With nine months of miners’ strikes having brought Britain to its knees, the nation was ready to see the last of 1984.
But with the bells of Band Aid’s iconic Christmas number one still ringing, the twelfth chime of Big Ben promised new hope and change. It was 1985.
Moments into the new year another bell would ring – its caller amongst the masses gathered beneath the gaze of London’s iconic clocktower, its receiver at home in Surrey.
The first ever mobile phone call between Michael Harrison in Parliament Square and his father, Vodafone chairman Sir Ernest Harrison, sparked a revolution.
Now, 40 years on from that historic call, one of the UK’s leading authorities on mobiles has revealed the 18 most important handsets of the last four decades.
Ben Wood is a mobile phone fanatic and both the founder and curator of the Mobile Phone Museum, which is home to some 2,800 unique devices spanning four decades.
Among his picks are the iconic Nokia 3210, which was designed with young people in mind.
Also chosen – besides Apple’s universally known iPhone – is the device used by the villainous Gordon Gekko in 1987 classic film Wall Street.
Vodafone VT1
The phone that started it all – the Vodafone VT1 – was used by Michael Harrison to call his father Sir Ernest Harrison on January 1, 1985
The phone that started it all – the Vodafone VT1 – was used by Michael Harrison to call his father Sir Ernest Harrison on January 1, 1985.
In 1983, Vodafone ordered 5,000 VT1’s from Mobira and 5,000 Vodafone VM1 units from Panasonic, which were the phones used on the Vodafone network when it became the first network to go live when it launched in 1985.
Mr Wood says: ‘Vodafone only sold 12,000 of those in total, and if you think that was 1985, how many of those still exist? Not many. We’ve got three of them in the museum.’
The expert briefly worked for Vodafone after graduating from university in the 1990s. It was then that he started collecting devices.
Launch: 1983
Weight: 5.5kg
The Hollywood ‘brick’ – Motorola DynaTAC 8000X
The iconic ‘brick’ phone as used by ruthless banker Gordon Gekko, played by Michael Douglas, in the 1987 classic movie Wall Street.
Ben says: ‘Everyone knows what these look like, they are super iconic and they’re getting quite valuable now.
‘This handset is critical because it was created by the father of the mobile phone Martin Cooper. He was behind the early prototypes of the DynaTAC in the 1970s, and these were the genesis of what was called the hand portable mobile phone.’
Launch: 1984
Weight: 790g
The Hollywood ‘brick’ – Motorola DynaTAC 8000X. It was the iconic ‘brick’ phone as used by ruthless banker Gordon Gekko, played by Michael Douglas, in the 1987 classic movie Wall Street
The first ‘flip phone’ – Motorola MicroTAC 9800X
Described at launch by a Motorola executive as ‘a new category of cellular – the personal cellular’, the company viewed the MicroTAC 9800X ‘as the wave of the future’.
Mr Wood says: ‘This was the first flip phone, and people may also remember it for having a pull-up antenna, which was actually fake.
‘Unknown to most users, the phone had an internal antenna but the manufacturers decided to include one after focus groups in the US told them they expected all phones to have one’.
Launch: 1989
Weight: 270g
Described at launch by a Motorola executive as ‘a new category of cellular – the personal cellular’, the company viewed the MicroTAC 9800X ‘as the wave of the future’
The ‘Model T-Ford’ of mobile phones – Nokia 101
Described as the ‘Model T Ford’ of mobile phones, the Nokia 101 sold 4.5 million units in 1995 – accounting for 42 per cent of Nokia’s total sales volume.
According to its CEO and Chairman Jorma Ollila, the Nokia 101 ‘established Nokia as a brand’.
Mr Wood says: ‘This was an absolute beast of a phone. This was transformational because it was tiny compared to previous models. It was the device that made Nokia – establishing them ahead of Motorola and Erickson.’
Launch: 1992
Weight: 141g
Described as the ‘Model T Ford’ of mobile phones, the Nokia 101 sold 4.5 million units in 1995 – accounting for 42 per cent of Nokia’s total sales volume
The ‘baby monitor’ mobile – One2One – M300
The One2One was another flip phone design with a retractable aerial.
It launched in 1993 with unlimited free calls within the M25 in the evening.
Mr Wood says: ‘Calls were free between 7pm and 7am within the M25, and this proved to be One2One’s worst nightmare because people starting using them as baby monitors so it took up loads of capacity on the network.’
Launch: 1993
Weight: 348g
The One2One was another flip phone design with a retractable aerial. It launched in 1993 with unlimited free calls within the M25 in the evening
The first ‘smartphone’ with ‘apps’ – IBM Simon
Regarded as a PDA when it was launched, the IBM Simon was the device that could be called a ‘smartphone’ – borne from the desire to have a ‘computer in your pocket’.
Applications on the phone included an address book, email, a calculator, calendar, fax machine, note pad, file manager, world clock, a pager and even a sketch pad.
