Other Stories About 2000s Devices |
Recently I caught myself thinking that of all my phones, only two were flagships – the first and, at the moment, the last. I should add that there were only four of them in 1,5 decade.
Nokia 6630 kept mine from the mid-zeros until 2012, and then there was the Sony Ericsson WT19i and the Lenovo P780 (probably, the worst device I ever had). Then, in the summer of 2018, I bought the LG G6. I won’t mention the Nokia N-Gage, as I took it exclusively for game reviews.
My thoughts and emotions from each device were different, but I decided to focus specifically on the models at “edges.” Because, as I mentioned above, they are the flagships of their brands and eras.
Contents
- Principle of Comparison
- Devices for Comparison
- Design
- Status Marker
- Technical Specifications
- Multimedia and Games
- Conclusion
Principle of Comparison
So, let me start by saying that the feeling of owning these devices is very different. I am not going to compare smartphones with each other, but their perception during their actual time.
To create an objective picture, I decided to additionally present the most popular models, which were released in 2004 and 2017, respectively. I divided them into three categories: budget saver, youngsters choice, and fashionable one.
In the last decade, the market has changed significantly, and simple phones without OS have almost completely disappeared from the list of best-selling devices. So among the modern machines, I will present only smartphones.
In 2004, the sales leaders were phones without an advanced operating system. It would be cool to draw parallels from the zeros years, as an example of today’s competition between Android and iOS, but there were none.
Theoretically, there was Windows Mobile. However, smartphones running it then were so specific and rare among ordinary people that I decided, after all, not to include them in the material.
For my part, I would like to point out that there were fascinating devices. It is indeed symbolic that Windows Mobile was considered the successor to Symbian.
Devices for Comparison
So, we have the following list of models, which were the most popular in their “weight” category:
| Year Of Release | Budget Saver | Youngsters Choice | Fashionable One |
| 2004 | Siemens C65 | Sony Ericsson K700i | Motorola RAZR V3 |
| 2017 | Meizu M5s | Samsung Galaxy S8 | Apple iPhone X |
| Inexpensive devices with acceptable functionality | Versatile solutions with an optimal price/performance ratio | Marketing “whales” – the most recognizable devices on the market |
As you can see, American companies symbolically divided among themselves the most expensive segment, the widest – the neighbors on the Sea of Japan.
Please note that I took only new products from 2004 and 2017 into consideration for the sake of objectivity. So here you will not find the famous Nokia 3310, which had released in 2000, as a budget saver.
Also, in the category “Youngsters Choice,” there is no Sony Ericsson K750i because it started reigning in 2005. But the legendary Motorola RAZR V3 was released in the same year as my Nokia phone.
Design
It has already had said a lot about how modern devices look monotonous and pale compared to older ones. I see no point in repeating myself. Anyway, phone design still a crucial moment, of course.
It is better to focus on the variety of form factors, which had presented in the 2000s. In addition to monoblocks and clamshells, sliders, N-Gage consoles, mini-laptops, and even touchscreen smartphones aroused interest as well. Yes, yes, the latter appeared long before the presentation of the first iPhone.
Companies tried to surprise. As a tool for this, it was often the appearance of future devices that developers chose. Instead of doing my homework, I remember how I used to play mobile phone designer regularly.
When I drew pictures of my imaginary devices, it was exciting and fun. After all, my fancy flight was not limited to a rectangle in which you have to draw a big screen.
So comparing the design of Nokia 6630 and LG G6, it is essential to note that each looks solid and simultaneously futuristic, as for its time.
It is especially true of the Finn. The colossal camera matrix even today looks very evocative. The form factor seems to be a monoblock, but I want to call it a guitar, a racket, or other “non-mobile” term.
The Korean is also good in terms of charisma. It has a new 18:9 screen with “smooth” corners and another interesting innovation – a dual primary camera.
But the first impression the Nokia smartphone makes more spectacular even if you look at the situation through the prism of time.
Status Marker
Since the beginning of the new millennium, the phone rarely serves as a reliable means of identifying its owner’s success. The only difference is that in the 2000s, buying a flagship model was much more expensive than it is now.
It becomes undeniable if you consider the ratio of the average salary to the price of devices in different years. I get an ironic smile on my face when I now see someone starting to evaluate persons in terms of their gadgets.
