[linkinpark875]

Can be from any year so here's my short list:

1. Sony Ericsson W995 - Great design, good battery and brilliant sound quality even better than Ipods. Came with a speaker too camera was also very good.

2. Apple Iphone 4 - It was a game changer for Apple. New sleek design, moved some of the specs right up there with the best smart phones. Brilliant retina display for the first time on the Iphone and an unrivaled 5 mega pixel camera.

3. Going to pick two here as they are from the same era about 2007. LG Viewty and Nokia N95 I tried them both but they were never for me really. However I went to touch screen phones after it like Satio and then Iphone. LG was the first decent touch screen phone on the market and the Nokia N95 really set the bench mark for sat navs and apps on phones. The camera and screen were also massive and from memory it took miles better video than anything else at the time. Ignoring the Symbian failure you can see how these two phones defined the market and how it progressed into new Android phones.

What's everybody else's top three? I excluded the popular 3310 from the list as it was functional but never did much for the market. Soon came the 3410 and dull 3510. The 3310 now for me is a bit of nostalgia and at the time I preferred my old Motorola phone.

[unknown17]

Samsung Galaxy S3 - I don't have it as I have the HTC One X (which is brilliant) but everyone knows that the S3 is one of the best phones out right now.

Nokia 3660 - Had this phone back in 2004 and it was ahead of its time. As back then nobody I knew had colour phones with cameras. Plus it only cost me £20.

Sony Ericsson V630i - Got this phone about 5 years ago. It was great for music and browsing the internet. It still works perfectly now.

[Helbore]

1. Nokia 3310 - it was the mobile that popularised mobiles, from what I remember. It was simple to use, had a nice design and was a solid. Everyone had one back in the day. It wasn't complex, but that was the point. It got the job done and it got it done well.

2. HTC Blue Angel - known under many different names. The one I owned was the I-mate PDA2k. It was the IT tech's right-hand man for years and had non-IT people gawping at a smartphone before the majority of the world knew what a smartphone was.

3. The iPhone 1 - I never owned one because it had too many limitations compared to the smartphones I was used to, but you cannot deny the impact it had on the mobile phone market. The fact that there are still people who believe it was the first smartphone ever goes to show how much it expanded the smartphone market. It's the only iPhone worthy of the moniker "revolutionary," because no matter how many features it lacked, it altered the landscape on what people expected of a smart phone.

[Aye Up]

Nokia 5110 - I believe this was one of the first phones that has snake, it was a brick without a doubt but that phone was hard to break it could survive falls from a 2nd storey window, being thrown down stairs by an toddler a truly remarkable yet simplistic device.

Nokia 3210/3310 - These I suppose were the phones that popularised customer ring tones, the ability to create your own, have them sent via sms was fantastic in addition to interchangable fascias for the front and rear of the phone.

Philips Savvy - I think this was probably the first budget phone that made mobile accessible to the masses, often found for around fifty quid, was a good buy at the time!

I don't look at todays phones as game changers, the market was already there what with the increase in access and availability of the internet it just took someone with a well thought out proposition to take advantage of it.

12 years ago was when mobile usage really exploded in europe and Nokia in addition to Ericsson can be proud of those achievement no matter what position they find themselves in now.

[dephanix02]

1. Sony Ericsson K750i. Who DIDN'T have one of these during that era? Was truly the iPhone of phones back then and Sony Ericsson were known as the best brand.

2. Nokia 3310/30. This phone explains itself.

3. iPhone 3G/S. I don't think it was until this that the iPhone truly took off by the general public, not just geeks.

[legends wear 7]

Easy this

1) Sony Ericsson P800

First touch screen device i can remember owning that worked, also had some very good developer support with Apps.

2) Nexus One

Open Source Brilliance, nothing more to say

3)Nokia 6600

First phone i really embraced installing apps, but thinking about it, might have to substitute this one with the N95 which was the best phone by a distance on the market in its day.

[clonmult]

Originally Posted by dephanix02

1. Sony Ericsson K750i. Who DIDN'T have one of these during that era? Was truly the iPhone of phones back then and Sony Ericsson were known as the best brand.

2. Nokia 3310/30. This phone explains itself.

3. iPhone 3G/S. I don't think it was until this that the iPhone truly took off by the general public, not just geeks.

