The 10 Most Revolutionary Cell Phones of All-Time

Cellular devices are ubiquitous today. In fact, they are so widespread and common that it’s easy to forget the excitement and buzz that surrounded certain cell phone model releases.

Who can forget the excitement of using a cell phone for the first time? Or buying one of the early smartphones and navigating the Internet without help from a wired connection? Or even streaming high-definition video content on a phone?

Yes, cell phones through the years have created all sorts of exciting moments for users and opened up all sorts of possibilities for innovation and communication. But what cells phones were the most revolutionary?

Here’s a look at 10 of the most talked about cell phone launches in history, including details on what made them so remarkable on their debut dates.

1. Motorola DynaTAC (1984)

Long before consumers used smartphones to browse the Internet, simply talking on a remote and wireless telephone was nearly impossible to imagine. But the Motorola DynaTAC (short for Dynamic Adaptive Total Area Coverage) made phones truly mobile for the first time in history.

The phone took 10 hours to charge, and it offered only 30 minutes of talk time. It also cost $3,995 when it first launched, which is nearly $10,000 in today’s terms. While the Motorola DynaTAC was only practical for a few wealthy individuals, it demonstrated the possibility of cell phones, and it started a trend of innovation that lead directly to the wealth of cell phone options we enjoy today.\

2. Nokia Communicator (1996)

The iPhone wasn’t the first-ever smartphone. Neither was the Blackberry. No, the first smartphone to hit the market was the Nokia Communicator, which first debuted in 1996.

The original version, called the Nokia 9000 Communicator, looked a lot like a normal cell phone. But its clamshell designed allowed users to flip open the phone to reveal a QWERTY keyboard and screen.

The original Communicator offered 4 MB of user-accessible storage, and it allowed users to send email and browse the Internet — though a lack of responsive websites and mobile-focused apps made that much more difficult than it is today.

If you want to see the original Nokia Communicator in action, check out the 1997 film The Saint. Val Kilmer’s character uses a Nokia Communicator to send messages.

3. Treo 180 (2002)

In the earliest part of the 21^st century, flip phones were all the rage. The Treo 180 blended the flip phone style with smartphone capability.

Released in 2002, the Treo 180 featured a 160 x 160 monochrome screen that remained visible when the phone was closed. But, when the phone flipped open, users enjoyed access to a full keyboard. Users could access the Internet with the phone’s Blazer browser, and the Treo 180 even ran something similar to the mobile apps that are so well known (and highly used) today.

Palm, maker of the Palm Pilot, eventually bought Handspring, the Treo 180’s maker. In subsequent years, Palm continued updating the Treo and adding new features until the Palm Pre replaced the Treo in 2009.

4. Motorola Razr (2004)

The first cell phones were bulky and difficult to squeeze into a pocket. The Motorola Razr was perhaps the first to present its slim profile as a benefit. Released in 2004’s third quarter, the Razr quickly became one of the best-selling devices on the market, moving 50 million units in 2 years and more than 130 units over 4 years.

Motorola stopped marketing its original Razr in 2007, but a second version (the Razr 2) failed to meet with similar success, perhaps in part due to the rise of modern smartphones like the iPhone. While the Razr had been the perfect cell phone at a certain time, consumers began to look toward more advanced devices that allowed for apps and greater processing power.

5. First-Generation iPhone (2007)

The first-generation iPhone launched in summer 2007, creating in one fell swoop the entire smartphone industry and changing forever how humanity interacts with and uses technology.

It’s funny now to think back to the lead-up to iPhone’s initial launch. Apple’s making a phone? It seemed like a sideshow to Apple’s core products, like its computers and iPods.

But the iPhone brought together many of the features and functions people most liked and wanted from computers and iPods. Also, iPhone brought to the market many of the features that are now widespread among smartphone products — including the absence of a keyboard.

The iPhone has changed and evolved a great deal through the years (as you’ll see in No. 10 below), but the original iPhone will always hold a special place in history for its groundbreaking design and performance, as well as for the way in which it defied expectations.

6. LG Prada (2007)

What made the LG Prada so revolutionary? It was the first-ever phone to feature a touchscreen. Today, almost all smartphones feature a touchscreen, and it would be difficult for the average smartphone user to survive without one. But, when the LG Prada launched in mid-2007, its touchscreen was part curiosity, part novelty and part trendsetter.

While the LG Prada didn’t sell nearly as well as the original Motorola Razr, it did move 1 million units in the first 18 months. The original LG Prada was replaced by the LG Prada II in late 2008, but the original’s spot in history was already secured due to its groundbreaking touchscreen.

7. HTC Evo (2010)

Today, 4G networks and oversized screens are just the way smartphones look and perform. But the HTC Evo, which launched in summer 2010, was the first to offer both 4G capabilities and the large screen that has become so commonplace in the smartphone industry. Today, we take for granted 4G connections and large screens, but that wasn’t the case until the HTC Evo came along.

Sprint marketed the HTC Evo as its own Android, a product that remains one of the most popular in the United States and beyond. Upon its launch, the Android quickly became Sprint’s best-selling model, outpacing the Palm Pre, Samsung Instinct and Motorola Razr.

8. Samsung Galaxy S (2010)

The Samsung Galaxy S brought a little more style to the emerging smartphone industry when it first appeared in summer 2010. As beloved as the iPhone was at the time and still is today, early critiques likened its appearance to that of a brick. That was not the case with Samsung’s original Galaxy S.

From its summer 2010 launch through early 2013, the Samsung Galaxy S sold about 24 million units. The original Galaxy S was succeeded by the Galaxy S II, which was known for its slim profile and long battery life. Still, the original Samsung Galaxy S remains the smartphone that put Samsung on par with Apple as a smartphone manufacturer.

9. Samsung Galaxy Note 7 (2016)

The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 was meant to be the most advanced device in the Galaxy Note series. While it did serve as the first Galaxy Note phone to feature a symmetric connector, and while it was the last Galaxy Note phone to include a home button, the Galaxy Note 7 will be remembered for a different reason.

In September 2016, Samsung stopped sales of the Galaxy Note 7 and issued a recall. Why? Because batteries in some Galaxy Note 7s were generating enough heat to start fires. You might recall getting on a plane at the time and listening to flight attendants tell passengers that Galaxy Note 7s were banned from flying altogether. Samsung has seemingly rebounded from this public relations nightmare, but the incident no doubt inspires smartphone manufacturers to pay extra close attention to battery heat and the potential for fires.

10. iPhone X (2017)

The iPhone X changed the game for iPhone, 10 years after the original’s launch. The iPhone X was the first to feature a bezel-less design that included no home button. While some users might have feared adjusting to life without a home button, the iPhone X proved easy to adapt to.

The iPhone X was also praised for the quality of its camera, as well as the size of its screen. The iPhone X became Apple’s most expensive smartphone in history, and overall it has generated mixed reviews. Still, on the iPhone’s 10^th anniversary, the iPhone X proved to be an ambitious next step for the company that basically launched the smartphone industry.

What Do You Do With Old Devices?

Cell phones are a funny thing: When you buy them, they feel impossibly new and advanced; but, after a few years (or even months), they begin to feel impossibly dated and obsolete. What do you do with your old devices when it’s time to buy something new?

If you have a Motorola DynaTAC from 1984, you might want to keep it as a collector’s item. If you’re like most of us, though, wouldn’t it be nice to turn your old device into some cash?

At Swift Tech Buy, that’s exactly what we help consumers do: turn their old phones into cash. If you have an old device that you’d like to sell, getting started is easy.