As the age of mobile phone technology has progressed so much during the last decade of my life, both in terms of popularity and design, I can't help but reminisce how they are physically operated in terms of form factor. Does everyone remember the 'brick'? That's where it all started.My first phone was the candy bar which came in the form of a Nokia 3210 which was given to me as a gift back in 2000 or 2001 when I had just started college straight out of school. I've asked numerous colleagues at Telecom 3 asking all their form preferences...which leans more towards the slider.
From then till today, we see many many forms of mobile phones.Candy bar: The evolution of the 'brick'. The most sturdy and simplistic design of them all which gives you all information on screen and all keys ready with no obstructions.
Flip: We've all seen 'The Matrix' haven't we? This had to be the craziest trend setter I had seen during my school days...heck, I even went into the shops to buy a custom case for my 3310 to emulate this. Operates by pressing a button to release the protected case to allow access to the keypad and reciever. Very stylish however, you can clip the flipped part of the case off a desk like I managed to do.
Slide/Swivel: Yet another design orientated form factor of mobile phones. Similar to the way Candy bars look, except they generally come with a bigger screen. By sliding/swivelling another half of the phone, reveals the keypad, phones are generally more compact. Only bad side is that some models slide/swivel form are not so secure and can pop loose which can be prone to damage if you're not careful.
So what's your favourite form? Style over substance?
Original article at our blog at Telecom 3