Ben says: ‘This is arguably the first ever smartphone, it was a breakthrough device with a touchscreen. It was incredible technology. They made 50,000 of them – very low production.’
Launch: 1993
Weight: 510g
Regarded as a PDA when it was launched, the IBM Simon was the device that could be called a ‘smartphone’ – borne from the desire to have a ‘computer in your pocket’
The first text messaging phone and THAT iconic ringtone – Nokia 2110
A true breakthrough product in that it was able to receive text messages and then, the Nokia 2110 was revolutionary.
Then, following a software update, the user could send texts too.
It was widely used in the testing of the early SMS text message service.
Vodafone initially planned to sell 400,000 units. It ended up selling more than 20 million.
A key device in the wider use of 2G, the Nokia 2110 could also be connected to a laptop for data transfer.
And, it was the first phone to feature the iconic Nokia ringtone, based on the ‘Gran Vals’ guitar riff written by Spanish musician Francisco Tarrega.
It also famously featured in the hit 1990s Channel 4 comedy show Trigger Happy TV.
Mr Wood says: ‘A complete game-changer in the industry. Everyone knows the ringtone and if you think of WhatsApp today, it’s genesis is in this phone.
‘It was the first phone in the world that you could send a text from and the first phone in the world that allowed you to access the internet. This is in the DNA of our phones today.
‘And, of course Vodafone were first in the world to launch text messaging in 1992. The first ever text message sent was ‘Merry Christmas’ in 1992.’
Launch: 1994
Weight: 235g
A true breakthrough product in that it was able to receive text messages and then, the Nokia 2110 was revolutionary. Then, following a software update, the user could send texts too
The Matrix phone – Nokia 8110
The phone used by Keanu Reeves in the 1999 sci-fi blockbuster The Matrix, the Nokia 8110 became immortalised thanks to its ‘flip phone’ action.
When closed it protected the keyboard, but when open it positioned the microphone closer to the user’s mouth.
Mr Wood says: ‘What people don’t realise is that the phone didn’t actually have a spring-loaded action – they only did that in the movie. The phone that had that was the Nokia 7110.
‘But, because the film had the spring-loaded keyboard slider action, they rolled that capability into the 7110.
The 8110 was called the banana phone because of its shape, it allowed you to end a call by closing it.’
Launch: 1996
Weight: 152g
The phone used by Keanu Reeves in the 1999 sci-fi blockbuster The Matrix, the Nokia 8110 became immortalised thanks to its ‘flip phone’ action
When closed it protected the keyboard, but when open it positioned the microphone closer to the user’s mouth
The first antenna-free ‘fashionable’ phone – Nokia 3210
The Nokia 3210 was the first mass-market phone with a fully-integrated antenna, it was designed with young people in mind.
It will be remembered by millions as their first mobile phone, and it sold around 161 million units.
Ben says: ‘The 3210 democratised the mobile phone. You could change the covers and cases, which allowed you to personalise them.’
Launch: 1999
Weight: 151g
The Nokia 3210 was the first mass-market phone with a fully-integrated antenna, it was designed with young people in mind
The ‘snake’ phone – Nokia 6110
The Nokia 6110 brought a couple of ‘firsts’ to the mobile phone market – firstly the introduction of games, and secondly its infrared port, which allowed users to connect to a laptop, PDA or printer that was paired with another infrared ‘dongle’.
Mr Wood says: ‘This was a landmark phone for Nokia for two reasons – the infrared port, of course, but the main reason people will know its built-in games – snake being the one everyone remembers.’
Launch: 1997
Weight: 137g
The Nokia 6110 brought a couple of ‘firsts’ to the mobile phone market – firstly the introduction of games, and secondly its infrared port
The first WAP phone – Nokia 7110
The Nokia 7110 was the first WAP (wireless application protocol) mobile phone that allowed you to basic access the internet.
The phone allowed users to read text-based internet updates from news, weather, stock prices, flight schedules, check emails and access wireless banking and e-commerce sites.
Mr Wood says: ‘It offered slow, text-based information like news headlines and weather.
‘This phone was a classic example of the technology that had to start somewhere, the capability was there, everyone believed the internet would be important on phones, but it took years and years, this was the proof of concept really.’
Launch: 1999
Weight: 141g
The Nokia 7110 was the first WAP (wireless application protocol) mobile phone that allowed you to basic access the internet
The phone allowed users to read text-based internet updates from news, weather, stock prices, flight schedules, check emails and access wireless banking and e-commerce sites
The gaming phone – Nokia N-GAGE
The N-Gage was an ambitious move by Nokia into the gaming industry, but its distinctive design earned it the nickname the ‘Taco phone’.
The earpiece and microphone on the side of the phone meant users had to hold it sideways to make a call, a posture that became known as ‘side-talking’.
Mr Wood says: ‘Nokia’s foray into the gaming market saw users able to play FIFA, Rayman, Sonic and Tomb Raider.
