Five phones we all wanted in the 2000s (that aren’t the Motorola RAZR)

By Anula Wiwatowska

Last updated 23 April 2021

Mobile phone design peaked in the 2000s. Remember when new phones came with a new take on what a phone should actually be? Concave, bendable handsets, sliding and flipping screens, handheld square pillars that slide in on themselves, QWERTY keyboards. Every new device was a treat for the senses. Now every phone is another version of a backlit rectangle and the newest iterations are simply invisible upgrades to cameras, battery life extensions, or higher refresh rates.

Give me something weird damn it.

I acutely remember being excited to see what phone manufacturers (Nokia, I’m looking at you) would come up with next, and which phones I’d be lusting after and looking at in awe. Needless to say that if you owned any of the phones below, you’re cooler than I ever dreamt of being.

Motorola Hiptop Slide

Anyone who was even remotely ‘cool’ in 2010 had the Hiptop Slide. To be fair, our standards for ‘coolness’ back then were a bit different - people idolised Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan. Dark days.

Even so, who could argue with a phone where the screen slid, and snapped upward to reveal a QWERTY keyboard AND came with unfettered access to Myspace. What a power trip it would have been to update your Top 8 friends in real time.

Nokia 7280 - The Lipstick phone

If a bold red lip can make a statement, then just think about the kind of statement Nokia’s Lipstick phone makes. The multi-material design of metal, plastic, leather, and even a fabric tag was all kinds of extra. And for anyone who is obsessed with red bottomed heels - the Louboutin red on the inside of the device was the crowning jewel.

People who had the Nokia 7280 wanted to stand out, and proved they were bougie before bougie was even a thing.

Sony Ericsson W550i - the Walkman phone

Designed to strike a chord with any muso, the Sony Ericsson W550i had a specialised Walkman button that brought up your music menu immediately. To hell with pulling out an MP3 player, or waiting for your tunes to load, there was no time and the W550i didn’t waste it.

Nokia 3200

Admittedly this one may be a bit niche. My best friend in high school Jordan had this phone, and I was so desperately jealous. Shout out to you Jordan, your new dog is super cute.

Although it wasn’t the first camera phone - it wasn’t even Nokia’s first camera phone - it feels like it was. The novelty of being able to snap a pixelated picture and have it immediately on the screen was a marvel. Too bad keeping it meant deleting every text message and half your contacts, but hey, worth it.

Nokia N-Gage

Back in 2003, no one ever thought we'd be doing any serious gaming on mobile phones. No one but Nokia. Snake used to be the pinnacle of mobile gaming, but Nokia wanted to change that.

Enter the N-Gage, Nokia's taco-shaped phone Game Boy competitor.The N-Gage was a mobile phone that also a handheld console, backed by titles including Sonic, Splinter Cell, Tomb Raider, and Call of Duty. Some of the games were pretty good, but the phone part let it down. The microphone and speaker were both located on the phone's edge, you'd have to hold its side against your cheek in order to actually have a conversation. It looked like you were talking into a taco.

This, when coupled with a few other usability problems such as having to remove the battery to change your game, spelled doom for the N-Gage. While the N-Gage was a failure, it foretold the future better than we could have guess. Every phone is a gaming machine these days.