has a mirrored panel that allows you to see some information when the flip is closed. The flip opens with the push of a button located on the top right side, a nice touch. Once opened a small but impressive touchscreen is accessible. All this, finished in a dark blue (other colors were available as well) and a smooth grippy rubberized texture. All but impossible to find today, I owned this phone, and back in the day it was an impressive little gadget.
This Samsung SCH-i830 was a relatively early Windows smartphone and yet it was progressively styled as well as being a powerful multitasking tool. Here was a business tool that had flip phone sensibilities when held in the hand. Smartly designed, the portrait slider had subtle curves and the two toned paint job of blue and silver made the phone look and feel even smaller than if it was monochrome. A beast in it's day, it featured five on board wireless formats; IrDA, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, CDMA, and EV-DO. This Samsung Smartphone featured a full qwerty keyboard with small but satisfyingly clicky blue backlit keys. On the multimedia end, although there was no camera on initial versions the phone had stereo speakers with 3D sound emulation. meant to take on the treo 650 it was one that phones only contenders. A CDMA phone, it was available only from Sprint and Verizon in the US.
Billed as a personal computer that not only fits in you pocket but has a phone on board too. The HTC Wizard 8125 was the first sliding qwerty phone I remember seeing in the flesh at a Cingular store in Islamorada Florida when my friend dropped his Razr in the pool mid vacation. Its seemed odd to me that a PDA was in the lineup with mostly flip phones. This powerhouse packed a 200MHz processor, 64 MB of RAM, respectable on board memory, and the ability to expand with an SD memory card slot. Meant to be a desktop companion, The HTC Wizard's form factor maximized the size of the keyboard for a user friendly experience. It offered out of the box support of all Microsoft Office documents and the screen was (supposedly) big enough to handle editing and viewing while on the go. While not an overtly attractive phone, the tone on tone silver and sliding portrait form would be the template for business oriented smartphones for many years ahead. This phone was somewhat unique in that the alternative text on the keypad was red instead of the commonly found blue, the keypad backlight also lit up white for use in low light situations.
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Basically the prototypical form of the business oriented smartphone of the day, this qwerty sliding HTC phone wears T-mobile's MDA branding and is called the Vario II. This is the second version of the Vario which came out a year prior. This phone stands out from the boring business attired lot and is wearing a little bit of color in the form of its burgandy-red mid frame that surrounds the red backlit keypad with red text on silver keys. There is also a bit of touch surrounding the 2 megapixel camera lens. I only mention this because it was not often that these enterprise smartphones incorporated color, I appreciated the additional step of coordinating the backlight with the rest of the phone's pallet. HTC provided smartphones for many cell providers worldwide where often they were given unique branding T-mobile's MDA (mobile digital assistant) noted the higher end of their phone offerings.
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O2 is a mobile phone provider in the UK. Like MDA with T-mobile, O2 provides branded smartphones under the XDA name. while many were built by HTC, the 02 zinc was not. I'm not sure who built this phone, as O2 is listed as the manufacturer and other details are scarce.
Along with the RAZR Motorola was building other sought after attractive flip phones. These smaller statured phones the top one was available from Vodafone and features MP3 controls on the outer screen and red accents. the lower one the Motorola KRZR it was longer yet narrower than the RAZR it was finished in a shiny anodized blue throughout.
In 2006 T-mobile was the first US carrier to offer BlackBerry's latest smartphone the BlackBerry pearl and it proved to be quite popular. Named for its glowing trackball the Pearl was able to attract the attention of younger phone buyers as well as others who until now had never owned a smartphone, much less a BlackBerry.
Called the HTC Star Trec phone, this smartphone had a slick flip phone appearance.it was HTC's first clamshell smartphone. Windows 5.0 was the operating system. Available from Cingular this phone has become notorious for having screen failures, an issue the company refused to take care of leaving customers out of luck. like other HTC phones this was available through many carriers with several names. It is also know as the Qtec 8500, Orange SPV F600, Dopod S300, i-mate Smartflip among others.
watch the reveal video take notes.
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Announced in December 2006, the LG Prada Phone began selling in 2007. The Prada Phone KE850 was a milestone device, although it looks mundane by today's standards. The phone is branded Prada, which is an Italian luxury fashion house, specializing in leather handbags, travel accessories, shoes, ready-to-wear, perfumes and other fashion accessories, founded in 1913 by Mario Prada. That fact that a tech manufacturer and a fashion house would partner is unusual enough but collaboration is meant to establish this device as decidedly upscale. It could be had for a prohibitive price of $850.00 direct from LG. There were no carriers subsidizing it. Its simple touch screen design set it apart at the time. Notably, it is also the first phone to use capacitive technology for its 3" touchscreen. This breakthrough design eliminated the need for a stylus, allowed for multi-touch, and improved touchscreen responsiveness. This phone is controversial now in that LG Electronics swears that Apple copied this design to create its iPhone. It is alleged that the design was spotted and poached by Apple in September of 2006 when it entered and won an industrial design contest. LG and Prada would partner for two other generations of the Prada phone as well as a qwerty slider. The final LG Prada, the Prada 3.0, would be a particularly striking design. One thing that surprises me is how much the original phone resembled the median priced ($299.99) LG Vu CU920 which was available at the same time by At&t. Now, I'm sure in hand the Prada looks and feels far more premium and the Prada has the edge in specifications (namely the capactive over the resistive touch tech) but they definitely share many design commonalities given the gulf between their price tags. Perhaps it's all in the prestige of owning the same phone the Devil would have owned.