But until the late 2000s, this strategy was still at least somewhat viable. That’s because today’s trend of buying an expensive device on credit and just for the sake of show-offs have not gained as much momentum.
If you saw a powerful smartphone in someone’s hand, it usually meant that its owner was interested in its functionality. Or the device simply came from wealthy close friends, etc.
It was considered a strange thing for mature personalities to work hard to get a status marker like a phone. At least, I never met anyone like that.
For a slight philosophical digression, I should point out that the terms “age” and “mature personality” do not always go hand in hand. I have realized that you can often find something to learn from people younger than you. And vice versa. Mature people who are trying to become your life’s guru often turn out to be empty. I’ve seen enough of them. Although it’s off the topic to mention it in a smartphone review, I think I should say it now.
Now back to the youth of the 2000s, who had it drastically different. My peers even kept a ranking of the best phones in class. It had automatically generated even when you got into a new group of people.
Of course, the classic picture of those days was that you could meet two extremes in one company: a person with an ancient nutcracker a la Nokia 3310 and an owner of some expensive modern device.
Now, specifically comparing the effects of my Symbian and Android smartphones, I must unreservedly give the palm to the device running Simba.
My LG G6 did not create much of a hype around it. Yes, sometimes people noticed the dual camera or rounded screen. At most, what I observed was an unemotional face and the same tasteless verdict: ” Nice.” That was the end of it.
From Nokia 6630, everything was exactly the opposite. The boys often stopped talking when they saw it and hurriedly surrounded me to look at my device. There was so much attention that sometimes I felt like Steve Jobs presenting the first iPhone.
Technical Specifications
If in 2004, the difference in functionality between the devices of different categories was enormous. They are now pretty comparable in terms of functionality, except that the budget savers are a little bit behind the rest.
So yes, I did have some advantages with the LG smartphone. However, they can not be called fundamental at all. Dual camera? Fewer bugs? Okay. But still today, with any modern device, you can take a photo, surf the Internet, listen to your favorite music or watch a movie.
In the middle of the zeros, there was a big gap between the capabilities of ordinary phones and smartphones based on Symbian OS. Playing games on the Nokia N-Gage was tantamount to fiction.
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Multimedia and Games
Among us, teenagers of the 2000s, the main criterion of phone quality was games and mp3 playback. My acquaintance with all this stuff started thanks to my mom because she had a phone before anyone else in the family.
At first, I played Stack Attack on Siemens A65. Although the game is not very close to the graphics of products for Nokia N-Gage (which, incidentally, was already released at that moment), I remember it very clearly and for a long time.
It is not surprising because it was my first experience playing mobile apps regularly. Even now, sometimes, I am drawn to get a similar device and again savor that game.
In general, the phone did not live with us even a year because it was successfully stolen in the subway. My mother bought a RAZR to replace it. Immediately I threw some of my favorite songs on it (the memory of the device did not allow me to fill it deeper) and proudly went for a walk.
At that time, it was considered cool to play music as loud as possible on the main speaker and walk along the streets. As I remember now – it was the first warm days of spring. I was walking along, and from the right pocket of my jacket, I could hear the chorus: “The moon in the sky lights up the spotlight, the planets are dancing electro style.” That’s how I translate the verse of one of my favorite songs from the mid-2000s.
It all seems silly and ridiculous now, but I felt like I was in space because of the euphoria. Oh, how a small amount of stuff I needed to be happy back then…
Well, a few months later, I got a Nokia 6630. The joy of this gift is difficult to describe. Although in one of the articles, I did try to perform it. So I recommend that you look at the list of my works too, friends.
With my first smartphone, I preferred to walk around listening to music using headphones. Well, about the games I played on it, I could say nothing at all. Because the lion’s share of my articles is devoted to them, I hope you are already familiar with those creations.
Conclusion
Of course, my summation will be subjective, as will all the assessments had given here before. But how else could it be? After all, we are talking about my personal impressions of owning two different smartphones. On the devices also fell the shadow of eras, from which I have pretty contrasting emotions.
Therefore I will come to the banal conclusion: although the LG G6 can easily give a competitive edge to the majority of computers of the 2000s, it has not yet managed to touch my heart as Nokia 6630 has done (as well as my previous devices).
Thanks for your attention, friends. See you soon!
This comparing review of the smartphones based on Symbian and Android is written by
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