Best Business Mobile Handsets Ever
These days, the lines between business mobile phones and your everyday mobiles are pretty blurred thanks to the invention of the smartphone. Things weren’t always this way though. Before the battle between Apple and Samsung dominated the industry, there were dedicated business mobiles on the market. In this article, we take a look back at the handsets that shaped business back in the day along with a couple of more modern devices that changed the game.
10 – Nokia 3310 / 3330
One of the best selling handsets of all time is the Nokia 3310/3330. For many, the Nokia 3310/3330 lives on as the greatest handset of all time, immortalised in internet memes and remembered fondly for its almost ever-lasting battery life. The 3330 was essentially the same handset, only it featured something new-fangled at the time: WAP. I can only imagine showing WAP to the youth of today, this basic version of the internet which was available through mobile devices was pretty impressive at the time, although by today’s standards its comparable to teletext. For those in business though, it was more than they had previously been able to access without a physical connection; this was before the days of broadband and wireless routers, remember.
9 – iPhone 3gs
Launched in 2009, the Apple iPhone 3gs was more of an elite device than the iPhones of today that seem to be owned by every tom dick and harry, so to speak. When the first iPhone launched, it was like nothing that had gone before it in the accessible mobile world. With its glass display and metal back, it was a world away from the mainly plastic devices that littered mobile store walls across the world. The 3gs was an update on the original device with 3g connectivity that made it more appealing. By this time, the Apple app store was full of apps ready to use that made the device perfect for business users across the globe. The 3gs sold a mere 35 million units compared to its successor the 4s, which almost doubled this figure.
8 – Motorola StarTAC
The StarTAC was a revolution in itself, the first ever clamshell handset to hit the market, allowing owners to almost feel like they owned a Star Trek communicator, which is how the name was inspired. It gave people a new feeling of power, enabling them to click it shut to display their annoyance with a call. As well as being the first ever flip phone, it was also the first model with a discrete vibrate alert that allowed users to know when a call or message was coming through without the need for loud and distracting ringtones in the workplace. This was one of the first handsets to gain widespread adoption, selling 60 million units worldwide.
7 – Nokia 9000 Communicator
The Nokia communicator was the original bad boy business device. A huge mobile phone that opened up to a display and physical qwerty keyboard. It offered users SMS, email, organiser and fax functionality as well as the standard phone calling capabilities. Oh, how things have advanced since 1998 when this handset was announced. Almost like a phone-come-miniature-laptop without all the functionality. Back in those days, though, this was advanced and feature packed! A revolution, it never really took off though.
6 – Samsung galaxy Note
The Samsung Galaxy Note changed the game, introducing the now popular ‘phablet’ concept to the market. Larger than a conventional smartphone, but smaller than a tablet, the Note offered new functionality that had previously been trickier on a smartphone despite their growing size. Fast and powerful with a pen stylus pen input. The viability of such a large device was questioned when Samsung announced the handset, but within two months it had sold a respectable 1 million units. Later versions featured 4g connectivity, which made the devices more appealing in cities where 4g was available for faster connectivity.
5 – Motorola V3
When the RAZR V3 was announced it set the mobile market alight, a premium aluminium, ultra slim handset with a glass display and a unique electroluminescent keypad made out of a single metal wafer. This was a premium device when it first launched, even the box exuded luxury. This was a handset that was far too posh to shove in a standard printed cardboard carton. The original V3’s came in a metal sliding box. In the early days, everything about this handset told people you had made it in life. In later days, the V3 was remarketed as a more affordable option in a variety of colours including black and pink with a standard cardboard box. This is, to date, the best selling clamshell of all time with a very respectable 130 million units sold worldwide.
4 – Nokia 6600
The Nokia 6600, despite its awkward styling, was one of the first smartphones on the market running the, now redundant, Symbian OS. The most advanced product Nokia had ever launched in its day. As with all new technology, the OS was not always stable and encountered a lot of lag. The 6600 allowed a wide range of 3rd party software to be installed on to the device, which was previously not something many mobile users had seen. This included games, MP3 players, office suites, web browsers and the like. You could also create custom themes for the device. The use of office applications helped to cement the 6600 as a firm business favourite, with access to the internet, Bluetooth and a memory card expansion slot. This truly was a game changing device.
3 – Palm Treo
Palm made some of the original business portable computing devices, the PDA. The Treo range of handsets were amongst the first smartphones to market. Featuring a full qwerty keyboard, Bluetooth, palm OS, camera and GPS connectivity this handset was ahead of its time. It may not have been pretty or exuded luxury in the way some of the more fashionable handsets did, but it was extremely practical. Unfortunately, they weren’t exactly renowned for reliability and quality which may be why the last Treo model was released back in 2009.
2 – Blackberry Bold 9000
When Blackberry’s were first released, they offered something unlike any other handset on the market, which made them perfect for connecting on the move. Their revolutionary email client used push technology which pushed emails through to the devices rather than the device having to go and check the mail server. Email was also easily integrated with organisations’ email systems through the BES (Blackberry Enterprise Server.). This, coupled with an easy-to-use qwerty keyboard, made blackberry’s the handset of choice for many businesses. Blackberry messenger was another nifty little feature, before the days of WhatsApp. This instant messaging service, which was only available on blackberry handsets at the time, made this a great, cheap way to interact with colleagues and contacts. The Bold series was the more professional, sleekly designed top spec which incorporated leather and metal. Style and functionality all rolled into one device. Unfortunately, with the invention of WhatsApp messenger and push email becoming widely available, RIM lost their niche and struggle in todays competitive market.
1 – Nokia 6310i
Not many devices these days can claim such a dominance on a market for a number of years, the Nokia 6310i was the daddy of the business communications world. Years after its release, it was still on sale and widely requested by those in the business sector, which is why it is sitting pretty at the top of our poll. Released in 2002, it wasn’t discontinued until 2005 and even after that people would come into mobile phone shops looking for one. Mercedes even offered it as an optional extra with complete connectivity including a built in cradle for the device on the dashboard. According to Wikipedia, ‘This phone has been (and still is) very popular for its robustness, simplicity and long battery life years after being discontinued as a product. ‘The design was attractive with premium colourings such as gold, silver & copper. The blue backlight set it apart from other monochrome displays which were backlit with green.