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This affordable, entry level Sidekick ID could be had for $99. It offers basic emailing, instant messaging, simple web browsing, and phone calling ability. The proprietary OS is simple but charmingly easy to use. No camera on this budget communicator though. Youthful in spirit, the phone could be customized with removable colored bumpers that cost another $20 bucks.
Smaller than the sidekick 3 it replaces Danger inc operating system 1.3 mega pixel camera no video 2.4 inch screen it does push email web surf social networking memory card slot up to 4 gigs the phone comes with a 512mb card in the box mp3 player black and blueish purple the screen slides instead of rotates.
Sony Ericsson K850 is a cybershot branded bar phone that featured a 5 MP camera it is available in green and black and blue and silver.
AFter the sucess of the razr the next version
The Centro was Palm's entry level smartphone, it could be had for $99 under contract. It was meant to target new conquests and those whom may have shopped Blackberry's Pearl. The Centro was colorful and youthful in appearance. Its rounded body fit in a smaller footprint than its predecessors. It was missing the stubbed antenna found on so many Palm devices before it. The Centros curved back panel housed the underwhelming 1.3 megapixel camera, stored the tiny stylus, and made it easy to hold in your hand or store in your pocket. The small size meant the Palm OS by Access had to be viewed via a 320x320 square 2.25 inch touchscreen that was petite yet vibrant. The keyboard too was tiny and many complained that it was just too small and the "water droplet" keys didn't provide enough feedback. The Centro featured MicroSD card expansion while unfortunately had no no WiFi. The Centro was adopted by most major carriers and came in White, Pink, Light Blue, Dark Blue, Black, Red and Green. Carriers seemed to have exclusive colors so your given service provider dictated the color pallet from which you could choose. While not a powerhouse or a masterpiece, the Centro was a new take on smartphone design that definitely attracted new players to the game.
Here we see the AT&T Tilt and the T-Mobile MDA TyTN II. These US GSM carriers offered the flagship smartphones manufactured by HTC and sold though different carriers throughout the world. The hallmark of both of these phones is its unique screen that tilted 40 degrees and allowed the phone to be used like a mini laptop or even display a desk clock or a video. This large, heavy, device was billed as the most powerful smartphone of its day. Powered by the new Windows Mobile 6 Professional Edition operating system the phone was not intended for mass market like the iPhone and was aimed squarely at enterprise users. While it excelled in communication features like Bluetooth, WiFi, HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Access Packet), and GPS, it fell short with a lackluster 3mp camera and no 3.5 audio jack. Also, the tilting of the screen encroached on the top row of keys. Its 2.8 inch diagonal screen would rotate orientation automatically from portrait to landscape. Windows 6 added some home screen skins that make the phone interface look more modern and give you shortcuts to features and applications. HTC gave you a ton of ways to navigate the phone. Firstly, this phone packs a stylus for use with the resisitive touch screen. There is an array of navigation keys and on the side is even a 3 way scrollwheel for one handed use. This phone was also offered unlocked by its manufacturer as the HTC Kaiser. It was also offered worldwide by carriers like Vodafone and O2 in the UK. Being that it was strictly a GSM phone T-Mobile and AT&T were the major players in the states. The smartphone was a relative bargain going for only $299.99 with contract. Design-wise the AT&T and T-Mobile phones had some style differences. The AT&T Tilt was colored darker with a dark grey brushed metal framing the screen and chrome navigation buttons. The rest of the phone was black. The T-Mobile variant expressed a brighter appearance with silver and bright brushed aluminum trim pieces. The rear battery door was also silver on the T-Mobile MDA TyTN II. The keypads on both devices were virtually identical except the AT&T version had a bright blue function key and the numeric array was finished in silver to make it easier to find. All these phones had white backlighting which seems a bit boring. It would have been cool to see different carriers use different colored backlights as was the case in the past with some rebranded HTC phones. In HTC's defense the white LEDs were the most expensive at the time and probably the easiest to see under all lighting conditions. This did however mark the end of blue or red LEDs use in backlighting for keypads as all backlighting would be white LEDs from now on.
Offered exclusively through Verizon, the CDMA networked Samsung SCH-i760 was powered by Windows Mobile 6 Professional. It could be used to create Word and Excel documents and featured all the communication and connectivity options of the day. Its slider design was unique in that while closed, the trackpad and number keys were exposed. The keys were tilted slightly so that they could still be relevant when the phone was opened and the keypad exposed, an unusual yet practical solution.
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Sony Ericsson was still offering Symbian powered smartphones just as Nokia was at this time. Sony Ericsson's flagship to date was the p series staring with the p800 introduced in 2002. the devices featured a flip down number pad the last of this p series was the p990 in 2006. In 2007 now we have the P1
revolutionary rocker qwerty keys chose from 3 characters allowing a numeric keypad and a qwerty keyboard to share the same space. 25% smaller than the p990 |
As the iPhone was proving that smartphones could be marketed not just for business, Samsung's Blackjack received a makeover in flashy new colors to appear more youthful. It was also available in Pink.
