In this age of droids, iPhones, blackberries and other
smartphones, it is very easy for people to forget that there was once a time when
feature phones and barebone phones rule the world. Before handsets evolved
color LCD and LED displays, MP3 ringtones, gigabytes worth of storage, powerful
cameras and touchscreen user interface; there was an age when the norm was monochrome
displays, 2G connectivity and monotone ringtones.
If you were born the first decade of the 21st
century, then you probably would appreciate this nostalgic treat we have for
you. If you’ve ever owned a feature phone or a barebone phone, then you might
have had one of these handsets.
SIEMENS SL45 –
The Siemens SL45 was the first mobile phone to feature an MP3 player with a
memory card expansion slot. It debuted in 2001 and sports other notable
features such as voice dialing and voice activated commands, a WAP browser,
stopwatch and a calculator to name a few.
The handset weighs 88g and is powered by a Siemens/Infineon
C166 processor. The device’s battery is rated at 540mAh which allows the phone
to achieve up to 170 hours of standby time, approximately 5 hours of audio
playback and around 240 minutes of conversation. The card expansions slot is
capable of using a MMC card up to 32MB (Yes! 32 megabytes). It also has support
for monophonic ringtones and a graphic monochrome display with a resolution of
101 x 80 pixels.
PHILIPS SAVVY – Philips
isn’t really the most popular brand of mobile phone in the country even during
the last decade. But they did release a phone in the market that’s affordable
enough for a lot of people and generally does the job of typical phones during
that time. And that phone was the Philips Savvy.
The Savvy didn’t really offer that much to consumers except
for the ability to make calls and send texts. It does have a calculator, an
analog clock and a timer. But the major selling point of this handset was its
price. Compared to bigger brands like Nokia, the Philips Savvy was very cheap
and accessible to those who are on a tight budget.
ERICSSON A1018s – Before
Sony Ericsson became just Sony, there was first Ericsson. And during the 90s,
the company’s budget phone was the Ericsson A1018s. It was pretty much a
barebone phone with limited features which include the ability to make calls
and send texts and if I remember it right, it can compose ringtones just like
other Nokia phones at that time but it did it in a more rudimentary fashion.
It also had an enormous external antenna, not to mention one
of the thickest side profile among all the phones on this list. This is primarily
because of its bulky 800mAh battery.
MOTOROLA RAZR V3 – The
Motorola RAZR V3 was the iconic flip phone of the past decade. In fact, it’s
the phone that gave Motorola the much needed comeback in the feature phone
race, at least here in the Philippines. It’s very slim profile as well as the
premium feel of its design and finishing was enough to win more mature,
style-conscious and fashion-forward consumers from Nokia’s grip.
The RAZR V3 is also the only phone in our list with two
colored displays. The body is made from anodized aluminium. It also has a VGA
camera that is able to capture images and videos, and on top of that, it has
connectivity features such as Bluetooth and a WAP browser.
NOKIA 3310 – If there
ever was a phone that can be considered as the most popular phone of the past
10 years, that would probably be the Nokia 3310. It was the most sought after
phone in the early part of the 21st century because of its affordability
matched with a lot of features not found in other phones in the same price
range.
It has a 900mAh battery, a monochrome graphic display,
screen savers, its capable of making calls, sending text messages and even
picture messages. Users can compose monophonic ringing tones and can play three
pre-installed games including Space Impact, Snake 2 and Bantumi.
So that’s all the time we have for today guys! Did you get
the privilege of owning one of the phones on our list? Tell us your experience
with it be leaving a comment below. You might also want to add TFL on Facebook,
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