The 2000s was the peak time of the wacky-designed phones that dominated the market. Companies were battling to create the most unique form factor of mobile phones, and they were really thinking outside the box. Maybe they were thinking too outside the box.
What we are stuck with now is the normal slab of glass with sensors and smartness. The only differences in design factors are found in the colour, screen, and that’s pretty much about it. All the phones are still in the same rectangle with rounded edges. The phones of that very time had shapes of all types, creating the perfect fun factor of usage and appearance.
Let’s kick things off with the brand we are accustomed to, Nokia. The ‘hammer phone’ 3310 was one of a kind with its extreme durability. No wonder collectors and testers would take it to extreme measures only to be left in awe with how well it would defeat the thing that tried to defeat it.
The N-Gage had the first weirdest form factor. Shaped like a taco and meant for gaming, talking on this phone in public made people look like some sort of crazy NPC of a video game. And who can forget the Nokia 7280? That was considered the glam phone as it looked literally like fancy lipstick and did not have a keyboard. Rather, a scroll wheel was used to do everything. Time-consuming, yes. Form factor, super yes.
Noticing Nokia’s success with these phones, competitors such as Samsung, Sony Ericsson and LG also started fighting the same battle. The Walkman series of Sony Ericsson had a unique feature in every single model released.
It was at that time when music was emphasised in phones rather than keeping performance constant. Samsung released the SPH-N270, which was considered the first rugged phone and saw its place in the Matrix franchise. LG released the VX-9600, which had the ability to shift the screen sideways for getting the TV-watching experience. Finally, the Chocolate by LG had the first ever sleek look with minimal colour combinations, giving that exotic look.
Phones back then would be a competition, especially when hanging out with friends. People would show their phones and the weird design that it was created in. No wonder those days were colourful and shaped weirdly. Now, we are stuck with rectangular slabs of glass and paying hefty prices to get our hands on one of these smartphones.
