Nokia handsets through the ages: Bricks, bananas, and back

Launch date: 1987

In recent years, Nokia has followed the fashion of the times. Not so when it came to the Mobira Cityman 900, which was one of only a handful of mobile phones on the market. Launched in 1987 by the then Nokia-Mobira, the device was given the nickname "Gorba" as the president of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev was snapped using the device to call Russia during a press conference.

Launch date: 1994

The Nokia 2210 was far slimmer than previous thick, heavy, "brick" designs, and was the first to introduce Nokia's iconic ringtone.

Launch date: 1998

The Nokia 8100, also known fondly as the "banana phone," was a model which sported a curved shape when the slider was open. The device was also thrust into the mainstream after appearing in the film The Matrix.

Launch date: 1999

As mobile processors became more powerful and hardware slimmed down, 10 years later, the Nokia 8850 entered the mainstream which was less brick and more sleek. The alloy device featured a slider, infrared port to connect to PCs, and was able to store up to 250 contacts. SMS messages were saved on the SIM card and back then, there was little memory to spare.

Launch date: 1999

The Nokia 8210, released in the same year, is also of note. At the time the mobile handset indicated what would one day be a race for smartphone vendors -- just how thin a form factor could be produced for a modern mobile.

The mobile phone weighed only 79 grams and came with removable covers for customization.

Launch date: 2001

Albeit a strange design and one a world away from our rather uniform shapes now, the Nokia 5510 was one of the first to be equipped with Nokia's iconic, full QWERTY keyboard. In addition, the device offered 64mb storage and a monochrome display.

Launch date: 2002

The Nokia 7210, an upgrade on the Nokia 8210, was one of the first devices with a 128 x 128-pixel color screen. Weighing in at only 83 grams, the handset also included a revamped four-way scroller and curved keypad.

Launch date: 2003

The Nokia 3650/3600, albeit an odd shape, highlighted the emergence of dedicated operating systems for handsets. The phone ran on the Symbian OS and sported a 176 x 208-pixel display at 130 ppi. There was a selection of wallpapers, 4mb internal memory, WAV ringtones, and Bluetooth 1.1.

Launch date: 2003

The Nokia 3300 indicated a shift away from purely phone calls and texts. The handset was touted as a device for music lovers, as it was able to play MP3 and AAC audio and was also equipped with an FM radio. For the time, 64mb of storage space was also a tempting offering.

Launch date: 2003

The Nokia 7600 was a break away from the norm due to its teardrop design. Weighing in at 123 grams and odd to hold, Nokia experimented and was able to offer a 65,000 color screen and an inbuilt digicam.

See also: The strangest Nokia phones ever designed

Launch date: 2003

The Nokia 8910i was one of Nokia's first forays into the enterprise mobile market. Encased in titanium, unfortunately, this handset may have turned heads -- but users would often endure high-pitched squealing when accepting calls as no heat was retained. The move towards metal is something we still see today.

Launch date: 2004

The Nokia 7260 was a phone with elegant design in mind. It wasn't for everyone with the swirls and patterning, but Nokia throughout the years was associated with trying out new ideas in the mobile marketplace -- and this handset was no exception.

Launch date: 2007

The "XpressMusic" branded handset housed a loudspeaker, in-built music playback, 32mb internal storage, 64mb RAM, and a 2.2" screen. The handset also came with a 2mp camera, usable through a rather interesting hardware swivel design -- rather than today's embedded back and front-end camera systems.

Launch date: 2007

Another interesting design from the tech giant was the Nokia 7900 Prism. The handset's angles were of enough interest to consumers to prompt a further range of products designed in the same manner, and the option to change the LED-backlit keypad color was also a hit.

Launch date: 2017

The 2017 version of the Nokia 105, the successor to Microsoft's launch of the Nokia 105 classic released in 2015, is a simple, nostalgic handset. After Microsoft snapped up Nokia's handset business in 2014, the company carried on the Nokia name for a while, before changing things up with the Lumia brand.

After Microsoft snapped up the Nokia handset business and purchased rights to the Lumia name -- dropping the Nokia element altogether -- the company set out to make the handsets a new outlet in which to offer the Redmond giant's services.

However, Microsoft eventually sold off the feature phone business, the Windows Phone operating system's popularity did not go to plan, and the firm eventually said it would continue to support, rather than manufacture, these devices, and has since focused on the Surface range.

See also: Goodbye, Microsoft Lumia. Hello Surface mobile?

Launch date: 2017

The Nokia 6 was the first handset released by HMD Global after the company snagged exclusive Nokia brand rights in 2016.

In 2016, Microsoft shifted from releasing handsets based on the purchase of the Nokia handset business to support only, and a deal between Nokia and HMD later paved the way for a resurgence in Nokia handsets based on the Android operating system.

The Nokia 6, launched in 2017 in India alongside the Nokia 3 and Nokia 5, was a no-nonsense entry-level handset which ran the Android 7.1.1 Nougat operating system.

Launch date: 2017

The Nokia 3310, with the slogan "the icon is back," highlights a move back towards retro handsets and the icon the Nokia brand once was.

Complete with a simple but improved screen, a physical keypad, and the classic "Snake" game, the 2G handset has been designed for those who long for the days of simple texts and calls.

Launch date: 2018

HMD took the opportunity at this year's Mobile World Congress to launch the Nokia 1, which is a retro design suitable for the entry-level market, complete with Android Go and a price tag of only $85.

HMD has not forgotten Nokia's retro roots and the Nokia 8110 4G pays homage to a 1999 handset featured in the film The Matrix.

The banana-yellow handset has been brought up to modern standards but features the iconic slider of bygone days.

See also: Nokia 8110 Matrix phone points the way back to the future for smartphones

Launch date: 2018

HMD is not stopping at retro designs and nostalgia, however. The company used this year's Mobile World Congress to unveil the Nokia 8 Sirocco -- alongside the Nokia 7 Plus, Nokia 6 and Nokia 1 -- which is a high-end phone which has left the days of Windows Phone behind. Instead, HMD has opted for the Android operating system, which is likely to appeal to a wider audience.