CIOInsider India Magazine

Modern society is obsessed with technology. However, no device has impacted the world more than the good old cell phones. Today, the average person touches their cell phone 2,617 times a day. More people in the world touch their cell phones than use the restroom. In the early days of cell phones, they were only used to text and talk on the move. Soon, cell phones evolved from their mundane rectangular design to flip phones and sliding mobile designs. Today, you can do just about anything on your cell phone. That's not the only thing that has changed. Like a meteor hitting a dinosaur, when the updated Android and iPhone were released in 2007 with unique mobile technologies, the app-free phones eventually fell by the wayside. Here are unique mobile designs that were cool in the 2000s.




Motorola RAZR

The Motorola RAZR was one of the most popular flip phones of the 2000s, and it had a sleek design. The phone was released with a camera, which made it even more desirable. The RAZR was first released in 2004 and received multiple versions since its origin. If someone had had one, then they could be one of the cool kids compared to the kids with any other phone. Motorola sold 130 million handsets, making it one of the best-selling phones ever.

LG enV2

The Envy was one of the first cell phones to have a full QWERTY keyboard, even though it was a smartphone. Such a device was essential at this time, as text messaging became the dominant form of communication. The Envy 2 improved on the original Envy in many ways, but most importantly, it had a more attractive design.

The phone was a fully functional cell phone on the outside, just like any other device, but on the flip side, it was a different beast altogether. The Envy 2 also featured a correspondingly sized speaker, making it a great multimedia device. The phone went on sale in March 2008 for $129.

Sony Ericsson W580i

The Sony Ericsson W580i was a fun-looking, music-focused, candy bar-style phone. This slider phone had a 2MP camera and the Sony Walkman branding was pushed all over it. At the time, Sony was pushing creativity in cell phone production. They came in a variety of colors and were capable of streaming video. The Sony Ericsson W580i was innovative and pushed the boundaries for others to follow.

BlackBerry Curve 8330

There is no denying that the BlackBerry was one of the most important cell phones of the 2000s. It was the original smartphone and was intended for business and professional use. The BlackBerry also had a chat system for quicker communication; it was a non-flip phone equipped with a QWERTY keyboard and trackball for easy operation.

The BlackBerry Curve 8330 was the most popular version of the phone with its thin design and flashy looks; BlackBerry eventually failed to keep up with the release of Android devices like the iPhone and Samsung Galaxy.

N-Gage QD

The N-Gage was the smartphone that took mobile gaming to the next level. The phone featured proprietary chip-based gaming software and had a reputable collection of games. From Tony Hawk's Pro Skater to Super Monkey Ball, 3D games could be played on the go.

It was difficult to use as a cell phone, which ultimately led to its downfall. N-Gage also had an online gaming service called N-Gage Arena.

N-Gage was launched in 2003 for $299 and had approximately 50 games available. There have been other such devices since then, but one would hope that something like N-Gage would make a comeback.

Nokia 1100

The Nokia 1100 was probably the first cell phone for many, and its connection to Tracfone, a pay-as-you-go cellular service, made it popular. Most people spent countless hours snaking around. It was also something that could be banged around without fear of breaking. Simplicity best sums up the Nokia 11o0: since its launch in 2003, Nokia has sold more than 250 million 11o units, ultimately becoming the best-selling cell phone in the world.

T-Mobile Sidekick

The T-Mobile Sidekick was a cool phone that incorporated the best of both smartphones and candy bar phones. It had many features, including an excellent e-mail system, software designed specifically for cell phones, and, of course, a QWERTY keyboard. Kids also loved it because it could use AOL Instant Messenger. This was the phone that made Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T users jealous.

LG Chocolate

LG Chocolate did what the Sony Ericsson W580i could do, and better. The phone was a sexy slider design with a touch-sensitive circular pad centered on an MP3 player; it had a 1.3 mp camera and sold over 21 million units. It was released exclusively for Verizon, which had a popular line of cell phones at the time.

Motorola i Series i530

The Motorola i-series i530 was a blue-collar phone with built-in walkie-talkie capability called Push-To-Talk; the handset was recognized primarily by Sprint. What made the i530 attractive was that it was rugged and could not be broken.

LG Voyager

The LG Voyager was one of the last great phones before the iPhone/Android took over. It had a fully functional touch screen and built-in QWERTY keyboard; it took the success of the envy and improved on it in every way; it had a 2mp camera and a full set of internal features; it was a great phone, and it was a great phone to have.