At this time dumb phones were still quite popular and LG's answer to the RZR was a metal constructed slider called the LG shine. It was a durable, smal,l and attractive phone that was offered in red, silver, and black. This silver version (above) had blue backlighting.
released in september 2008 the T-Mobile G1 or HTC Dream was first device be powered by Googles Android operating system.
A huge step back from the previous model it replaced the latest flagship from htc was quite undewhelming. gone was the tilt screen its design was boring.
Sidekick 2008
LG Decoy
The AT&T Quickfire made by UTStarcom and distributed by PCD
Please take special care when charging your Quickfire GTX75 mobile phone. There have been a few reports of significant overheating of the phone when the AC Charger adapter is inserted incorrectly and forced into the phone.
The clearly marked, embossed arrow on the AC Charger adapter should always be face-up on the same side as the display screen of the Quickfire when it is inserted into the phone. See the diagram below for proper positioning and insertion of the AC Charger adapter into the phone. You should never force the AC Charger adapter into the phone.
If you have any questions, please call 1-800-801-1101.
Sincerely,
AT&T
Please take special care when charging your Quickfire GTX75 mobile phone. There have been a few reports of significant overheating of the phone when the AC Charger adapter is inserted incorrectly and forced into the phone.
The clearly marked, embossed arrow on the AC Charger adapter should always be face-up on the same side as the display screen of the Quickfire when it is inserted into the phone. See the diagram below for proper positioning and insertion of the AC Charger adapter into the phone. You should never force the AC Charger adapter into the phone.
If you have any questions, please call 1-800-801-1101.
Sincerely,
AT&T
In 2008 both these metal clad shiny phones became available to the tech hungry public. On the left is the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 The first of Sony's Xperia line of smartphones. The Xperia name would live on after Sony and Ericssons relationship would desolve in 2012. Ericsson, a Swedish company still exists in the telecom realm however no longer making hardware, their focus now seems to be telecom infrastructure. The X1, besides the Xperia moniker was a design departure from the brands earlier smartphones which had for three generations been a unique half-flip based phone. Here we have a more familiar qwerty landscape slider for a flagship smartphone. That's not to say that Sony Ericcson didn't incorporate some unique design details. The phone utilizes a curve sliding mechanism which sends the screen on a gentle tilt as it reveals the keyboard. Metal construction with brightwork throughout as well as faceted keys, gave the phone a distinctive appearance. Even the operating system, which was Windows, received an upgrade in the form of attractive, easy to use, proprietary panels that were basically configurable shortcuts to your favorite programs. Despite all these distinctions worthy of Sony Ericssons design pedigree, I was surprised to learn the phone was designed and built by HTC. Makes you wonder how much collaboration between the companies was going on behind the scenes. The phone to the right is the LG shine. a simple slider, it still projected an upscale feel with the metal parts. Sliders were staring to take some of flip-phones shine in this time and the LG Shine was certainly a sought after phone.
Sony, with Ericsson along for the ride had several music oriented Walkman phones. Like the Cybershot designation given to the camera oriented phones, the branding gave credibility to the phones audio intentions.
As more and more form factor hit the market the king of style the flip phone was staring to lose its shine. there was still room foe this simple but sleek Samsung flip phone SGH A747
The blackberry Storm was meant to shake things up for blackberry despite being almost universally qwerty clad phones that originated in the business world blackberry was staring to make gains with non enterprise consumers as models like the Pearl and Bold became quite popular. The storm shed the keys and offered a full touchscreen phone. An interesting aspect of the touch screen was the the ability to provide feedback, the entire screen could be pushed, ever sol slightly but giving a positive click feedback. Called SurePress this patented feature was meant to improve the touchscreen experience. Generally considered a flop, this latest keypadless Blackberry did not take the industry by storm.
Known predominantly for their computers printers. Their past as a major player with producing PDAs makes their production of phones now and then not so surprising. In fact this particular example even bares the stories iPaq moniker. The HP 614c Business Navigator
in 2009 after 5 million were sold lg recalled the device the software caused texts not to operate properly customers were instructed to return to device so it can recieve a software fix.
Pantech Slate c530
another text minded feature phone the samsung propel was colorful
In 2009 HTC's touch pro 2 was a giant step back in the right direstion the best keyboard larger tilting screen and good looks.
This android powered art deco piece is the lg BL40 5mp camera
Sliders began to overtake flip phones as the trendy choice for a feature phone.
Sidekick LX 2009
Samsung realized a genius use for the E Ink technology that was used on ereaders because of its low power consumption and readability in bright lighting conditions. When the Alias 2
A good example of a smartphone, pushing the boundaries in atempt to be hip. This windows based device
A very basic, compact messaging phone from nokia and ATT called the Surge. 2.4" screen using Symbian S60 operating system unique landscape oriented design. it could be had for 79.99 with contract and rebate.
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HP smartphones have always been a rare sight, this HP Data Messanger and its little brother the redundantly nameed Voice Messenger were handsome phones that were not offered by a carrier in the us. Vodafone carried them in the United Kingdom.
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While it looked like a smartphone, this Samsung Impression (SGH-A877) was actually a high end feature phone with an emphisis on messaging and multimedia. featured a vibrant AMOLED screen still rare at the time. the backlighting on tyhe keyboard is notacble bright and even. finished handsomly in a shiny dark blue. to navigate, it uses samsungs touchwiz the camera has no flash and the headset plug is propietary a 3G phone exclusive to AT&T.
