If you still remember these phones, you’re officially old

Main points

• Early mobile phones like the DynaTAC and MicroTAC revolutionized mobile phone design and paved the way for future innovations.
• The Nokia 3310, BlackBerry 5810 and Motorola Razr V3 are all iconic phones that have left a lasting legacy in the industry.
• With its large screen, the Samsung Galaxy Note series has influenced the trend of content consumption on large-screen smartphones.

Nowadays, it’s very difficult to tell one phone from another. Modern smartphones have become a predictable slab of glass with barely any flashy design to differentiate one brand from another.

However, this is not always the case. In the early days of cell phones, we had so many choices. With the industry just getting started and year-over-year innovation at an all-time high, we’re witnessing the rapid development and evolution of phone designs, feature sets, and brand identities.

Yes, if you remember these phones were already on the market, you’re officially old.

Here is a glimpse of some of the most famous phones that have graced consumers. Yes, if you remember these phones were already on the market, you’re officially old.

1 Motorola DynaTAC (1983)

The one who started it all

The DynaTac is legendary—it was the first truly portable phone on the consumer market. DynaTAC, short for “Dynamic Adaptive Total Area Coverage,” was truly a revelation when it debuted. Big “car phones” had existed until now, but Motorola ushered in an era of truly untethered phones.

In 1983, if you had a beauty like this with you, you would be flattered.

By today’s standards, the DynaTAC makes the average cinder block blush. But in 1983, if you had a beauty like this with you, you were in for a treat. As we all know, it takes 10 hours to fully charge the battery, so you can enjoy half an hour of talk time.

2 Motorola MicroTAC (1989)

things are starting to take shape

The MicroTAC is Motorola’s next big thing, but it’s actually much smaller than its predecessor. It certainly lives up to its name, with its shape and size making it feel like it was built for humans rather than giants.

Looking at it today, MicroTAC is still ridiculously large for a phone. However, the novel flip-mic design paved the way for the later flip phone craze of the 2000s. Modern “clamshell” style foldable devices, such as the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip series, directly inherit MicroTAC’s DNA.

3 Motorola StarTAC (1996)

Why not call it NanoTAC?

Just one look at the StarTAC and you can appreciate the appeal of this phone in its heyday. Motorola’s engineers were able to cram a fully functional portable phone into something that could actually fit in your pocket. The company iterated on the “flip” concept from the early MicroTAC and helped formulate the flip phone design language that would become extremely popular in the coming years.

4 Nokia 3310 (2000)

absolutely indestructible

The Nokia 3310 is a pure icon. It is compact and functional and has earned a reputation for being well built and durable. The Finnish phone maker certainly wasn’t the only company to make a “candy bar” style phone in the 2000s, but it’s the one most of us remember and the form factor that has become synonymous with it.

There’s nothing better than playing a Snake game on pristine monochrome hardware. If you know, you know.

The phone became such an icon that Nokia released a new version of it in 2017. The new 3310 is a fun retro device, but there’s nothing better than playing a Snake game on the original monochromatic hardware. If you know, you know.

5 BlackBerry 5810 (2002)

The Rise of the QWERTY Planet

Ah yes, BlackBerry. The 5810 isn’t the first device released by Research In Motion Canada, but it is the first to have a built-in mobile phone. The device is primarily aimed at businesses rather than consumers, as has been the case with many BlackBerry phones over the years.

The 5810 took the QWERTY keyboard of its earlier 850 sibling and integrated it into the now iconic portrait keyboard. Despite its small monochrome display, it’s easy to spot the 5810 as the ancestor of the popular BlackBerry Bold devices that would (briefly) dominate the business world.

Despite attempts, first with BlackBerry 10 and later embracing Android, BlackBerry ultimately failed to fend off competition from the likes of Apple, Google and Samsung.

6 Motorola Razr V3 (2004)

High quality, fashionable and chic

It’s fitting that the most popular flip phone of all time comes from the same company that brought us early DynaTAC and StarTAC phone models. The Razr V3 lived up to its name and was an incredibly thin and light piece of technology for its time.

Of course, the V3 is more than just a phone. It’s a grown-up fashion statement. When someone pulls out a shiny metal Razr, you can definitely tell they’re on trend. Who can forget the satisfying feeling of closing the device after ending a particularly intense phone call?

With the rise of “clamshell” foldable smartphones, Motorola wisely decided to resurrect the iconic brand and still releases the Razr phone to this day.

7 LG Chocolate(2005/6)

Remember when cell phones used to have funny names?

LG Chocolate is a phone that is completely in a “slider” form factor. The device is compact and elegant, with a hidden number pad that can be accessed at any time by just flicking the display upwards.

Over the years, there have been countless “slider” phones that have achieved varying degrees of success and varying degrees of notoriety. The LG Chocolate Phone became an instant hit, probably due to its attractive design, branding, and fun glowing red keys.

8 LG enV VX9900 (2006)

Great way to make your friends like you

LG’s other popular product, the enV, is a candy bar phone that emphasizes style. It has a number pad on the front, just below the display. Its real claim to fame is its hidden landscape keyboard, which unfolds to reveal a larger display inside.

The device’s release comes at a time when phone makers aren’t afraid to try out interesting new form factors to see what works.

The back of the enV is equally novel, more like the back of a point-and-shoot camera than a feature phone. The device’s release comes at a time when phone makers aren’t afraid to try out interesting new form factors to see what works.

9 Samsung Galaxy Note (2011)

I’m glad the term “phablet” doesn’t stick around

There was a time in the early days of Android phone history when Samsung wasn’t the behemoth it is today. Of course, the Korean giant has been making phones for a long time, but the Android space has faced stiff competition from the likes of LG, HTC, and others.

While Samsung’s “S” series of phones first propelled the company into the Galaxy, the Note series has arguably been more influential in the industry. It launched with a massive 5.3-inch display at a time when people were using their phones to consume all content.

Originally derided by many as too big to be a smartphone, the market has spoken and now it’s hard to find a phone on the market that doesn’t have a big screen to watch shows and watch YouTube videos for hours on end.