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Showing 13–16 of 16 results
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Ericsson S868: Swedish Bronze Edition
Quick View💎 Rarity Index: A (Rare)
⭐ WOW Factor: One of the first dual-band GSM 900/1800 phones – built for roaming and network resilience.
👁 Evaluation in my collection: As New – 9.8/10
⏱ Life timer: N/A | 📦 Boxed: YES
📅 Release Year: 1998 | 💰 Release Price: ~600 $
📊 Units Sold: ~150k
📰 Why this phone matters: The Ericsson S868 is a legendary late-1990s dual-band GSM phone that pushed mobile communication into a new era of reliability and quality. Introduced by Ericsson in 1998 as a premium dual-band (GSM 900/1800) handset, the S868 delivered enhanced roaming capabilities, robust build quality, and the kind of dependable performance that made it a top choice for business users and world travelers.This unit is fully functional, comes with its full original box, and remains in as-new condition – a rare find for a model built in 1999. Its rare bronze-metallic finish and pristine Swedish-made shell underline the exclusivity of this phone.
Built in week 20 of 1999 in Sweden, this S868 is part of one of the final production runs before Ericsson transitioned to their next-generation series. The original label confirms its eur;opean configuration, dual-band network support, and certification compliance – affirming it as a genuine factory piece rather than a later reproduction or modded unit.
What makes the S868 truly special is its dual-band capability (GSM 900 & GSM 1800), implemented at a time when network congestion was growing rapidly. Ericsson designed the S868 to automatically switch between bands for uninterrupted calls and roaming – a cutting-edge feature in 1998 that many rivals lacked.
The phone also supported the then-high-end Enhanced Full Rate (EFR) speech coding, delivering voice clarity comparable to fixed-line phones.
In a world before smartphones, the S868 offered elegant simplicity and robust functionality: reliable calls across multiple GSM bands, solid build, crisp keypad, clean external antenna, and minimalist design. As a Swedish-made executive-class handset from the twilight of the 1990s GSM era, this S868 stands as a collectible relic of where mobile telephony once stood – before internet browsing, cameras, and data plans.
Whether kept as a pristine collector’s piece or admired for its engineering purity, the S868 remains a symbol of “classic mobile phone” craftsmanship. Its rarity, condition, and historical significance make it more than just a phone – it’s a time capsule of mobile communication’s golden age.
📝 Reviews when released: Ericssoners 🔗
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Ericsson T28s
Quick View💎 Rarity Index: B (Uncommon)
⭐ WOW Factor: The lightest handset on the market in 1999
👁 Evaluation in my collection: Great – 9.8/10
⏱ Life timer: N/A | 📦 Boxed: NO
📅 Release Year: 1999 | 💰 Release Price: N/A
📊 Units Sold: ~2.5M
📰 Why this phone matters: The T28 was the lightest and slimmest mobile phone at the time, with a weight of only 83 grams.Unlike many mobile phones of the time (1999-2001) it had a fixed, stubby external antenna. It was probably best known as the first phone that used lithium polymer batteries. At one point, it was the best selling mobile phone in America.
In terms of market positioning, Ericsson designated this as a premium phone, as such it was priced substantially higher (often more than triple) the price of the T10 and T18 devices – their nearest cosmetic and functional competitors. It has a tiny LCD screen and an spring-loaded latch mechanism to release the ‘flip.’
Models
Four different versions of the T28 were sold. T28z was compatible with GSM1900 for use in North America. T28s was compatible with GSM900/1800 for use in the rest of the world – this is by far the most common version. T28 World was compatible with GSM900/1900 for use worldwide on GSM900 and North America on GSM1900 (this was the second World phone Ericsson introduced, the first being the I888 which had the distinction of being the first commercially available GSM900/1900 phone). A special version, the T28sc was released in China with support for reading and entering Chinese characters.The device came in three colours-very dark blue, lighter blue and sand. The sand version being the least common.
The device was listed as compatible with two batteries. A normal slim-line and an ultra-slim lower capacity battery. However the device was also battery-compatible with the later R320 and R520 series.
📝 Reviews when released: Profit Warning 🔗
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Ericsson T28s Marble Beige: The Ultra Slim Business Legend
Quick View💎 Rarity Index: S (Ultra Rare)
⭐ WOW Factor: The lightest handset on the market in 1999
👁 Evaluation in my collection: Great – 9.8/10
⏱ Life timer: N/A | 📦 Boxed: YES
📅 Release Year: 1999 | 💰 Release Price: N/A
📊 Units Sold: ~150k
📰 Why this phone matters: This BNIB Ericsson T28s in Marble Beige stands as one of the finest surviving examples of Ericsson’s late-1990s engineering excellence, preserved exactly as a high-tier executive customer would have received it in 1999. All accessories remain sealed, including original charger, ultra-slim battery, carrying case, headset, and Greek-market manual, confirming the set as fully untouched retail inventory. The handset itself is flawless, showing zero oxidation on the metal hinge, zero aging on the keypad, and a perfectly preserved LCD protective film.Manufactured in Sweden during production week 99W48, this unit belongs to the earliest and most sought-after manufacturing batch, a period when Ericsson’s Scandinavian plants produced their highest-precision casings and hinge systems. The Marble Beige finish, the rarest official color for the T28 range, displays uniform pigment with no signs of yellowing, coating shift, or micro-wear. This particular finish was produced in extremely limited quantities, intended for boutique retail channels and premium corporate contracts rather than mass distribution.
