The Bestselling Mobile Phones of the Last 20 Years – The Top Seller Might Just Surprise You!
When most people think of mobile phones, Apple comes to mind, but did you know that the top selling phone of all time was actually the humble little Nokia? How did this phone we laugh at when we find it stuck in the junk drawer beat the stylish Apple iPhone in total unit sales? Let’s find out how many times Nokia pulled it off.
The Bestselling Mobile Phones of the Last 20 Years
1996 – Motorola StarTAC
60 million units sold, it:
- Was the first clamshell design phone
- Was one of the first mobile phones to:
- Offer a display screen
- Have vibrate alert along with a ringtone
- Used an optional lithium-ion battery instead of NiMH
1998 – Nokia 5110
39 million units sold, it:
- Was the most popular model for some time after its initial launch
- Based on the same platform as the Nokia 6610, created for businesses [7]
- Was rugged with an excellent battery life
- One of first phones to feature the infamous game, Snake
1999 – Nokia 3210
160 million units sold, it:
- Was one of the first phones with an antennae
- Had great battery power and life
- Had swappable covers in many colours
- Still had limited features
2000 – Nokia 3310
126 million units sold, it:
- Was sleeker and more compact than the brick/dumb phones of the day
- Offered a greenlit 84×48 monochrome display, making easy to see in bright light
- Came with a clock, stopwatch, timer, calculator and currency converter
- Had a phonebook that held 250 contacts
2003 – Nokia 1100
250 million units sold, it:
- Lacked a camera and a colour display
- Was highly affordable and durable
- Remains the best selling mobile phone of all time
- Nokia wants to relaunch it in 2016
2004 – Nokia 2600
135 million units sold, it:
- Included a colour display
- Had polyphonic ringtones
- Offered one of the first set of desktop tools
- Lacked a camera or bluetooth capabilities
2005 – Nokia 1110
250 million units sold, it:
- Was a successor to the 1100
- Came with three games, Snake Xenzia, Dice Games and Pocket Carrom
- Had the ability to send text messages
- Still didn’t have a camera or colour display
2006 – Nokia 1600
130 million units sold, it:
- Was a successor to the 1100
- Came with three games, Snake Xenzia, Dice Games and Pocket Carrom
- Had the ability to send text messages
- Still didn’t have a camera or colour display
Nokia 1200
150 million units sold, it:
- Included a 1.5-inch monochrome display [8]
- Provided a dust-resistant keypad
- Offered a battery lasting a full five days
- Was one of the first cellphones to include a built-in flashlight
2008 – Apple iPhone 3G
35 million units sold, it:
- Offered new features, like support for 3G networks and third party apps
- Had expanded email features and improved call quality
- Delivered a superior video and music experience
- Lacked the features of the most basic cellphones and battery life was bad
2009 – Apple iPhone 3GS
35 million units sold, it:
- Was faster than previous models
- Had an extended battery life
- Still had problems with 3G reception and call quality
- Didn’t make the same leap as the 3G did from first generation models
2010 – Nokia 5230
150 million units sold, it:
- Offered voice guided navigation and free maps
- Had excellent call quality at an affordable price
- Lacked wi-fi and a capacitive touch screen
- Didn’t include a flash for the camera
2011 – Apple iPhone 4S
60 million units sold, it:
- Comes with a clear 3.5 inch screen
- Has enhanced wireless speeds and increased storage capacity
- Still has battery life problems
2012 – Samsung Galaxy S III
40 million units sold, it:
- Excellent battery life and quad core speed
- Sports a 4.8 inch screen with AMOLED HD:
- Three subpixels for every pixel – red, green and blue
- Cleaner whites and improved contrast ratios
- Launched at a huge event in London during the 2012 Olympics
- Nestled in a plastic-feeling polycarbonate case with a strangely-rounded design
2013 – Samsung Galaxy S4
40 million sold, it:
- Works as a TV/DVR Remote
- Includes a microSD storage slot
- Launched at the 2013 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona
- Power button turns on unexpectedly and some camera modes are wonky
2014 – Apple iPhone 6 and 6 Plus
74.5 million units sold, it:
- Was the most advanced iPhone to date, selling about 34,000 units per hour [16]
- Had an improved camera, motion-tracking chip and fingerprint sensor
- Has hardware and software that work together seamlessly
- Not much of an upgrade in design from the iPhone 5 [15]
2015 – Apple iPhone 6 Vs. Samsung Galaxy S6
Although 2015 is only half over, it’s likely the iPhone 6 will be the best seller of the year, but only time will tell. The Samsung Galaxy S6 is a close contender. We'll be updating this post once the year is out.
Sources
[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_mobile_phones
[3]https://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_1110-1187.php
[4]https://www.wired.co.uk/article/the-nokia-3210-was-the-greatest-phone-ever-made
[5]https://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/05/the-evolution-of-cell-phone-design-between-1983-2009/
[7]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_5110
[8]http://3tobeat.com/best-selling-mobile-phones-ever/
[9]https://www.cnet.com/reviews/apple-iphone-3g-review/
[10]https://www.cnet.com/search/?query=Apple+iPhone+3GS
[11]https://www.cnet.com/reviews/nokia-5230-nuron-review//
[12]https://www.cnet.com/reviews/apple-iphone-6-review/
[13]https://www.techradar.com/us/reviews/phones/mobile-phones/samsung-galaxy-s3-1078667/review
[15]https://www.cnet.com/reviews/apple-iphone-5s-review/
[16]https://money.cnn.com/2015/01/27/technology/apple-iphone-earnings/?iid=EL
[17]https://www.cnet.com/topics/phones/best-phones/
[18]https://money.cnn.com/2015/03/03/technology/mobile/apple-iphone-top-smartphone/