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Back to the Future of Mobile Phones II

“The only chance to fix the present is only in the past.” Doc Emmett Brown

Continuing a series of journeys into the history of mobile phones. Enjoy reading.
I’ll clarify right away that the sample is based on the phones that I have. Write about your favorite cult models and I will try to buy them or you can send something by mail if you want. I will be very grateful.

Let's start with the most iconic phone.

Nokia 3310, 2000




Chuck Norris among mobile phones. If you screw 3310 to a stick, you get a hammer of Thor.

Why was 3310 so popular and 130,000,000 were sold, despite the popularity of 3210, which sold 160,000,000. This is the first mass mobile phone with vibra, with flagships then only worn in raspberry jackets.

35 tunes and 7 editable. We had fun as much as we could during the time of cassette players. All new hits could be written using the alphabet by rewriting a melody from a magazine or from a forum.

The game is a snake. Earlier in phones with games it was very bad. And I wanted to play, maybe we didn’t have any special devices like gameboy. Although racing on electronics is a cool thing.
The quality of communication, SMS in Cyrillic and good autonomy added advantages of the legendary model.

Sony cmd z5, 2000




Outwardly, a single sony style of that time can be traced - in phones and walkman players. Not a very popular phone format. More square with high flip. But there are interesting points.

When the flip is closed, the clock and status information are visible on the screen. With this arrangement, the keyboard unit without navigation keys. It's all about the jog dial. Let us dwell on it in more detail.

For navigation, you can press the wheel in three planes and rotate. When you get used to it, it’s difficult to use the classic navigation of other phones. Moreover, the menu contains a maximum of up to three levels, so you do not have to rotate the wheel for a long time.

There are two games on the phone. Fishing (rather boring) and a hunter (depicted in the illustration).

The price started at $ 450, which was equivalent to fashion phones and was higher than that of competing models.

Siemens ME45, 2001




The firm’s protected cell phone in Russia received the nickname Messer.

The device is a slightly modified version of the Siemens S45. The main feature of the device was the degree of protection IP54, which made it one of the most protected devices of its time. Explosion-proof models were also produced at its base.

The phone had a monochrome screen, supported WAP and GPRS. The filling of the device was identical to the Siemens S45 device, and if desired, it can be flashed with its firmware. The main advantage of this operation is the emergence of an email client.

Messer was used in the films: Bourne Supremacy, Home Alone 4.

Ericsson T68, 2002




The first mass phone with a 256-color color display. The manufacturer did not expect such demand and this model was quickly sold out. In Europe, the price started from $ 500, we have from $ 800. And still the demand was great. The model belongs to the image line. Now also without a protruding antenna. Came in two colors - gold and gray.

An interesting feature is “Magic Word” (magic word), which allows you to activate voice commands remotely, just say a keyword and then say a voice tag.

The rest is a typical set of functions of the time. 10 ringtones and 8 you can create yourself. Several games, themes and wallpapers. From communications there are gprs, irda, bluetooth.

After merging with Sony, the model was slightly changed externally and finalized the firmware. But it is so difficult to notice if you do not hold both devices in your hands. It became known as the T68i and was as popular as its predecessor.

Sony Ericsson T68i was with James Bond in the movie "Die, but Not Now." However, Bond almost did not use it for its intended purpose, but preferred to embed it in explosive detonators.

Siemens C55, 2002




It was the first mobile phone in our family. His brother bought it. Choose between Nokia 3310 and Siemens. But C55 was newer, smaller dimensions, support for java. Fashionable at that moment blue backlight, the tunes are not so squeaking. Then this phone went to me. I even ran jabber for icq on it. It was a dubious occupation, most likely from boredom while riding a bus. My next phone was also Siemens, only the model is already C75, and then for a long time different Nokia on symbian. But Siemens has its own charm, then I liked them more than simple nokia, and Ericksons were already more expensive. There was also a slightly different alphabetical layout, which interfered with touch typing on other phones.

As for the phone itself - it had interchangeable panels, a new four-way navigation key. The phone memory contained up to 50 names, 8 groups of subscribers. There really were no competitors. Either more expensive or less functional.

Nokia N95, 2007




A huge screen, a slider in both directions, wi-fi, gps, a camera almost like a camera and a bunch of everything - it was cool and expensive (550 € at the start). At the same time, iPhone 2g and iPod touch came out. Having stayed in Germany that year, I had the opportunity to feel and test these devices live. Their ads were everywhere. What else surprised was the abundance of dummies instead of phones in stores. And baskets on the street with the same dummies of past models on sale.

But back to the phones. Nokia was familiar in use and with great functionality. An iPhone with iOS1 knew almost nothing, there were practically no third-party applications, and it was difficult for him to technically compete with Nokia. Although an even bigger screen for movies and games - it was very cool. Yes, the PDA had even larger screens, but using them was not so convenient, especially calling. In the era of expensive Internet, they often called all the same. And a completely different philosophy: Nokia has buttons for everything, iPhone has one main and a touch.

iPhone 2g, 2007




January 9, 2007 Steve Jobs introduced the first iPhone. The next day, chaos reigned in all the offices of the telephone giants. After 13 years, we understand that then, at the Macworld Conference & Expo in San Francisco, the idea of ​​a smartphone has changed forever. Now iPhone is the most popular smartphone on the planet. The iPhone equalized both the student and the top manager.

The iPhone was different from everything that Motorola, Samsung, Nokia, Ericsson did - manufacturers who ruled the market until 2007. A rectangular aluminum case and a large touch screen distinguished Apple smartphone from a dozen competitors. Reviews of those years were blamed on the iPhone for the lack of 3G and Adobe Flash, the idea of ​​a touch keyboard and activation via iTunes. They criticized everything except the design and smoothness of the interface, as well as ease of use. The child understood how to use an iPhone in 5 minutes.

Previously, screens were resistive and they needed a stylus. Apple is credited with the invention of the touchscreen and svayp, but it was invented by one Finn - Johannes Väänänen in 2002, who wanted to sell the technology to Nokia. But Nokia were already so clumsy mastodons that they did not recognize his phone as innovative as their own. The Finn also met with Jobs, who looked at the prototype in silence. In 2005, the Finnish company went bankrupt and Apple bought back the main patents. Jobs considered fingers the most convenient controller. Ten "natural" styluses that do not need to be taken out, which will not be lost and will not bend.

Before the App Store, Jobs thought that the user had 18 pre-installed applications. Almost a year after the start of sales, customers were interrupted by YouTube, iTunes, Maps, Safari and a standard organizer (notes, email client, calculator, etc.). There were also “web applications” - this is how Apple called versions of sites adapted for mobile Safari, but they were not very impressive. The launch of the app store in June 2008 is the second turning point in the smartphone industry.

Meet me in the future. Or in the past.

The first part of the history of phones

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