As the lightest mobile phone in the world at launch, weighing only 83 grams, the T28s broke new engineering ground. It was the first commercial handset to utilize lithium polymer battery technology, a breakthrough that allowed Ericsson to achieve its groundbreaking slimness while maintaining strong standby performance. The T28 family helped set the design trajectory for the R320, R380, and later R520 series, all of which inherited its battery architecture and minimalist Scandinavian design language.
The T28s was priced dramatically higher than Ericsson’s T10 and T18 models, often exceeding triple their cost. This was deliberate: the T28s was positioned as a business instrument rather than a consumer phone. Its user base consisted of executives, financial professionals, international travelers, and early mobile adopters who valued style and compactness over mass-market features. In the United States it became one of the most successful premium handsets of its time, appearing in advertising campaigns, airport lounges, and business environments where elegance and miniaturization were the primary selling points.
The hinge mechanism, a defining feature of the T28s, was engineered with a spring-loaded stainless-steel latch designed for long-term durability. Many surviving used devices exhibit hinge fatigue or paint cracking, making BNIB examples exceptionally rare. This unit’s hinge remains factory-tight, demonstrating the precision of Swedish production during the late 1990s.
Additionally, the T28s was one of Ericsson’s earliest phones to implement a multi-market strategy with multiple radio variants: T28s for international GSM900/1800, T28z for GSM1900 North America, T28 World for GSM900/1900 dual-band, and T28sc for the Chinese character market. Among these, the T28s Marble Beige remains the most elusive due to its limited distribution and fragility of finish. Collectors widely consider Marble Beige the crown jewel of the T28 line, especially in factory-fresh condition.
With all documentation intact, sealed accessories, and a pristine handset untouched since production, this set stands as a museum-grade time capsule from the era when eur;opean engineering dominated mobile phone design. It captures the technological threshold between classic feature phones and the upcoming intelligent device revolution, making it one of the most historically meaningful Ericsson collectibles in existence.
📝 Reviews when released: Profit Warning 🔗
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Ericsson T68m Champagne Gold: Early R2A Retail Unit
Quick View💎 Rarity Index: A (Rare)
⭐ WOW Factor: A compact flagship that fit Bluetooth, GPRS and a color screen into a sub-90 g body – the T68m remains a milestone piece of mobile history.
👁 Evaluation in my collection: As New – 9.8/10
⏱ Life timer: N/A | 📦 Boxed: YES
📅 Release Year: 2002 | 💰 Release Price: 650 €
📊 Units Sold: ~20k
📰 Why this phone matters: The Ericsson T68m stands as one of the defining milestones in mobile phone evolution and marks the moment when Ericsson transitioned from monochrome business devices into the era of compact multimedia handsets. Released in late 2001, it became Ericsson’s first color-screen phone, its first handset with integrated Bluetooth, and one of the smallest tri-band GSM devices ever produced at the time. The T68m concentrated cutting-edge features into an ultra-light 84 g body that set a new benchmark for compact flagship design.This particular unit is BNIB, a condition that is exceptionally rare due to the device’s age and the rapid corporate shift that followed its release. Very few untouched T68m boxes survived the transition from Ericsson to Sony Ericsson, as most retail stock was either sold through, upgraded, or rebranded into the T68i. BNIB units in the Champagne Gold finish are among the hardest to find, as this color variant was produced in notably smaller quantities. The preserved packaging, accessories, and original presentation elevate this device to a high collector tier, representing one of the best surviving examples of the model.
Technologically, the T68m was far ahead of its time. Its TFT 256-color display, GPRS Class 4 capability, EMS messaging, Bluetooth 1.0 module, IrDA port, and PC synchronization suite delivered features that were typically found only on much larger communicator-style devices. Reviewers in 2001 and 2002 described it as a “miniature business powerhouse,” praising its ability to merge advanced connectivity, a color user interface, and long battery life into a form factor that was dramatically smaller than its competitors. The joystick-based navigation and icon-driven color UI would later become the visual foundation for many Sony Ericsson models.
Historically, the T68m is also important because it represents the last flagship to carry the pure Ericsson branding. At the time of its release, Ericsson’s mobile division was undergoing a major financial and strategic shift. The joint venture with Sony was announced soon after, and the T68m became the bridge into the Sony Ericsson era. Within months, the T68m hardware was used as the base for the T68i, with updated casing, enhanced firmware, and Sony Ericsson branding. This conversion became so common that finding a true, untouched T68m is increasingly uncommon. A BNIB Champagne Gold example, therefore, holds exceptional preservation value.
Production data and period market analysis suggest that Champagne Gold units were produced in far smaller numbers than the standard grey and blue variants, making them significantly rarer in today’s collector market. The rapid discontinuation of T68m production due to the Sony Ericsson transition also reduced the number of sealed retail units available. Most T68m devices were heavily used, experienced joystick wear, or were converted to T68i firmware at service centers. As a result, BNIB condition elevates this particular unit into an elite tier of early-2000s GSM collectibles.
This T68m encapsulates the moment when the mobile industry transitioned from monochrome candybars to feature-rich multimedia phones. It demonstrates Ericsson’s technical ambitions at a time when the company was still shaping the direction of global GSM development. With its original firmware, rare Champagne Gold housing, compact footprint, color UI, Bluetooth, IrDA, GPRS support, and untouched BNIB condition, this unit is a top-tier collector artifact. It stands not only as a premium representation of Ericsson’s final standalone flagship, but also as one of the earliest true precursors to modern smartphones.
📝 Reviews when released: The Vooner 🔗