Nowadays we judge people's fashion sense on
whether they have an iPhone 5 or a Samsung Galaxy S III. And things were no
different in the past. If you're into retro mobile phones there are certain
models that are considered fashion icons. Whether you're looking to sell off
old electronics that you've got lying around at home, or if you want to invest
in something that's one day going to be a collector's item, there are some
models of phone that are considered more fashionable than others. So, if you're
in the market, here are the cool phones that you should be looking out for...
The Swatch Cell Phone
In 1994, Swatch left the world of watches for a brief foray into the world of
mobile phones. These were the first designer mobile phones, and came in a whole
host of colours. Unfortunately, they were just as over-priced as Swatch watches
tend to be, so they failed to make a huge impact on the consumer market. But
they were the first designer phones.
The Nokia 8110
Popularised in the first of the Matrix movies, 1996 saw the release of the Nokia 8110, also known as the banana phone. This was the first real fad phone that had movie viewers rushing out of the cinema straight to their local mobile phone retailer.
The Ericsson GA628
The problem with the Swatch phone was not only that it was over-priced, but that it was the same colour every day. Ericsson changed all this in 1997 with the release of the GA628, the first phone to have changeable panels, so you could give your mobile a new colour every day of the week.
The Nokia 5110
Taking its inspiration from the Ericsson GA628, the Nokia 5110 was released in 1998, and was the first phone to have a fully removable casing. Suddenly, your phone could look however you wanted, and a burgeoning market for cell phone accessories, most notably spray painted cases, began to grow.
The Motorola v3688
Motorola launched the v3688 at London fashion week and marketed it towards the young urban professional on the go. Sleek and slim line, it was the first real yuppy phone.
The Nokia 8210
Taking a hint from Motorola, Nokia launched the 8210 during the same year as Motorola launched the v3688, but at the Paris fashion show. It remains to this day the smallest and lightest phone that Nokia have ever produced, and at its release it was the most sought after model of phone on the market.
The Ericsson T Class
Not only was the T Class small, sleek and slim line, but it was also a flip phone, which was the height of fashion in 1999, and it had the space age feature of voice dialling.
The Nokia 8850
This was the ultimate in designer phones. The 8850's sleek aluminium casing and sliding key board made it a must have for anyone who wanted to be super cool in 1999.
