Before there was the iPhone, Samsung Galaxy or Google Pixel there was Nokia. And BlackBerry — but that's a different story. When it comes to the pre-smartphone age, Finnish company Nokia ruled the roost thanks to stone cold classics like the 3210 and 1100 — the latter being recognised as one of the best selling phones of all time.
If you're ready to slip on the rose tinted glasses and get behind the wheel of your DeLorean then mark January 15, 2025 in your calendar. That's when the Nokia Design Archive will launch online as basically an online portal to the phones of yesteryear. Alongside a catalog of Nokia's greatest hits there'll also be "never-before-seen material" and "unseen prototypes".
Our sister site Wallpaper* got an early peek at what's in store courtesy of the Aalto University in Helsinki, which is curating the selection. Around two decades of the Nokia's history will be documented in the archive, including sketches, concepts and marketing material surrounding the most famous handsets.
Aalto University whittled down a repository of over 20,000 files (960GB of data) to get to the 700 that will be featured in the online museum.
Aalto University whittled down a repository of over 20,000 files (960GB of data) to get to the 700 that will be featured in the online museum.
The university has worked with Microsoft Mobile which acquired Nokia in 2014 (Windows Phone on Lumia, anyone?) before passing it on to HMD, which will lose the license to produce Nokia phones next year.
This online archive will surely be a big hit with phone fans (also, check out the Mobile Phone Museum if you haven't yet) but while you can still buy remastered versions of classic Nokia phones, we wouldn't recommend it.
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