From bricks to the iPhone: 25 years of the mobile phones

They started life 25 years ago as carphones - because you needed a car to take the weight of the battery - and cost a fortune, but today there are more mobile phones in the UK than there are people. On the way to becoming ubiquitous, the mobile phone handset has gone through dramatic changes.
  
  


Mobile phone history : Mobile phone history
Motorola 4500x Photograph: guardian.co.uk
Mobile phone history : Mobile phone history
Motorola 8500x The Motorola 8500X was introduced in 1987 becoming extremely popular in Europe and the most commonly found handset in the UK at that time. Photograph: guardian.co.uk
Mobile phone history : Mobile phone history
Motorola Dynatec 8000x Photograph: guardian.co.uk
Mobile phone history : Mobile phone history
Nokia 101 The Nokia 101 was the first of the so called 'candy bar' phones - it was the shape of a bar of chocolate. Compared to Motorola's preference for flip phones, the 101 was to define the standard shape of Nokia phones to this day. Single band GSM900. Introduced in 1992. Battery standby = 12 hours and talk time = 1 hour. Weight = 475 g. Photograph: guardian.co.uk
Mobile phone history : Mobile phone history
Ericsson GH337 Introduced in 1995, the Ericsson GH337 was a GSM900 phone. Weight = 193g Dimensions = 130 x 49 x 24 mm Battery standby = 25 hours and talk time = 1 hour and 50 minutes. Photograph: guardian.co.uk
Mobile phone history : Mobile phone history
Ericsson GA628 Introduced in 1996. GSM 900 Weight = 160g Dimensions = 130 x 49 x 28mm Battery standby = 83 hours and talk time = 2 hours Photograph: guardian.co.uk
Mobile phone history : Mobile phone history
Nokia NHE-6BM 8110i (slide open) and Nokia NHE-6BX The Nokia 8110i was the first phone to support Smart Messaging, a concept which enables the user to request and receive information and services from an information server via GSM's text messages (SMS).It was released in 1997. GSM 900 Weight = 151g Dimensions = 141 x 48 x 25 mm, Battery standby = 70 hours and talk time = 2 hours Photograph: guardian.co.uk
Mobile phone history : Mobile phone history
Motorola startac In 1996 Motorola introduced yet another classic, the StarTAC, which became the world's first 'clamshell' phone. Marketed as a 'ready to wear accessory' a clamshell design differs from a flip phone by virtue of the fact that it folds completely in half. The StarTAC was also the world's smallest and lightest (88g) mobile of its day offering 4 hours of continuous talk time, 47 hours of standby battery power and a vibrating ringer. Photograph: guardian.co.uk
Mobile phone history : Mobile phone history
Motorola Timeport triband Photograph: guardian.co.uk
Mobile phone history : Mobile phone history
Nokia 6310 The 6310 was another major success for Nokia. It was one of the earliest phones to include Bluetooth 1.1, the support for GPRS and WAP Introduced in 2001 Dual band GSM900/GSM1800 30 ring tones Battery standby = 410 hours and talk time = 5 hours Weight = 111g Dimensions = 129 x 47 x 19mm Photograph: guardian.co.uk
Mobile phone history : Mobile phone history
Motorola Razr Photograph: guardian.co.uk
Mobile phone history : Mobile phone history
Apple iphone Photograph: guardian.co.uk
 

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