A very rare windows smartphone indeed, the Tempo M900 from Acer. Acer is best known for their computers but they do make tablets and an occasional phone. They took over the smartphone business from an even lesser know company called E-Ten with their Glofiish line of smartphones. Making this a spiritual successor to their Glofiish M810 from 2008. The Tempo runs on Windows Mobile 6.1 professional benefiting from it's own custom shell designed look good and minimize the use for the stylus. There is a 5mp camera on board, a respectably sized 3.8" and most notably a security fingerprint sensor on the front of the unit, all in a relatively stylish package. Unfortunately most reviews of the day claimed this unit to be frustratingly slow.
The three modes of Pantech's unusual little smartphone. On the left is the Pantech Duo that came out in 2007. On the right is the Pantech Matrix Pro that debuted in 2009. Both are dual slider Windows powered phones. Now, Pantech is know known for making top of thr line smartphones like samsung or LG, rather thay are known for making funky little texting devices devices that offten pack a suprise the form of a hidden keyboard. These entry level smartphones could be used in three modes. They could be used closed (MP3 Mode) with basic functions being controlled with the navigation array. Slide open upright and it becomes a familiar slider phone (Phone Mode). Slide the other direction and you have a qwerty enabled communication device (PDA Mode). The Matrix Pro is the spiritual successor to the Duo even though they dont share a name. In 2009 AT&T released the Pantech Matrix which was a youth-oriented basic dual slider messaging phone that came in blue/silver Red/silver and green/black. They also released a comparatively upscale windows powered version and that the called Matrix Pro instead of Duo 2. It was not uncommon to see Windows or qwerty enabled variants of phones designated with the Pro moniker. The Samsung Propel and Propel Pro and the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini and X10 Mini Pro come to mind. Perhaps that is just because the Duo 2 sounds odd. whatever they are called these two phones are essentially the same with the newer one showing some improvements over the original. The screen size increased from 2.2 inches to 2.4 on the Matrix Pro. And the operating system graduates from Windows 6 to 6.1. The camera spec improves from 1.3MP to a round 2MP on the newer phone. The RAM increases from 64MB to 128MB and both phones accept micro sd cards. Both phones boast bluetooth edge, gprs, hsdpa but fall short of offering WiFi. windows allows it to edit and view office documents. both phones used pantechs proprietary charge and data cable and lacked 3.5 mm jack for audio. this meant an adapter must be used to use headphones and it cannot charge while listening. Aside from the specification improvements the matrix pro was a big step forward in design. while the pantech duo was top heavy and overwrought with diffrent colored plastics and odd perferated trim around the screen, the matrix looked more sophisticated with a glossy blue grey color scheme and a symetic eliptical shape. i find myself drawn slightly to the qwerty keyboard on the duo, the backlight is brighter and the two toned coloring makes it easy to see in dim conditions. the matrix qwerty keyboard is monochromatic and the backlighting seems noticeably dimmer. the numeric keypad on the matrix has been criticized for being too flat. and it is the keys are made up of a flexible plastic membrane with while the duo has actual separate keys. If the duo is jeans and a tee shirt the matrix pro is like a tailored suit, dressed for use in the business world.
Talk about pantech helio Ocean
Talk about pantech helio Ocean
Nokia was still using its Symbian OS
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Despite the strengthening popularity of Android and Apple and the shrinking popularity of Windows Mobile, there was still a small yet enthusiastic group of people who were anticipating Microsoft's new interpretation of a mobile operating system in 2010. The system was supposed to simplify and beautify the experience. The graphic interface was re-imagined utilizing tiles that covered the home screen with applications and programs. Finally, gone was the stubbornly antiquated, endlessly menu driven Windows Mobile that emulated the desktop in ridiculously small in scale. It would seem that Microsoft was trying to learn from the success of others. But is it too little too late? Which brings us to the Dell Venue Pro. This was a sturdy and handsome portrait slider with a qwerty keyboard on board. one of the most anticipated new phones to feature the Windows OS exclusively. And one of Dell's first and final forays into the smartphone market. You cant have software without hardware, and certain;t there was plenty of excitement for the Dell Venue Pro. Luckily its portrait slider format meant those landscape rendering issues were less of an issue. The dell venue pro is a beautiful phone, the curved gorilla glass and large screen for the day were flanked by chrome bezels that was split when the keypad was revealed. That back panel is thin plastic, but textured and surrounded by chrome (chromed plastic) and with an attractive dell logo. the 4.1 inch screen was actually pioneering in its use of AMOLED technology. micro SD card slot disappointing 5mp camera it offers an 8gb and 16gb model from t-mobile for 99 and 149 respectively with contract.
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The Dell Venue Pro will have a spot in cell phone history as it represents a convergence of hardware software wrapped in a rare form factor that was beautiful and well built. Unfortunately after a few more smartphone efforts utilizing androids dell bows out of the smartphone market apparently for good. too bad especially when more was in the works from dell the venue pro apparently heralded a design language from dell both android powered the dell thunder looked like the venue pro in the closed position while the dell smoke was designed like a venue pro locked in the open position with the keypad on full time duty. unfortunately neither of these phones were ever produced. i cant help but wonder if the dell venue pro would have been more successful as an Android phone. we would get to find out kind of. in 2015, five years later blackberry of all people would have a renaissance in the form of the Blackberry Priv an Android powered phone with a similar form factor.
