When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works

Home / Features / How many of these classic pre-smartphones did you own?

How many of these classic pre-smartphones did you own?

It was a simpler time, where battery life was measured in days, not hours

Do you remember when polyphonic ringtones were a genuine mobile phone selling point? We do.

Our trusty Nokia 5110 was all we ever needed, until we discovered that it was incapable of rendering Jumpin’ Jumpin’ by Destiny’s Child as a gloriously tacky multi-tone ringtone.

It was then that we jumped to the impossibly tiny 8210, thus sparking off our mobile phone leap-frogging love affair.

We’ve rounded up some of our favourite classic handsets below to see how many were carried around during those halcyon days – and to see which one was the most popular.

It’s obviously dominated by Nokia’s incredibly strong roster, but there are a fair few worthy competitors thrown in too. Nostalgia drives engaged:

Profile image of Esat Dedezade Esat Dedezade Contributor

About

Esat has been a gadget fan ever since his tiny four-year-old brain was captivated by a sound-activated dancing sunflower. From there it was a natural progression to a Sega Mega Drive, a brief obsession with hedgehogs, and a love for all things tech. After 7 years as a writer and deputy editor for Stuff, Esat ventured out into the corporate world, spending three years as Editor of Microsoft's European News Centre. Now a freelance writer, his appetite for shiny gadgets has no bounds. Oh, and like all good human beings, he's very fond of cats.