GoKawiilThese days, your phone stays connected to the internet wherever you go, quietly feeding countless services (and vice versa). It's hard to even imagine a phone with no internet access. What could it even do? What would it look like?
At the turn of the millennium, most phones weren't online, because being online wasn't a very attractive feature. Cellular networks ran many times slower than they do today, and a single web page could take minutes to load.
Image credit: reddit
Back then, phones were mostly used for voice calls, paid for by the minute. They could send SMS, but the format was designed to replace voice mail, not to carry a live conversation. The ideal phone was the one with the smallest dimensions and the longest battery life, which made a large display, or even a full keyboard, seem out of place.
While most phones hid their keypads behind fragile flip lids, Nokia took over the market with phones designed like remote controls: easy to operate with one hand, and resistant to drops. With customizable exteriors and one addictive game, it made phones fun for the first time.
Digital First
In the 1990s, the US was dominated by analog networks that didn't even support SMS, running phones with calculator-like displays. As cellular plans carried expensive minimum fees, cell phones were seen as the domain of businesspeople, and only the most spoiled teenagers.
Meanwhile, Europe had already moved on to 2G digital networks. Nokia had popularized the candybar form factor, allowing you to dial using the same hand holding the phone, unlike earlier phones shaped like bricks, which required dialing with the other. Once the US had shifted to digital, the Finnish company was ready to charge.
The Nokia 5110 was released in 1998 as the consumer version of the ARM-based Nokia 6110, dropping the features aimed at business users such as the infrared port. Internally it carried the codename Santra. Its 84 x 48 display, two colors and nothing more, was designed to sip as little battery as possible. The phone was advertised for offering 11 days in standby mode between charges, and for the replaceable front covers, branded "Xpress-on."
"The phone was advertised for offering 11 days in standby mode between charges..."
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