List of Nokia phones

This is a list of Nokia phones, by product group, for the UK market made from the 1980s to the first half of the 2000s.

Initially Nokia phones were very similar to those of other manufacturers. The vision of Jorma Ollila, Nokia's CEO, and of design consultant, Frank Nuovo, saw Nokia anticipate the path of the fledgling mobile industry in the early 90s. The result of this collaboration was a gradual expansion of Nokia's range to cover many different types of user.

Nokia analogue phones: Cityman 1320, Nokia 101, Nokia 232, Nokia rinGo
Nokia analogue phones: Cityman 1320, Nokia 101, Nokia 232, Nokia rinGo)

Analogue phones

There was very little strategy, design or marketing applied to early mobile phones. However, with the involvement of Frank Nuovo, who started as a design consultant with Nokia in 1989, the Nokia vision began to be realised.

Of the analogue phones, pointers to the future can be seen in the Nokia 101, which was all about ease of use over features and small size. Later Nuovo designed the 232, a consumer phone with bags of style. Nuovo called it his Ferrari phone.

The Nokia rinGo, marketed as a cheap, easy to use phone for the Swedish market took the concept of simplicity too far. It was the Nokia "Bimbo" alienating female consumers. But the rinGo had a new lease of life as the UK's first PAYG Nokia.

Year Phone Form Remarks
1987 Nokia/Mobira Cityman 1320 Brick Nokia's first handportable. Also released for the NMT network as Cityman 450 and Cityman 900
1990 Nokia Cityman 100 Brick Different style Cityman phone
1990 Nokia Cityman 190 Brick More advanced version of the Cityman 100
1992 Nokia 101 Candybar Designed by Frank Nuovo, put usability first and set Nokia on its future path for success
1992 Nokia 121 Candybar Advanced business user version of the 101
1993 Nokia 100 Candybar Basic consumer version of the 101
1994 Nokia 232 Candybar Stylish consumer phone designed by Frank Nuovo; Alicia Silverstone's phone in 'Clueless'
1996 Nokia rinGo Candybar Very basic analogue phone with reputation as the "Bimbo" phone; the first Nokia on PAYG in the UK (1997)
1996 Nokia 909 Candybar Basic analogue phone, more advanced than the rinGo.
Nokia original GSM phones: Nokia 2110, Nokia 2140, Nokia 2010, Nokia 1610, Nokia 8110, Nokia 3110

Original GSM phones

Nokia moved into GSM with commitment. Ollila realised that GSM would eventually eclipse analogue. Early GSM phones were upgrades of analogue designs, but a distinctive Nokia feel emerged with two classic designs, the 2110 business phone and the 1610 consumer phone. Both achieved a long production run and a loyal following.

The beginning of the Premium category can be seen with the 8110, which took mobile phone design in a new direction.

Year Phone Form Remarks
1992 Nokia 1011 Candybar Nokia's first GSM phone
1994 Nokia 2110 Candybar Advanced business user GSM phone; the first phone with the Nokia tune ringtone
1994 Nokia 2140 Candybar Special version of the 2110 for the Orange network
1994 Nokia 2010 Candybar Basic digital phone, substitute for the 101 where analogue networks were not available
1996 Nokia 1610 Candybar Consumer version of the 2110 with outstanding battery life; many peoples' first mobile phone
1996 Nokia 8110 Slide The classic 'Matrix' phone; superb design by Frank Nuovo.
1997 Nokia 3110 Candybar Replacement for the 2110 and the first phone to feature the Navi key

Product categories

Product categories were a key part of Nokia's marketing strategy by 1998. The main categories were Expression (basic phones with customisable fascias and ringtones), Classic (business phones), Fashion (top range consumer phones emphasising coolness and style) and Premium (top range business phones emphasising status). It is hard to be certain when Nokia first started using these terms internally and the categories were fluid, with some phones moving down a category as they got older and less desirable.