The K750, W800 and W810 were the ones that really kick started mobile cameras into something serious - one of the first decent autofocus cameras in a mobile, and I'd be tempted to say that it can still hold its own in still image quality. Plug in the external flash unit, and it betters 99% of current mobiles in their ability to capture a moment in low light.

[MGS4SnakeRulez]

1. Nokia 3310 - Best phone ever its that simple

2. Sony Ericsson K810i - Lasted ages and had awesome battery life. I loved it

3. Samsung Galaxy Ace 2- Its what I have right now and love it

[Gormond]

Nokia 3330 - First phone I had that was close to perfect as a phone, it was small, battery lasted ages and easy to use.

Nokia 6600 - My first smartphone, was a great little phone for its time.

iPhone 3G - My first touch screen smartphone, was great to use and the apps were better than anything before it.

If I was to choose another it would be my SE K800, it was a good phone with a great camera for its time.

[smellybaby]

Originally Posted by linkinpark875

Can be from any year so here's my short list:

1. Sony Ericsson W995 - Great design, good battery and brilliant sound quality even better than Ipods. Came with a speaker too camera was also very good.

I had this phone and yes it had a good design, battery and brilliant sound, and the cameras was pretty awesome, 8.1mp when phones like the iphone only had 3.2. Heck it even had proper internet with wi-fi at a time when only smartphones could do what it did, the internet was better than my friends who had blackberrys

BUT the software on it pretty shit, i had to send mine back for repairs at least 3 times because of this and reception issues, the phone sadly got lost on holiday last year but it was an awesome phone!

MY top 3 would be
1)Nokia 3310: i was 12/13 and it was the time when all kids wanted a mobile phone and everyone I knew had one(I although had a 6210 haha). It was from this point on that everyone got mobile phones

2)Iphone 1:Although I'm not an iphone user, find them far too restricting, you can not deny the impact the first iphone did in terms of smartphone use

3)Motorola v3: was at one point the world's biggest selling mobile phone, even though it wasn't the best phone, only held something like 10/20 text messages DAMN this phone was sexy

[clonmult]

Originally Posted by smellybaby

I had this phone and yes it had a good design, battery and brilliant sound, and the cameras was pretty awesome, 8.1mp when phones like the iphone only had 3.2. Heck it even had proper internet with wi-fi at a time when only smartphones could do what it did, the internet was better than my friends who had blackberrys

The internet is something the the BB still doesn't get right .... I've had to use the browser a few times on my works 8320, and even over a decent wireless connection it was painful.

Anyway, my 3 - rather than "all out best", I'm going for a biggest impact (not necessarily technical impact)

1) The original Motorola V3 Razr. Absolutely legendary/timeless design. A genuine classic in a way that nothing has been since.

2) Nokia 3310/3330. Tough as anything, did the basics to absolute perfection, battery could last for ages. bet there will be plenty still working when Apple shares have dropped through the floor (ie. a very long wait)

3) this is difficult, N82? In its original form it doesn't deserve to be on any list, but as of its final (non operator branded) firmware, it turned out to its full potential, a cracking bit of kit. Reasonable browser, camera that still beats 99% of others on the market with its well configured xenon flash.

The iPhone is tempting, but in its original guise it didn't do anything new, took a few iterations before it turned into a decent device. Problem is that they haven't innovated since ....

Some of the earlier BB devices were (at the time) groundbreaking - I used & supported the 7230 and 7290 in a fairly large corporate environment, and for that role they were absolutely perfect. 7 days on a charge while pulling through mails 24 hours a day on a busy mailbox? Nothing these days can get close.

The K750/W800/W810 deserve honorable mentions due to a cracking camera and decent audio output, and a surprisingly tough package.

[Dai13371]

Nokia 5110 workhouse of a phone, never let me down.
Nokia 8110i, you could pretend to be Neo although truthfully, it was just a fine phone
Galaxy Note, just an awesome device.

[simonb65]

Originally Posted by dephanix02

1. Sony Ericsson K750i. Who DIDN'T have one of these during that era? Was truly the iPhone of phones back then and Sony Ericsson were known as the best brand.

2. Nokia 3310/30. This phone explains itself.

3. iPhone 3G/S. I don't think it was until this that the iPhone truly took off by the general public, not just geeks.

yes, the K750i would get my vote as number one as well. A fantastic little phone

[Zack06]

1. Google Nexus One (by HTC) - Solid, cutting edge (first 1GHz device, dual mics etc), well built with the latest software...it set a benchmark

2. Sony Ericsson P800 - a device way ahead of its time....just check out the specs

3. Sony Ericsson W910i - Have special memories of this device, it was great for music too

Special mentions to Google Galaxy Nexus (by Samsung) my current device, and the iPhone 3G purely for some of the trends it set, even if Apple themselves have become behind the times, this was the second time since the home computer that they created a market which could generate huge sales.

