The Nokia

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The world’s first mass-produced GSM phone. Before this, mobile phones were car-sized or briefcase-heavy. The Nokia 1011 changed everything—making mobile communication accessible to the masses.

The Nokia 2110 series introduced the world to the Nokia Tune—a ringtone that became more recognizable than most national anthems. Nokia targeted 400,000 units and sold 20 million. The 2110 became the definitive business phone, available in special editions: D2 Platinum, Blue Mercedes, Festival de Cannes (numbered 0929/1000), Snow White, Purple, and Wood finishes.

The Nokia 5110 introduced Xpress-On changeable covers—personalization wasn’t just about aesthetics, it was about identity. Phones became fashion accessories. The Nokia 3310 phenomenon began, becoming an indestructible legend with week-long battery life and Snake II.

The Nokia 9000 Communicator (1996) imagined the mobile office with QWERTY keyboard, email, and fax—the earliest smartphone on the market. The Nokia 8110 “Matrix phone” entered the premium luxury segment, proving phones could be objects of desire. By 1998, Nokia co-founded Symbian Ltd. and became the world’s largest mobile phone manufacturer.

The N-Series represented Nokia’s vision of multimedia convergence. These weren’t just phones—they were cameras, music players, gaming devices, and internet terminals. The N91 had a 4GB hard drive for 3,000 songs. The N93 was a camcorder phone featured in Transformers (2007). The N95 with built-in GPS was the multimedia powerhouse that defined a generation. And the Nokia 808 PureView—the last Symbian phone—revolutionized mobile photography with its 41MP camera.

The Communicator line (9210, 9300, 9500) and E-Series kept corporate users loyal. The 9500 brought Wi-Fi to Nokia phones for the first time. The Nokia 6310/6310i became legendary—”the CEO’s phone.” The E90, launched in 2007, was the pinnacle, combining Communicator DNA with modern smartphone capabilities.

When phones became jewelry. The 7000 series pushed design boundaries: the “lipstick phone” (7280), the L’Amour collection (7370), the first jewelry phone (7380), the teardrop (7600), the first Nokia touchscreen (7710), and the Prism series with Swarovski crystals. The 8-Series luxury phones—8800 Arte with sapphire crystal keys, Sirocco Gold, Michael Schumacher limited editions—proved phones could be status symbols.

The Active and XpressMusic series targeted lifestyle users. The Nokia 5210 outdoor classic had an orange backlight. The Nokia 5500 Sport featured motion sensors. The Nokia 5510 was the first Nokia with music player capabilities. The N-Gage attempted to challenge Game Boy. Each represented Nokia’s willingness to experiment and push boundaries.

The Nokia N8 was supposed to save them—the first Symbian^3 device with a 12MP camera. But it arrived buggy and too late. The Nokia 808 PureView (2012) with its 41MP camera was brilliant—but it was officially Nokia’s last Symbian phone. The X-Series represented final consumer experiments. By 2013, Nokia’s market capitalization had dropped from €110 billion to €15 billion. Microsoft bought the mobile division for $7.2 billion, wrote down $7.6 billion within two years, and exited the phone business entirely in 2016.