Released in September of 1996, the Nokia 8110 was a unique member of the Finnish company’s high-end 8000-series line of phones. The device’s curved shape and manual-sliding keyboard cover earned the device the nickname of “banana phone.” The device operated on the 900MHz GSM frequency, had a monochromatic, dot-matrix display, and could store a whopping 125 contacts in its on-board address book. As the press release boasts:
The revolutionary curved design fits the natural shape of your face. It has unique sliding mouthpiece for maximum voice quality. The mouthpiece, which has microphone embedded within it, both protects the keypad and slides forward to fit the contour of your chin. […] The Nokia 8100 is an ideal combination of size and weight, design and ergonomics, quality and features for people looking for the best. It will set the pace for a new generation of mobile phones.
Three years after its release, the 8110 gained a cult-like following after the Wachowski brothers used a modified version of the handset in their breakthrough film, The Matrix. For the film, the handset was modified with an automatic sliding mechanism to give it an extra dash of flair. In October of 1999, Nokia released the 7110 handset, which incorporated the popular automatic-sliding key-cover.
What do you say? Did any of you trendsetters have a Nokia 8110 or 7110?
BGR’s Throwback Thursday is a weekly series covering our (and your) favorite gadgets, games, and software of yesterday and yesteryear.