Despite being released the same year as a crop of new Windows Phone 7 handsets Sony Ericsson flagship soldiered on with a windows 6.5 6.25 professional operating system arguably the last phone to uses a windows mobile derived OS.
in 2012 along with the anouncement of the hto One they anounced they would move away from qwerties.
Microsoft Kin designed for mobile social networking there were two versions the kin one and the kin two. both were qwerty phones the KIN two shown above had more of a tradional slider design. the kin one was rounder and smaller.
although ever rarer flip phones were still around thsi one featured a unique acrylic LED notifivatio nedge and a led clock that shone through the housing.
Microsoft was trying really hard to make Windows phone 7 happen since its debut in 2010. they promised a more user friendly and trendier experience with thier live tiles the phone utilized a live id to acces apps similar to google play store and apples itunes store. the phones utilized the zune store for music. here we see the LG Quantum. the operating system did not seem to play well with tha hardware as the screen did not reoriant itself when the keyboard was open except for a few specific preograms. One of my biggest gripes with this new Windows Phone 7 operating system, besides the lack of customization, is its unwillingness to play nice with horizontal screens. this seems like a huge oversight considering windows mobile devices all but dominated the landscape slider smatphone style in the eraly days.
Motorola was doing something quite impresive with this milestone 2 they were making a qwerty smartphone that people wanted. the android operating system no doubt helped the design was cool but not over the top.
While not seen in the US, the Shine linup was expanded overseas and in Canada to include the LG Shine Plus, which shared the metal construction, and some design elements with the shine, but the "Plus" meant that it featured a qwerty keyboard and an early version of Android. Back then, it was not an uncommon marketing startegy to have the "smarter" versions of any given phone to wear the "Plus" or more commonly "Pro" monikers to distinguish them.
here we are in 2019 as we are on the brink of manufacturers revealing fordable smartphones. Sprinyt only it was polarizing with some saying it was intersting and ahead of its time and other saying it was the worst of all time. its easy to forget that Kyocera did a foldable smartphone back in 2011, okay so really this is a dual screen phone but the device was ahead of its time and had some charms. this is another phone that could have benefitted from be ing allowed a second version, the Echo 2 could have had a newer version of OS better camera improved battery life larger screen(s), but alas the phone was discontinued
As mentioned before Nokia tried its hand at a game-centric phone with limited success. In 2011 Sony Ericsson try its hand with an android powered phone that slid open to reveal a game pad. This design, with its dedicated game pad certainly looked the part. Unfortunately, it was not a huge success and only one version was made. I think this phone could have been a bit more successful with some more colorful options and perhaps a tie into Sony's Playstaion. Wouldn't more people have shown up if it was a fully realized Playstaion Phone as it was rumored to be. Sony was trying to establish thier xperia line of smartphones so they called the phone the Xperia Play. The phone came in Black, Dark Blue White and Orange but they all had silver gamepads, considering the intended buyer they were rather conservative looking, even in the orange or white color.
This would be the last of its kind. The HTC 7 Pro is a windows powered smartphone with a relatively small screen and a built in slide out keyboard a formula that has been around since HTC pioneered much of what a smartphone used to be.
Sony Ericssons' Xperia Mini Pro is an interesting little phone that has a footprint (when closed) roughly the size of a credit card yet it packed an onboard qwerty keyboard and android operating. A mid level phone, its specs were not those of a flagship, but the small size made it a unique option for non power users. Sony also offered a similar phone without the keypad called the Xperia Mini.
A proof of concept exercise more that an idea meant to set the world on fire.
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Meanwhile in Japan, NTT DoCoMo offered this unique Android powered Sharp SH-06D smartphone. Its display is a 4.5" 720p panel that was capable of auto-stereoscopic or glasses free 3d visuals. It had an on board Japanese Mobile TV service that required it to house a traditional telescopic antenna like an 80's Sony Watchman. This small, sleek, waterproof phone came with a very dock that follows the lines of the phone and is color coordinated. It was available in Blue, White and Magenta Red. A special edition Nerv Evangelion edition based on a popular Japanese Anime series. The rare phone had a modern industrial esthetic body paint job and the OS is skinned with a futuristic amber monochrome skin that makes it look like its straight out of a science fiction movie. oddly enough this model did not seem to come with a dock.
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Samsungs galaxy line was starting to gain momentum as the android phone to own. But it wasnt until the Samsung Galaxy S3 came along that the phone came into its own as not only a worthwhile competitor or alternative to the iphojne but one of the best phones on the market.
In 2012 Nokia was still soldiering along with Symbian and once giant was seeing an ever diminishing market share with more and more people choosing Apple iPhones or Android smartphones. Nokia found a niche to fill within the realm of the cameraphone megapixel wars that were going on with each new phone release. The Nokia 808 PureView featured a staggering 41 megapixels the system utilized an innovative Pure View Pro technology that utilized pixel oversampling that reduced photo resolution post process to produce an image higher definition light contrast and reduced loss of quality when zoomed.The phone boasted the largest sensor and was the most advanced camera phone at the time. all of this in an attractive, yet chunky housing that looked great in all three colors, but best in the red in our opinion .