Nokia added more categories in the early 2000s, Entry and Active. Entry was all about cheap phones for first time users or people who wanted 'just a phone'. Active phones were tough phones for sporty users or builders.

Nokia Premium category: Nokia 8810, Nokia 8850

Premium category (8800 series)

Premium phones were the the very best that Nokia could offer. They brought the status of luxury watches and sports cars to mobile phones. They were meant for top executives and wealthy individuals.

The origins of the Premium range is probably in the 8110, which emphasised high quality design, though the Premium sector was more about "bling" than understated good design. The first true premium phone was the 8810 which brought a shiny chrome look to the black and grey phones of the era. It was no co-incidence that the model number began with 88, given the significance of 8 in Asian culture. The range included a gold plated version aimed at the Hong Kong market.

Year Phone Form Remarks
1998 Nokia 8810 Slide Frank Nuovo's original slide phone with chrome look case
1999 Nokia 8850 Slide Update on the 8850 with aluminium slider case
2002 Nokia 8890 Slide Titanium cased updated version of the 8850
2003 Nokia 8890i Slide Revision of the 8890
2005 Nokia 8800/8801 Slide The ultimate luxury phone using watch making techniques
Nokia Fashion category: Nokia 8210, Nokia 8310, Nokia 7210, Nokia 7250

Fashion category (7000 series from 2002)

The Fashion category phone were about style and coolness. They were top end consumer phones with the latest features, but chic rather than geek. Fashion phones offered bags of style, they were small, light and good looking.

Whilst the original fashion phones, the 8000 series, targeted both male and female consumers, the later fashion phones, the 7000 series, began to be slanted more towards women.

Year Phone Form Remarks
1999Nokia 8210CandybarThe smallest and lightest Nokia to date
2001Nokia 8310CandybarRestyled model with 3 way customisation
2002Nokia 7210CandybarStylish case and colour screen
2003Nokia 7250/7250iCandybarFashion phone with camera
2004Nokia 7260/7270/7280Candybar /Clamshell /LipstickThree differently styled fashion phones, including the famous lipstick phone
2006Nokia 7360/7370/7380/7390VariousFour differently styled fashion phones

Read more on the Fashion category

Other 7000 series phones

Nokia introduced two ground breaking phones with 7000 series numbers, the 7110, Nokia's first WAP phone and the 7650, Nokia's first camera phone. These phones did not belong to the fashion category.

Nokia Classic category: Nokia 6110, Nokia 6210, Nokia 6310i

Classic category (6000 series)

Classic phones were business phones offering conservative styling and advanced business features such as tri-band GSM and infra red and Bluetooth connectivity. They targeted business users who valued efficiency, productivity and compatibility with older phones. Nokia called this market segment Controllers.

These phones built on the success of the 2110 business phone and were a continuation of that phone's core user base with top end users moving up to the Premium category. Although some Classic phones earned a similar status, if not even greater status, by their usability, modest styling and feature set. The 6310 inspired a loyal customer base who wanted to continue using this phone long after other designs had surpassed it.

Year Phone Form Remarks
1998 Nokia 6110 Candybar Business phone complementing the 5110
2000 Nokia 6210 Candybar Smaller and lighter version of the 6110
2001 Nokia 6310 Candybar Classic Nokia business phone
2002 Nokia 6310i Candybar Tri-band version of the 6310; much loved by the business community
Nokia Expression category: Nokia 5110, Nokia 3210, Nokia 3310, Nokia 3510i

Expression (3000 series from 1999)

Expression phones were about simplicity and personalisation. They were targeted at a market segment Nokia called 'Balancers'. Balancers valued family and the important things in life. They wanted phones that were easy to use and quick to master, but offered some amount of personalisation. Later Expression phones targeted the youth market and basic phones such as the Nokia 1100 were for people who just wanted a phone.

