These days, our modern pocket computers all look roughly indistinguishable from one another. Unless you’re touting around a new-age folding phone, the smartphone on your person is most likely a glass slab with rounded corners, metal side rails, and a punch-hole or oblong selfie camera. This wasn’t always the case — for most of the mobile phone’s storied past, tech companies were notorious for experimenting with unique form factors and innovative-if-extravagant selling points. Here are eight examples of downright strange handsets from the past, that, by today’s standards, look straight out of an alternative universe.
Quick Update
The era of smartphones has changed significantly since the release of these retro phones. Today, devices are sleeker, more efficient, and packed with features.
Trend Watch
The lines between gaming, music, and phone functionality blurred in the early 2000s, leading to innovative designs like the Nokia N-Gage and Motorola Rokr E1.
New vs. Old
These retro phones may have failed to capture the market, but they remain fascinating artifacts of the past.
1. Nokia N-Gage (2003) – The Game Boy Advance one
The Nokia N-Gage has gone down in infamy as the cellphone that tried to also be a Game Boy Advance. It featured a handheld video game console-esque wide body, complete with a d-pad on its left-hand side. The N-Gage even had its own MultiMediaCard-based cartridge slot for inserting titles, as well as access to N-Gage Arena, which was Nokia’s online games service at the time. While perfectly serviceable as a device for sending and receiving phone calls, the N-Gage never managed to dethrone Nintendo’s position in the portable gaming scene.
2. Motorola Rokr E1 (2005) – The iTunes one
Credit: Motorola / Pocket-lint
Before there was the iPhone, there was the Rokr E1. This ill-fated candy-bar style handset was notable for shipping with native support for iTunes, having been conceived of in collaboration between Motorola and Apple. Despite launching with stereo speakers and a built-in iPod-style music player interface, the Rokr E1 failed to capture the public’s attention, ultimately fizzling into irrelevancy not long after its initial release to market.
3. Samsung Juke (2007) – The swiveling one
Credit: Samsung / Pocket-lint
The Samsung Juke, also known as the SCH-u470 or the Verizon Wireless Juke in the US, was a quirky mobile phone notable for its egregiously elongated form factor. The device’s main gimmick was its ability to be swiveled open for use as a cellular handset, and then swiveled closed for use as a music player. In addition to its telephony prowess, the Juke featured robust audio support with a built-in equalizer, 3D sound, and broader-than-average support for audio codecs and file formats.
4. Toshiba G450 (2008) – The USB stick one
Credit: Toshiba / Pocket-lint
Toshiba’s G450 was certainly an oddball. Physically speaking, the device resembled an oversized lozenge more than a handset (Pocket-lint Managing Editor Amanda Kondolojy affectionately refers to it as the massage chair remote phone). The G450’s circular display was certainly a choice, as was its split, sperical number pad configuration. At the time, Toshiba marketed the G450 as a “four-in-one” product, encompassing a mobile phone, an MP3 player, a USB thumb drive, and, rather uniquely, an HSDPA USB modem.
5. Microsoft Kin ONE (2010) – The social one
Credit: Microsoft / Pocket-lint
From the moment it was clear the iPhone would be a smashing success, Microsoft began attempting to break into the modern smartphone space. Before we had Windows Phone-clad Lumia devices and dual-screened Surface handsets, we had Kin. Running its own Windows CE-based KIN OS operating system, the first Kin ONE resembled the Palm Pre with its landscape physical keyboard. The Kin ONE was quirky, to say the least, thanks in part to its focus on social networking and its ‘Loop’ home screen, which curated content from Facebook, X (née Twitter), MySpace, and more.
6. Sony Ericsson Xperia Play (2011) – The PlayStation Vita one
Credit: Sony Ericsson / Pocket-lint
In the early 2010s, there was a growing fear that the mobile games industry would swallow traditional handheld gaming whole. To combat this, Sony devised a two-tier plan: create the PlayStation Vita (a handheld console with smartphone features), and create the Xperia Play (a smartphone with handheld console features). While the Vita was a middling success at best, the Xperia Play simply never took off.
7. BenQ-Siemens E65 (2006) – The Cat-Eye one
Credit: BenQ-Siemens / Pocket-lint
The BenQ-Siemens E65 may have looked more like a science experiment gone wrong instead of a modern smartphone, thanks to its distinctly curved, almost cat-eye-shaped design. According to those familiar with smartphones in the mid-2000s, the E65 also included a robust wireless headset by default. But all this flair didn’t give it enough going for it to triumph in the cutthroat mobile market.
8. LG Prada (2006) – The Fashionable one
Credit: LG / Pocket-lint
Initially marketed without any accompanying branding or literature, the LG Prada was a sleek black phone with “nine separate components molded from a single piece of polycarbonate.” As noted by phone enthusiast and former CNET UK editor-in-chief Richard Trenholm, the Prada could be summed up in two distinct thrill cycles: stainless steel body + wider screen versus some nice width and super low stand-by.
Reflection Box
What do you think drove the design of these retro phones?
- Were they trying to innovate and push the boundaries of mobile design?
- Or were they simply trying to capture a market share?
Reflection Box
Do you think any of these retro phones had a redeeming quality that made them worth using?
- Or were they just a novelty that never quite caught on?
Reflection Box
If you were to design a retro phone today, what features would you include and why?
FAQs
Q: What is the Nokia N-Gage and why was it notable?
A: The Nokia N-Gage was a cellphone that attempted to also be a Game Boy Advance, featuring a handheld video game console-esque wide body with a d-pad on its left-hand side.
Q: What is the difference between the Motorola Rokr E1 and the iPhone?
A: The Motorola Rokr E1 was a candy-bar style handset that shipped with native support for iTunes, whereas the iPhone was a revolutionary device that combined a phone, music player, and internet communications into one product.
Q: What was the purpose of the Samsung Juke’s swiveling design?
A: The Samsung Juke’s swiveling design allowed users to swivel the device open for use as a cellular handset and then swivel it closed for use as a music player.
Q: What was the significance of the Toshiba G450’s circular display?
A: The Toshiba G450’s circular display was a notable design choice, as it deviated from the traditional rectangular shape of most smartphones at the time.
Q: Why did the Microsoft Kin ONE fail to capture the market?
A: The Microsoft Kin ONE was a quirky device that focused on social networking, but ultimately failed to gain traction in the market.
Q: What was the purpose of the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play’s dual-handset design?
A: The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play was designed to be a smartphone with handheld console features, allowing users to play games on the go.
Conclusion
The world of smartphone design has evolved significantly since the release of these retro phones. Today, devices are sleeker, more efficient, and packed with features.
