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History of Nokia part one: Nokia firsts
By James on 19 January 2009
GLOBAL – So mobile broadband dongles are the big thing right now. Did you know Nokia had one back in 1997? A whole 11 years ago. Yessiree. Okay, it wasn’t 3G capable (what was, then?), and it didn’t fit into a USB slot (the first USB-equipped computer wouldn’t launch for another year) but it did enable users to connect to the Internet from their not-very-portable, er, portable. That was a Nokia first, you see, and below you’ll find a whole bunch more, like the first GSM car phone, the first WAP phone and the first phone with predictive text.
This week we’ll be taking a walk through Nokia’s archives and highlighting some of the things from the past that have helped shape the present and continue to help paint a picture of the future. Where possible, we’ve added a link to the device in question, so you can marvel in wonderment.
1981 – The world’s first international cellular mobile telephone network – NMT – opened in Scandinavia with Nokia introducing the first car phones for the network
1991 – The world’s first genuine GSM call made using Radiolinja’s network, supplied by Nokia (with a Nokia car phone)
1992 – The Nokia 100 series, the first family of handportable phones for all analog networks.
1992 – Nokia 6050 car phone, the first GSM car phone
1992 – The Nokia 1011, the first GSM hand-portable phone
1992 – The Nokia 6000, the first TDMA phone
1994 – The Nokia 2100 series, the first digital handportable phones supporting data, fax and the Short Message Service.
1994 – The Nokia 2110 introduces the iconic ‘Grand Valse’ monophonic ring tone
1996 – The Nokia 9000 Communicator, the first all-in-one phone, fax, calendar, e-mail and Internet in handportable size.
1997 – The Nokia 8110i, the first mobile phone with a dynamic menu supporting Smart Messaging.
1997 – The Nokia 3810, the first mobile phone specially designed for Asian consumers, with a large full-graphics display and Asian language interfaces.
1997 – The Nokia Cellular Card Phone, a PC card with a built-in GSM phone. For voice and data communications in a notebook PC and in integrated solutions.
1997 – The Nokia 2180, the first dual-mode CDMA phone with a CDMA chip set developed by Nokia.
1998 – The Nokia 5100 series, the first mobile phones with user-changeable covers.
1998 – The Nokia 9110 Communicator, the first hand-held mobile terminal supporting wireless imaging.
1999 – The Nokia 6185, the first tri-mode / dual band CDMA phone.
1999 – The Nokia 7110, the first mobile phone compliant with the Wireless Application Protocol 1.1, for access to mobile Internet services such as banking, email and news.
1999 – The Nokia 7110, the first phone with predictive text input (T9)
1999 – The Nokia 8210, the first phone designed and launched in cooperation with the fashion industry.
2000 – The Nokia 6210, the first GSM product in the world to receive certification of the GSM Certification Forum (GCF).
2000 – The Nokia 3310, the first mobile phone with a unique chat function, which allows the user to have a conversation, similar to the chat services on the Internet, with the other party by using short messages.
2001 – Nokia makes the world’s first 3G WCDMA voice call on commercial 3GPP system
2001 – The Nokia 8310, Nokia’s first GPRS phone
2001 – The Nokia 8310 brings FM radio to the Nokia product range
2001 – Nokia launches its first dedicated digital music device, the Nokia 5510
2001 – The Nokia THR850, the world’s first TETRA terminal with WAP functionality
2001 – The Nokia 7650, Nokia’s first imaging phone with an integrated camera (VGA)
2001 – The Nokia 7650, Nokia’s first MMS phone
2002 – The Nokia 6340, the world’s first dual-band/tri-mode GAIT (GSM ANSI Interoperability Team) compliant handset
This is only a snapshot of Nokia’s history though. There’s a load more to marvel at in The Story of Nokia. I have to say though, the one thing that stood out for me amongst all these is the 6210. Not because of its certification, simply because it’s one of the finest phones ever made. I think I had three in the end, and each one just seemed to last forever, until my abject and relentless cruelty to handsets for which I’m renowned made them virtually unusable. Even then, they’d still switch on. Respect.
Quick history lesson, what was your first Nokia? Can you remember? Share below.
Picture from Handy-Sammler.de
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Tags | history of Nokia, Nokia
January 19th, 2009 at 5:48 pm
You missed out on the 3210 which was Nokia’s first phone with an internal antenna (big deal in those days).
And wasnt the 7650 also Nokia’s first S60 device ? I sure loved mine back in the day !
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January 19th, 2009 at 6:33 pm
My first phone was a Nokia Ringo, an analog phone with no SIM, using Hutchinson network.
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January 19th, 2009 at 6:44 pm
I’ve written an article about Acquisitions of Nokia through decaded and what they implied to Nokia at
http://senseapplied.com/index.php/nokia-acquistions-through-the-decade/
Farhan
http://www.senseapplied.com
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January 20th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
@Cj. 7650 was the first camera device with MMS. It was the first S60 device too! Nokia 3210 was real success story itself (year 1999), but first Nokia device with internal antenna was Nokia 8810. That was launched a year earlier (1998).
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January 20th, 2009 at 4:03 pm
As CJ pointed out above, the 3210 was the first handset with the internal antenna. That was such a big deal, and prompted all phones after to be built that way, and I think that needs remembering in its history.
Also don’t forget the ability to vibrate, the US version of the 3210 had this new exciting function, but the first mainstream vibrating phone was the 3310.
My first Nokia was the 7110.
I absolutely loved it, and from then, I’ve only strayed from Nokia once. Not bad going I think.
Keep them coming as you have done, and I shall stay a loyal Nokia user for many years to come.
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March 24th, 2009 at 6:09 am
9210 – first smartphone, first symbian, first coloured display
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June 23rd, 2009 at 9:50 pm
Nokia 3361. I really loved that phone…
Go East Or West
Nokia Is The Best..
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