In 2012 HTC announced they were phasing out production of phones with physical keyboards. This was surprising coming from HTC since qwerty enabled smartphones have been the companies specialty since their beginning. Keyboards used to be the calling card of the serious smartphone signalling that so equipped devices meant business. But a lot has changed since the old Windows Mobile days and the success of the iPhone (and before that the Palm Pilot) demonstrated that most people would do just fine with ever improving on-screen keyboards. And software entities like Youtube and Facebook ensured that the smartphone wasn't just for executives anymore. The very first Android phone, the Google G1, not only was built by HTC but it featured a physical qwerty keyboard. But since that first Android phone tastes quickly changed and the demand for keyboard packing phones fell. people admired the simplicity of the iPhone and the Galaxy phones. There was at this time another demographic that were still using qwerty keyboards at least for a little while. The messaging or texting feature phone was less expensive then a true smartphone and often aimed at youths or just those who texted quite often. A popular example would be T-Mobile's Sidekick. But as people realized they could not live without the full bore smartphone experience sales of the messaging phone and the qwerty keyboard began to fade into history. In 2013 HTC announced their first new phone in the post keyboard era. They even gave it a name meant to imply the slate had been wiped clean, that phone was called the HTC One. It was a handsome metal cladded smartphone with drilled dual stereo speakers and bright anodized finishes. HTC was not alone in abandoning the physical hardware keyboard soon most other maufacturers like sony and samsung would phase these units out and never rplace them. Even blackberry the keyboard stalwart was releasing touchscreen phones like the blackberry storm and Curve 9380. blackberry today is jsut abou the only manufacturer offering the keyboards.
despite this encouraging start, HTC, one the king of smartphones has been struggling to compete. In 2018 they announces they were cutting a quarter of thier workforce and the stock has plumited 90 from its peak when the market was different and they sold phones with keyboards. some of the last HTC mytouch 4g and samsungs the physical keyboards add too much weight and width in a market where biger screens are wanted in phones that are thinner with each itteration. there will always be a few qwerty phones available companies like blackberry are keeping them alive. but it has been years since the major players Samsung HTC, Nokia and Sony have offered one. Apple never has.
despite this encouraging start, HTC, one the king of smartphones has been struggling to compete. In 2018 they announces they were cutting a quarter of thier workforce and the stock has plumited 90 from its peak when the market was different and they sold phones with keyboards. some of the last HTC mytouch 4g and samsungs the physical keyboards add too much weight and width in a market where biger screens are wanted in phones that are thinner with each itteration. there will always be a few qwerty phones available companies like blackberry are keeping them alive. but it has been years since the major players Samsung HTC, Nokia and Sony have offered one. Apple never has.
After Sony broke with Ericsson, Ericsson turned into a communications company that steered clear of civilian hardware. Sony however, continued to sell phones focusing on its Xperia smartphone line, once a maker of diverse feature phones utilizing cyber-shot and Walkman branding, the Sony line up now consisted solely of picture frame form factors. Gone was the Symbian operating system as well as the Windows OS that was used to launch the Xperia line with the X1 in 2008. The screens were still LCD while others were deep into AMOLED, but they were rich and crisp displays some of them even using Bravia branding borrowed from their televisions. The Xperias were now an all Android affair. Sony did however attempt to distinguish themselves through unique designs employing metallic finishes, materials and hard edges (where others like Apple and Samsung were smooth had a decidedly rounded aesthetic). This Xperia P (LT22i) had a unique acrylic panel where that housed the android navigation buttons. The section illuminated and gave the bottom portion of the phone the illusion it was floating. An interesting design feature that added no practial benifit.
Despite the trend for ever larger screens Samsung saw the need for a mini version of the Galaxy phone. Super AMOLED 4" screen it looked like a shrunken version of the Galaxy S3 specs were reduced 5 mp camera, Android 4.1, Nature UX it has a dual core cpu as oposed to the quad core found in the Galaxy S3 full size unit.
In another attempt at survival in the age of iPhone and Android, Microsoft tweaked their Windows Phone operating system slightly with Windows Phone 8. The poster children for this "improved" operating system were a pair of colorful smartphones from HTC. Of the two, the HTC Windows Phone 8X was the flagship. It's unibody construction was finished in a soft touch matte surface that could be had in funky colors like California Blue, Flame Red, Limelight Yellow as well as a reserved Black. The 8X featured a 4.3 inch screen even while Windows phone competitors from Samsung and Nokia benefited from larger panels. The 8mp camera and 16 gig storage was impressive for the time, as was the on board Beats audio. Both phones were designed with a rounded back that tapered aggressively towards the edges making it feel thinner in hand then it actually is. The HTC 8S was ahead of the curve with its non replaceable battery. The little brother to the 8X is the 8S, it is smaller but similarly styled with a different set of funky colors. The more affordable 8S model features a cool looking two tone color scheme. The Atlantic Blue version shown above is our favorite, but they all looked great. Like the Atlantic Blue, the Fiesta Red was tone on tone. The Domino version, of course, was black and white, while High Rise Grey was grey with a yellow accent. Decidedly smaller than the 8X it featured a 4 inch screen, the same size panel found on the then current iPhone 5. Unfortunately for Microsoft, these phones certasinly didn't set the world on fire and would prove to be Windows Phones last grasp at relevance. Microsoft released a 8.1 version and then Windows Mobile 10. Support for Windows 10 will end December 10, 2019. Even Microsoft is urging remaining users of the operating system to get on board with iOS (Apple) or Android. In spite of and perhaps due to the relative failure status of these devices, I will always have a soft spot for these funky, colorful, little phones.