Wikipedia refers to these phones as 3000 series phones. Whilst the 5110 may not have been called an Expression phone when it was launched, it had most of the features of the Expression category: customisation, easy and intuitive operation and a basic feature set. The 3110 from 1997 does not belong to this category, it introduced the intuitive Navi-key, but was a business phone and closer to the Classic category in terms of end user profile.

Year Phone Form Remarks
1998 Nokia 5110 Candybar Nokia's first phone with Xpress on covers
1999 Nokia 3210 Candybar First of the 3000 series phones; built in aerial.
2000 Nokia 3310 Candybar Very popular Nokia phone
2001 Nokia 3330 Candybar WAP enabled version of the 3310
2002 Nokia 3410 Candybar Restyled and improved version of the 3330
2002 Nokia 3510 Candybar New phone with polyphonic ringtones

Entry Category (1000 and 2000 series)

At the bottom of Nokia's was the Entry category. The Entry category proper started with the 1100, although later marketing literature puts the 3310 in the basic category.

Year Phone Form Remarks
2003 Nokia 2300 Candybar Fun fashion phone aimed at sociable first time mobile phone users
2003 Nokia 1100 Candybar Nokia's most popular phone; no nonsense basic phone

Article by Steven Braggs, September 2012

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Comments (21)

Des

How much is a Nokia X1-01 worth?

forgetful frank

YESSSSSSSS THANKYOU SO MUCH!!

Brandon
The Nokia 3200 should be added to this list. It came out in 2003 with a transparent casing, holographic covers and a camera.
Linda
Nokia 1112 bought 2000 still in use. UK.
Vaishali
nokia phones are good
Mobile phone history
Mobile phone history is one of the best site. I have also updated information about Nokia Mobiles on my website..http://www.mobilephonesinn.com/
Mobile phone history
Mobile phone history is one of the best site. I have also updated information about Nokia Mobiles on my website..http://www.mobilephonesinn.com/
Craig Crosbie
Long live nokia From the fastest operator of these types of phones in the world!
My Name Jeffery
Why are we still here? Just to suffer? Every night, I can feel my leg... And my arm... even my fingers... The body I've lost... the comrades I've lost... won't stop hurting... It's like they're all still there. You feel it, too, don't you? I'm gonna make them give back our past!
Ganpat
Muje nokiya aentina ghm mobile chahiye
Geo prasad
Nokia phones are great
clyde everton brown
I have been trying to resetting my Nokia lumia 800windows smartphone, l keep failing to login to account. Thank you.
clyde everton brown
I have been trying to resetting my Nokia lumia 800windows smartphone, l keep failing to login to account. Thank you.
Shirley
Hi from Canada! I bought my first cellphone in 1998; it is as a Nokia candy bar style, black. I don't see the exact model here, but one extremely similar. Perhaps European models were different. What I'm looking for is a crazy ringtone called 'Morning Driving'?it's a riot. I have not found it online ANYWHERE! Thanks so much! Shirley
Shirley
Hi from Canada! I bought my first cellphone in 1998; it is as a Nokia candy bar style, black. I don't see the exact model here, but one extremely similar. Perhaps European models were different. What I'm looking for is a crazy ringtone called 'Morning Driving'?it's a riot. I have not found it online ANYWHERE! Thanks so much! Shirley ♫♬♪♩
Michael Burton
How do you unblock a Nokia model 2720 bought directly from yourselves without a SIM?
Steven
They are digital phones and will work on networks today.
worstcase
Nokia 3310 are they an analog or digital phone
Sally Spedding
I'm researching basic Nokia phones in 2003 for a book I'm writing, and wondering what the ring tones might have been. Was there one called 'Tic tac?' Many thanks!
Albert Marc Justine Carreon
Nokia 1011 first GSM phone SMS, Phone lock January 10, 2011
sk Mosaraf Hossain
i want to buy nokia 5110,6110,1610,2110,3110 original handset. please tell me is it available?
   
Mobile phone history