Nokia has been a legendary name in the world of mobile devices. For most of us, our first devices were possibly a Nokia, and the Finnish giants continued to be invincible, right until the world took a turn towards smartphones near the end of the last decade. Taken over by Microsoft, Nokia resigned to the corners, and seemed nearly out of the industry. However, as its contract with Microsoft nears an ending, and CEO Rajeev Suri stating that Nokia will be back in the market with its smartphones, we could not help but be optimistic.
On that note, we decided to go back and dig up some of the most curious designs that Nokia came up with, on their phones. Some of them seem exceedingly weird, and a few others look unbelievable, but all of them stood out for their uniqueness. Here’s taking a look at some of Nokia’s craziest ideas, that made it to different markets across the world.
Nokia 6800
Announced in early 2003, the Nokia 6800 had a full QWERTY keyboard concealed within its bulky candybar body. The Nokia 6800 was a messaging-oriented phone with a standard alphanumeric keypad on the top. The keypad had a hinge that could be flipped over to give access to a full keypad. It was big and bulky, and had an 8-line 128x128-pixel colour display, without a camera.
Nokia 3600
The Nokia 3600 had a circular keypad with a 176x208-pixel resolution display. The bizarre device was a ‘smartphone’ running on Symbian S60, with 4MB memory and a VGA rear camera. The Nokia 3600 had users divided on opinion - while many stated that it enhanced messaging, a lot of others claimed inconvenience.
Nokia 7600
The phone with a ‘teardrop’ design was one of Nokia’s most bizarre form factors. Featuring a 2-inch 128x160-pixel design, the Nokia 7600 had its keypad running around the display. Its form factor meant that it was nearly impossible to use it with one hand. The Nokia 7600 also had a VGA camera with Sub Quarter CIF video capability, along with 29MB of internal memory, Bluetooth, Infrared and USB port.
Nokia 7700
A device that looked partially like a handheld gaming console and partially like an F1 driver’s steering wheel, the Nokia 7700 was a bit of a rebel for its time. Housing a 3.5-inch touchscreen display with 640x320-pixel resolution and a stylus for input, the Nokia 7700 had a speaker on top of the display and controls on either side, making it a rather bizarre device in overall terms. The Nokia N-Gage, aimed at gamers, was a precursor to it. Announced in 2003, the Nokia 7700 never made it to commercial stores, as the company cancelled its launch and followed it up with the Nokia 7710 in 2004.
Nokia 8910i
A business-oriented phone with an external Titanium shell, the Nokia 8910i focussed on durability rather than entertainment or usage experience. The device featured a 96x65-pixel resolution CSTN display, and you had to slide out its keypad with narrow buttons from within a Titanium clamshell. The device almost looked like a walkie-talkie, because of its design.
Nokia 7370
The Nokia 7370, to put it mildly, was an extravagant flourish of design with Nokia’s swivelling form factor. The flowery design, however, seemed a little odd on it, and probably appealed only to a very limited section of the audience. Apart from the design, the Nokia 7370 was a very ordinary device in terms of its specifications.
Nokia 7280
Otherwise known as the “lipstick” phone, the Nokia 7280 looked as weird as it functioned. A navi-wheel was used to choose characters to type on a tiny display with a resolution of 208x104 pixels. It was a case of Nokia at its pompous best coming up with a device that bordered on being a daring experience. There was nothing really exceptional about it apart from its queer design, which ensured that it found its place in the records of bizarre-looking devices in the history of mobile devices.
Nokia 3250
The Nokia 3250 was unique, weird and ingenious at the same time. Made for music lovers, the Nokia 3250 had a rotating half beneath the display, on which it featured an alphanumeric keypad, a 2-megapixel camera and dedicated music controls, making it not only an incredibly functional device, but a very unique device to own.
Nokia 7900 Prism
The first device to incorporate Nokia’s ‘Prism’ design philosophy, the Nokia 7900 Prism had smooth flowing aesthetics, with triangular buttons. It never became a massive hit among the customers, but led to the formation of an entire series of devices inspired by this design philosophy. It featured an OLED display, a big deal for its time, along with a 2MP primary camera and 1GB of internal memory.
Nokia N91
The Nokia N91 commanded some kind of a coveted respect among phones - 4GB of storage, 3G support, WiFi, 2MP rear camera, and to top it all, a metallic build that had dedicated music keys on a panel that slid down to reveal the keypad. It was large and weird in terms of aesthetics, but made for a beautiful device that possibly would not find itself out of place even today (not in terms of performance, maybe, but we would love to own one!)
Nokia Soda Phone Concept
Nokia’s Soda Phone was yet another daring act by Nokia to think beyond the ordinary. Shaped and formed like a test tube, the Nokia Soda Phone’s concept was to give you the tools required for a competent phone, alongside negating the need for a battery. It had an integrated chemical conducting panel, and you would need to literally pour soda into it to keep it running. The conducting panel would convert the soda into electrical energy, which would then power the device. The Nokia Soda Phone was not outrageous simply for its design, but its sheer existence reiterates its stance beyond the standard array of cellphones.