hen it debuted in 1989, the MicroTAC was hailed as a “game-changer”, one that Motorola argued would bring mobile phones out of the hands of top execs and into the hands of senior mid-level execs. Competively price at $2,995, the size of a Dutch brick rather than the preceding concrete breezeblock, it had an amazing half-hour’s talk time with only 10 hours of charging.
The price has dropped a bit, but at £100 on eBay, the likes of the MicroTAC still hold value for collectors. New research by Talkmobile highlights how the market for vintage phones has become increasingly lively as collectors aim to snap up a brick of tech history.
Before they start cropping up on Antiques Roadshow, here are 10 landmark phones and what they’re changing hands for online this year:
1. Motorola DynaTAC 8000x
The elder brother to the MicroTAC, and Gordon Gekko’s handset of choice, the DynaTAC, released in 1984, pretty much invented all those 80s cliches.
Street value: £1,000
2. Nokia 3310
The Volkswagen Beetle of phones. You’ve definitely got two of these and thrown three away. Released in 2000, it went on to sell 126m units, and is so popular it is now one of three “national emojis” for Finland.
Street value: £10-£55
3. Nokia Mobira Senator
Released in 1981, the Senator is hailed as one of the first truly mobile phones – if by mobile you mean “can be plugged into your car and weighs 10kg”.
Street value: £1,300
4. Apple iPhone 2G
It may have only had a now-piddly 4G or 8G of memory but, because of increased processing, 2007’s original iPhone still stacks up with today’s phones when it comes to battery life while browsing.
Street value: £150-£1,000
5. Motorola StarTAC
The first clamshell phone, and the first to sell more than 60m units. Weighing in at only 88g, this 1996 unit heralded the birth of the mass-consumer phone.
Street value: £30-£100
6. Motorola Razr V3
In 2004, Motorola released the definitive handset of the clamshell era – the thinnest of its genus, it also boasted a sporty “electroluminescent” keyboard.
Street value: £15-£60. But the Dolce & Gabanna tie-in model will set you back £150.
7. Sony Ericsson W880i
Featuring breakthroughs of “video editing, picture blogging, web gallery uploading”, Sony Ericsson’s sturdy W880i defined 2006’s proto-smartphone era – when music and photos suddenly became the chief selling points of everyone’s next handset.
Street value: £30-£50
8. Nokia N95
The same year that Apple was debuting the iPhone, Nokia’s N95 was giving it a run for its money. An early adopter of the accelerometer, it was utterly eclipsed by Apple’s entry, but has since been widely heralded as a lost classic.
Street value: £60-£90
9. HTC One
An early Android hit in 2012, the innovative tech in HTC’s breakthrough paved the way for them to be the handset manufacturers to Google’s 2016 Pixel.
Street value: £40-£50
10. Nokia 9000 Communicator
The original “fold-out keyboard” unit attempted an obvious solution to a common problem, pre-predictive text. First seen on-screen in The Saint reboot in 1997, it is also referenced in Brett Easton Ellis’s brand-mad Glamorama.
Street value: £20-£50
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