‘The games came on little multimedia cards, but in order to change games you needed to remove the back cover and battery, which meant the phone rebooted.’
Launch: 2002
Weight: 137g
The N-Gage was an ambitious move by Nokia into the gaming industry, but its distinctive design earned it the nickname the ‘Taco phone’
The selfie phone – Vodafone GX10
The Vodafone GX10 – a product of Vodafone’s relationship with Sharp in Japan – came with a 110K pixel digital camera, which was considered cutting edge at the time.
Its display was a large, high-resolution 65K colour LCD screen.
Mr Wood says: ‘This was the David Beckham phone and it had a little mirror next to the camera, which meant you could take a pic of the view and also turn it around and take a selfie.
‘Everyone wanted one of these back in the day.’
Launch: 2002
Weight: 101g
The Vodafone GX10 – a product of Vodafone’s relationship with Sharp in Japan – came with a 110K pixel digital camera, which was considered cutting edge at the time
The Lipstick phone – Nokia 7280
The 7280 was the most ‘exotic’ of Nokia’s fashion collection, which also included the Nokia 7260 and the Nokia 7270.
The phone was launched in Shanghai and introduced as being ‘inspired by the glamour and elegance of the lavish 1920s’.
Mr Wood says: ‘The ‘lipstick phone’ was an iconic design, but of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as they say’.
Launch: 2004
Weight: 84g
The 7280 was the most ‘exotic’ of Nokia’s fashion collection, which also included the Nokia 7260 and the Nokia 7270
The Walkman phone – Sony Ericsson W800
Driven by the success of Apple’s iPod, and at a time when cameras had become standard in the marketplace, the Sony Erikson W800 was the first phone to be combined with a high-quality music player.
Mr Wood says: ‘This was another important phone and a disruptive move at the time. It captured the imagination of the industry and consumers given Sony’s long-standing heritage with the music player.’
Launch: 2005
Weight: 99g
Driven by the success of Apple’s iPod, and at a time when cameras had become standard in the marketplace, the Sony Erikson W800 was the first phone to be combined with a high-quality music player
The first multimedia phone – Nokia N95
Emerging just months before the iPhone, the Nokia N95 was billed as an ‘all-in-one multimedia computer’.
Nokia’s Executive Vice President of Multimedia Products Anssi Vanjoki said at the time that it was a ‘single device that fits easily in your pocket, and it can replace stand-alone devices you no longer need, like your music player, your digital camera, PDA or navigation device’.
Mr Wood says: ‘This phone came out in 2006. This was peak Nokia. This was at the point that the iPhone had already been announced, but everyone wanted one of these.
‘It had a five-megapixel camera, which was astonishing at the time.
The front went up to reveal a keypad and down to reveal controls to play videos, so you could turn it on its side and watch videos. But it was still a bit clunky.’
Launch: 2006
Weight: 120g
Emerging just months before the iPhone, the Nokia N95 was billed as an ‘all-in-one multimedia computer’
The first Apple phone – the iPhone
The iPhone is one of the most admired and well-known consumer electronics devices in the world. It set the standard for everything that followed.
Now on its 16th version, the iPhone was the birth of the modern phone as we know it. More than 2.3 billion phones have sold since its launch in 2007.
Mr Wood says: ‘There are all these people who say ‘as soon as I saw it, I knew it was going to change the world’, but when the iPhone launched, people forget that it had a bit of a lukewarm reception in many quarters.
‘At the time every other manufacturer was trying to make the most efficient smartphone.
Blackberry was massive. Nokia outsold the iPhone hundreds of thousands of times.
‘But Steve Jobs understood that you needed a computer in your pocket. And the rest is history.’
Launch: 2007
Weight: 135g
The iPhone is one of the most admired and well-known consumer electronics devices in the world. It set the standard for everything that followed
The business and social phone – Blackberry Curve 8520
The Curve 8520 was described by BlackBerry as an ‘approachable new smartphone offering email, messaging, social networking and entertainment for people on the go’.
The device offered a ‘qwerty’ keyboard and touch-sensitive trackpad. As well as offering SMS and MMS, it allowed users to access Facebook and MySpace.
Its offer of unlimited free text messages saw it linked to the London Riots of 2011.
Mr Wood says: ‘This was the killer product from Blackberry, it had free text messages via the BBM service. The BlackBerry was originally the ‘businessman’s tool’ but this model took the concept to the masses.
‘Everyone had them, it was all about BBM, what’s your pin number, sending unlimited messages to each other.
‘When Blackberry started selling them, they used to go into businesses with 10 BlackBerry devices and give them a one month’s free trial, then they’d say ‘we want them back’, and people didn’t want to give them up – this is where it got the nickname ‘the crackberry’ among business people.’
Launch: 2009
Weight: 105g
The Curve 8520 was described by BlackBerry as an ‘approachable new smartphone offering email, messaging, social networking and entertainment for people on the go’