2013
The NEC Terrain, brought to you by AT&T, was a rugged device that not only was waterproof but featured a qwerty keyboard and Android on board. More reserved in styling that most in your face work ready phones the NEC Terrain was a handsome alternative and a rare option if you wanted Android and a full keyboard. Part of the concept here was that touchscreen phones can be difficult to use in the rain as the raindrops can trigger unwanted touch responses, the physical hardware prevented this. This phone wan an interesting idea bogged down by its dated version of android but could have benefited from an updated version, perhaps with a newer OS, bigger screen, and thinner profile. Sadly the NEC Terrain was a one and done affair.
2014
A precursor to the curved edge craze, this Samsung Galaxy Note Edge was a new concept. It addition to the larger screen and Galaxy pen stylus, it housed a drastically curved edge that functioned essentially as a second screen. This thin panel could ticker information, control multimedia, provide shortcuts, unique visual notifications, and many other options. A pioneer, and interesting concept, however there wasn't a ton of support or practical purpose for the second screen, today its legacy is that of a proof of concept more then ground-breaker.
2015
In 2015 Blackberry surprised many when it released the Priv. Not only was it their first Android device, but it was a surprisingly thin portrait slider with a tiny keyboard hidden below. Touting BlackBerry's renowned security credentials it had a respectably large 5.4" AMOLED display that was curved slightly on the vertical edges. Below the keypad was a speaker grill composed of drilled holes in the plastic body. The camera was passable and touted Schneider-Kreuznach optics. The phone's name was a distilled amalgamation of the words privacy and privilege. It was somewhat successful despite Blackberry's diminished standing in the market. Some users however experienced buggy units, chronic overheating, and abysmal battery life. Despite this, many called for a successor that would keep the good things about the concept and address these known issues. This Priv 2 never came, BlackBerry instead released the KEYone in 2017, also packing the signature BlackBerry keyboard but without the privs sliding form factor.
Here we see the new for 2015 Galaxy S6 posing with the outgoing Galaxy S5. The latest of the ever-popular S6 was design departure with a destination upscale. The Galaxy S5 was, in my opinion a step backwards. The perforated leather look on the back panel was combined with plasticky chrome accents. There was truly no where to go but up. And indeed the S6 did rise to the occasion with much more premium materials with metallic housing and glass on the back (a fingerprint prone trend that continues to this day). This meant unfortunately, that the battery was no longer removable, also gone was expandable storage and waterproofing. Details that turned off may Samsung fans. this was also the first og the the series to offer the phone regular and an edge variant. last year we saw the note edge that had a pronounced curved edge just on one side of the phone , here with the s6 edge both sides of the screen curve but much less dramatically.
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Japanese phones are often more colorful and design conscience then domestic offerings as the cell phone market there has been historically more associated with youth culture. The Infobar line however, pushes the boundaries of style even for a Japanese mass market mobile phone. The very first Infobar phone was designed by Naoto Fukasawa a respected and celebrated Japanese industrial designer. Initially hitting the market in 2003, the first Infobar was a simple yet charmingly styled bar phone. Available in several color schemes, the most iconic is the Nishikigoi colorway, composed of red, white and blue (really light grey), it was inspired by a colorful kind of Koi fish. The phone had a numeric keypad and the keys were arranged like multicolored tiles that were organized diagonally and asymmetrical and met edge to edge. The pattern of the color placement is a bit of a puzzle. In 2003 the Infobar 2 debuted, like the first one, it was offered by the carrier KDDI. The Infobar 2 added some new colorways but of course kept the popular and classic Nishikigoi scheme. The Infobar 2 was still a simple phone but had been endowed a larger screen. While the buttons remained colorful they were now flush with the curved body of the phone. In 2011 the Infobar would get an education and become become an Android powered smartphone. The Infobar A01 looked like a touchscreen phone with a 3.7 inch screen dominating its face. It was available in 5 colorways. Yet without the alphanumeric keypad it only had three physical buttons below the screen on which to apply the Infobars characteristic splashes of color. 2012's Infobar C01 would gain a 3.2 inch screen and the keypad was once again adorned with the distinctive edge to edge tile keys. This phone was viewed by many as a compromise between the impending reign of the touch screen while still employing the classic icoography of an Infobar phone. The next iteration would come in 2013, suprisingly, it would be built by prolific manufacturer HTC. This design pushed the Infobar further into total touchscreen territory with the A02. Gone were any buttons from the front of the phone. Still unique, it did feature a colorful body with accented keys on the phones perimeter. A departure, but still an interesting and beautiful Android smartphone. In 2015 the Infobar switched manufacturers once again with the A03 built by Kyocera this metallic android smartphone added colorful physical button to the bottom of the phone. It features an 13mp camera as well as water and dust resistance. Like the rest of the Infobar line it is officially a Japan only fare, however an unlocked version of this newest Infobar was (at time of authoring) available on eBay for $375. |
In 2018 Infobar release a new version of the Japan only iconic phone, the KYX31 in time for the 15th anniversary of the original 2003 Infobar. It featured the signature color block design and was available in 3 color ways the Koi inspired Nishikigoi (red, white, and light blue) Nasukon (shown below: blue, white, and light blue) and Cherry Berry Lavender pink and white).
