Welcome to May 2006, and LG has just changed the mobile design rules forever with the KG800, better known as the ‘Chocolate.’ This is the first device in their ‘Black Label’ series, and it is less of a telephone and more of a piece of minimalist art. When you take it out of the box—which, in a strok…
Motorola L7
It is the start of 2006, and Motorola has decided that if you liked the Razr but found the whole ‘flipping’ thing a bit too much like hard work, you should probably buy the SLVR L7. Following on from the L6, the L7 is the premium ‘candybar’ expression of Motorola’s obsession with thinness, and it is…
Samsung D600
The king is dead; long live the king. The Samsung D600 arrived in late 2005 to replace the already legendary D500, and it has done so by taking everything that was good about its predecessor and turning the technical volume up to eleven. If you thought the slide on the D500 was smooth, the D600 feel…
Nokia N70
It is late 2005, and Nokia has just launched the ‘Nseries’ with the N70, a handset designed to remind everyone that if they want a real smartphone, they have to come to Finland. It is the spiritual successor to the 6680 and currently the smallest 3G smartphone on the market, packing the power of a d…
Sony Ericsson W800i
The year is 2005, and Sony has finally done what we all knew was coming: they’ve put the ‘Walkman’ logo on a phone. The W800i is the vibrant, orange-and-cream sibling to the K750i, and it is the first mobile device that truly prioritises music over calls. It is technically identical to the K750i und…
Sony Ericsson K750i
It is the spring of 2005, and Sony Ericsson has just released a handset that has effectively made the mid-range point-and-shoot camera obsolete. The K750i is the definitive ‘Clara’ (its internal codename), and it is a technical masterpiece that has the UK mobile press foaming at the mouth. It’s a du…
Nokia 1110
It is mid-2005, and while the rest of the world is obsessing over megapixels and 3G video calls that nobody actually wants to make, Nokia has released the 1110—a phone that looks like it was designed for a minimalist cult or a very stylish toddler. This is the entry-level king, the ‘phone for people…
Samsung D500
The year 2004 is coming to a close, and Samsung has just dropped the D500, a phone that has effectively ended the debate over who makes the best sliding mechanism in the business. Before this, sliders were often seen as a bit of a gimmick, but the D500 is a ‘semi-automatic’ marvel; give it a gentle …
Motorola Razr V3
The year is 2004, and every other mobile phone on the planet has just been made to look like a piece of farm machinery. The Motorola Razr V3 has arrived, and it is quite possibly the most beautiful object ever fashioned from aircraft-grade aluminium. Measuring just 13.9mm thick when closed, it is so…
Sony Ericsson K700i
It is mid-2004, and Sony Ericsson has decided to follow up the world-beating T610 with a phone that feels like a piece of high-end hifi equipment you can carry in your pocket. The K700i is the ‘Dual Front’ pioneer; one side is clearly a mobile phone, but flip it over, and it looks exactly like a dig…