[Biffo the Bear]

1. Nokia 3210 - set the trend for the mass consumption phone - one of the biggest sellers of all time, and I still see people with them now.

2. Samsung Galaxy Note - crossing the barrier between phone and tablet - a true trailblazer!

3. Iphone 1 - doff of the cap to the original 'proper' touchscreen smartphone I reckon.

[DevonBloke]

1. Nokia 6310i - THE best handset ever!
2. iPhone 1st Gen - never owned one but it was truly groundbreaking.
3. iPhone 5

[finbaar]

Every single phone before the iPhone and the G1 was absolutely utter crap. Oh yes they were, Go and try one if you do not think so. So as the iPhone was first:

iPhone 2007
Samsung Galaxy SII - The break through phone for Android
Samsung Galaxy Note 2 - The 2011 Note created a new market segment and this one is even better,

[Harry.Kewell]

Nokia 3210/3310 - As others have mentioned everyone and his dog had one of these phones back in the day. Snake, interchangeable covers, what else did you need back then?

Motorola Razr v3 - Another phone that everyone went a bit mad for, when everyone wanted the thinnest phone you could buy.

Iphone 3G - I dont think people really took much notice until the 3G was released.

[MiresiaVerteta]

Nokia 3310 - Basic, simple to use, great battery life. Had this as a secondary phone right up until early 2009!

Nokia N82 - Was sad to upgrade this! Had GPS, great call quality and multimedia facilities. Loved this phone.

Orange Barcelona/Stockholm - The latter is my current phone..Android with keyboard and touchscreen! Quite nifty speed wise too. The latter, I loved this phone before it was robbed. A nice mini android phone.

On a global scale....Iphone 3G/S - My Dad had this...pretty much the revolution of smartphones.

[LostFool]

Originally Posted by DevonBloke

1. Nokia 6310i - THE best handset ever!

I'll agree with that. I had one as a work phone back in the days when it was *just* a phone. You could get a week out of the battery, indestructible and it never let you down.

[DevonBloke]

Originally Posted by finbaar

Every single phone before the iPhone and the G1 was absolutely utter crap. Oh yes they were, Go and try one if you do not think so. So as the iPhone was first:

iPhone 2007
Samsung Galaxy SII - The break through phone for Android
Samsung Galaxy Note 2 - The 2011 Note created a new market segment and this one is even better,

You're missing the point. We aren't comparing yesterday with today. We're talking about the best phone available at the time.
Wasn't it one of the first phones with HSCSD? (High speed circuit switched data)
That's where the phone could pair 2 GSM channels to give a massive (NOT) 14.4 Kbps.
You had to pay per minute for each channel so about 60p per minute
This was before "always on" packet switched data (GPRS).
I remember getting mine with the same excitement as my current iPhone 5
At the time we didn't have anything better.

[the chimp]

Originally Posted by DevonBloke

You're missing the point. We aren't comparing yesterday with today. We're talking about the best phone available at the time.
Wasn't it one of the first phones with HSCSD? (High speed circuit switched data)
That's where the phone could pair 2 GSM channels to give a massive (NOT) 14.4 Kbps.
You had to pay per minute for each channel so about 60p per minute
This was before "always on" packet switched data (GPRS).
I remember getting mine with the same excitement as my current iPhone 5
At the time we didn't have anything better.

If we're talking about the best phone of the time why is the S3 not on your list, at this point in time it's the best phone there has ever been.

[the chimp]

1. Nokia N95.
2. iPhone, like it or hate it it was the game changer
3. Galaxy S3 the best phone there has been so far.

[niceguy1966]

Three ground breaking phones.

1) Ericsson T38 World: a tiny flip phone that worked in Europe and USA
2) SonyEricsson P800: Revolutionary smartphone
3) HTC Desire: Set the bar for all of today's smartphones

[kidspud]

Originally Posted by the chimp

If we're talking about the best phone of the time why is the S3 not on your list, at this point in time it's the best phone there has ever been.

I expect it is because the lists are peoples opinions, and believe it or not, not everyone agrees about the S3 (me being one of them).