A detail I appreciate on this Infobar KYX31 is the backlighing on the keypad is coordinated with the color of the phone itself. For example, the Nasukon (shown above) has blue backlighting, the pink one has pink backlighting and the red and white one has white backlighting. A cool touch. This is an android phone but not a full blown smartphone 3.1" non touchscreen 800 X 480 8mp camera made by Kyocera beauty does not come cheap despite the underwhelming specs you will pay around 700 dollars if you want a phone that truly stands out in the crowd. Exclusively for Japan, it is available online.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 did what phones rarely do, it became infamous in 2016. It had become a household name, and a subject of multiple news reports in the days following its launch, but not for reasons any company would want. The phone was released on August 19th, 2016 and was highly anticipated by a small but rabid fan base of the Samsung Galaxy Note line. While not a huge jump specification wise, the new phone's design had become more in line with its newly penned smaller siblings the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge. With it's dual curved screen, and availability in the popular Coral Blue paint job, it was a genuinely sought after device. The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 was a marked improvement over the phones predecessor the Note 5. The Note 6 moniker was skipped to keep the number conventions in step with the more mainstream Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge, which were released earlier that year. It didn't take long however, for troubling reports to surface regarding fire events related to the devices battery. The battery was seemingly responsible for extreme overheating, combustion, even explosions. There were, at least 100 incidences when Samsung recalled the device in the US on September 12th, 2016 less than a month after the phone's release. Luckily no one was seriously hurt. Initially the plan was that Samsung was going to provide replacement phones. Owners were instructed to send in their old ones in exchange for new refurbished devices. But then there was a problem with the replacement devices. On October 4, 5, and 7th more accounts of spontaneous combustion associated with replacement phones surfaced. This included a scary indecent on a Southwest Airlines aircraft where a replacement Note 7 started to pop and spark while its owner was attempting to power down the device. Luckily, the plane was still on the ground. In response, the device was internationally recalled on October 10th, 2016 and on October 14th, the Federal Aviation Administration banned the phones from all flights. While in most of the world consumers dutifully returned their phones when called upon to do so. Stubborn Americans loved the phone and wanted to keep it despite the risks. Samsung even offered a $100 credit to those who exchanged their phone for another Samsung device. Even with this, return rates in the US were very low. Undoubtedly there are some still using the phone today. The problem with the battery was identified and hopefully this will never happen again. There were actually two battery manufacturers identified with two separate issues. In an effort to make a thin phone the battery was engineered in such a way by one manufacturer that allowed damage to the electrode windings resulting in the thermal failures. In the case of another manufacturer, defects in the positive electrode tab welding caused internal faulting with the copper foil of the negative electrode causing the overheating and worse. On July 7th, 2017 the phone was re-released as the Note Fan Edition. A limited number of the device was made available to the public for collectors or just those who want to own this notorious device. The phone wasn't refurbished, it was built using new, unused parts that would have been note 7's along with a completely new battery utilizing an 8 Point Battery Safety Check List which hopefully Samsung employs for all their phones. No issues have been reported with the Samsung Note Fan Edition.
The HP Elite X3 was Windows powered smartphone built for business that had aspirations of replacing your desktop. The phone could be used with an available dock that allowed you to use the phone as a desktop computer. Not only could you control an external monitor, keyboard, and mouse, but the phone allowed you to run heavy applications like AutoCAD and Photoshop. The HP Elite X3 touted impressive specs like one of the largest batteries on the market at the time and the best display in a mobile device. The audio was engineered by high end Danish electronics company Bang and Olufsen, renown for their acoustic excellence. The Elite X3 featured a 4GB ram and 86GB internal storage as well as IP67 dust and water resistance. Design wise, the phone was pretty understated, but to this authors eye it looked formal yet looked cool You could unlock the phone with either an iris scanner or fingerprint reader. Unsurprisingly, the phone never really achieved mass appeal nor was it designed to. Instead this phone no doubt ended up in the hands of serious business or technology minded individuals who were not afraid to stray from the path. Discontinued in 2017 the HP Elite X3 will be remembered not just as a proof of concept, but perhaps the last great Windows Phone.
In the current mobile environment practically all new phones are smartphones. Nokia saw this as an opportunity to fill a a niche and simultaneously bring back one of the most popular phones ever produced; the Nokia 3310. The original 3310 was announced in 2000. It was a basic bar cell phone, but one that came to be much coveted due to its seemingly indestructible construction and reliability. During its run, 126 million were sold and the humble yet plucky little device garnered a bit of a cult following. While even today, techno-hipsters and pragmatists alike are proud to be seen using this "archaic" technology that just makes calls. Well now, Nokia introduced a re-imagined version of the classic 3310 for 2017. This new phone comes with 64gb internal storage that can be expanded another 32gb with a SD card. On back there is a lowly 2MP snapper. The Nokia 3310 3G is a basic phone value at around $60. At the time of writing, a 4G model had just been announced for the Chinese market.
Phones that should have got a sequel nec terrain kyocera echo blackberry priv