The year was 2005, and the Apple iPhone was two years away, but this year’s best phones don’t even come close to resembling what Steve Jobs had prepared for everyone. Those times were extremely rich in innovations, crazy shapes, and unique engineering solutions. Devices either became legends or crashed into oblivion, although there were some that undeservedly received too little attention.
In this part of «The Best Phones for Apple iPhone», we’ll tell you about the most successful camera phone of all time, unique communicators with strange designs, popular folk music models, the beginning of the decline of a large German corporation, and the world’s first mass-market phone with a video card from Nvidia.
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This strange beauty is considered to be the main competitor of the Nokia N90, and in some aspects Philips 968 is superior to the Finnish flagship. Just like the aforementioned N90, this transforming frog has a side camera and allows you to rotate the screen as if you were holding a classic video camera.
The 1.3-megapixel module didn’t look like anything amazing in 2005, but thanks to good optics and an LED flash, the photos and videos taken with the Philips 968 turned out quite well.
No less important is the large screen with a resolution of 240×320. At the time, this standard was not widespread and was just beginning to appear in top-of-the-line push-button models. In addition to the luxurious TFT matrix, it also had a touch panel. The Philips 968 can recognize handwriting input, allows you to draw pictures and edit photos with a stylus.
The Philips 968 runs a Linux-based operating system (which has not been properly developed), has 40 MB of internal memory + SD slot, and is equipped with a large 1450 mAh battery. Despite its strengths, this model did not become a hit because of its high cost and imperfect software, or rather the lack of third-party programs.
In 2005, Gigabyte was just starting to make its first steps in the world of mobile phones. One of the first really bright and successful models was the Gigabyte GSmart i, which combined a smartphone and a TV in a small case.
At the time, a compact Windows Mobile smartphone with a powerful 416 MHz processor, 2.8-inch screen, 64 MB RAM, 64 MB ROM + mini SD, a great 2 MP camera with flash, and a full set of communications could not help but attract attention. It would have been a hit among young people if not for the high price.
Gigabyte GSmart has Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, FM radio, mini USB and TV receiver. In the era of slow Internet, portable television was in great demand, so receivers were often installed in top models with large (by 2005 standards) screens.
Unlike bulky pocket computers, the Gigabyte GSmart was closer to the average consumer, as it was a full-fledged communicator with a miniature size and a convenient navigation key. In the right hands, this smartphone became a full-fledged combine for watching movies, surfing the Internet, watching TV, playing games, or working with documents.
The only obstacle to success was the high price of the device at the beginning of sales. Due to the generous equipment and the desire to provide everything at once, the ability to compete with more affordable smartphones from other manufacturers suffered. A few months later, an updated version of the Gigabyte GSmart i 128 was released with twice the amount of internal memory, which extended the device’s life cycle in the face of strong competition.
Another Windows smartphone for those who are tired of carrying a PDA and a phone in different pockets. With the advent of such models as the Eten M600, classic pocket computers (without a GSM module) were beginning to deservedly die out.
The Eten M600 has a Samsung 2440 400 MHz processor, a good memory subsystem, and compatibility with SD/SDIO memory cards. The screen is resistive, 2.8 inches diagonal, and recognizes handwriting input, but the 240×320 resolution on such a large display no longer looks like something amazing. Very soon, manufacturers (not all of them) will realize this and put 640×480 matrices in such smartphones.
The Eten M600 has the usual set of standard features inherent in flagship models: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Pocket Office, HTML browser and support for almost all multimedia formats. The year 2005 can be considered a golden period for Windows Mobile devices, and Eten M600 is a typical, average, exemplary representative of those times. It is not surprising that this model was in demand among enthusiasts and wealthy technology enthusiasts, although it never reached the level of sales of Symbian push-button smartphones.
The Korean company took an active part in the race for memory capacity by releasing its flagship smartphone Samsung i300 with a built-in 3 GB hard drive. Like the Nokia N91, this model was positioned as an image phone for music lovers with an emphasis on business opportunities.
The i300 was running on Microsoft Windows Mobile 2003 SE Smartphone, although users were promised version 5.0 at release. The interface is designed to work without a touch screen, and the wheel button is used for navigation. An Intel XScale 416 MHz processor and 64 MB of RAM are responsible for the smoothness of the interface and performance in programs.
The built-in 1.3 MP camera does not have autofocus, but is equipped with a flash. Wireless interfaces include an infrared port and Bluetooth, but Wi-Fi and FM radio were spared. The camera and interfaces are the main disadvantages compared to the Nokia N91.
The Samsung i300 was a real compromise, but it also had serious advantages over the N91. First of all, it had two batteries in the package (one of them is 1700 mAh), which was important for the hard disk. With a large battery, the difference in autonomy between competitors was twofold.
Another surprise was the micro SD card slot, in case the 3 GB disk is not enough. This connector turned out to be very useful for those who managed to break a miniature HDD after 2-3 years of use. The technology of hard disks was imperfect, so they often failed.
In this case, the Samsung i300 remained relevant if you installed a 2-4 GB memory card, and the Nokia N91 almost completely turned into a regular phone for calls and basic functions. Subsequently, the i300 received two more updates (i300x, i310), and after 2006, no one else undertook such experiments with HDDs in smartphones.
Despite the obvious advantages of smartphones over conventional phones, simplicity and convenience remained much more important parameters, and in all price categories. The market needed simple but functional phones, and Samsung already knew what to do.
The legendary Samsung D500 was replaced by the updated Samsung D600, which incorporated all the best of its predecessor and was devoid of its main disadvantages.
The premium slider Samsung D600 received a luxurious 2-inch QVGA, 2 MP camera with flash, high-quality stereo sound, 72 MB of internal memory, micro SD card slot, Bluetooth 1.2, but no radio or IrDA.
The main feature of the Samsung D600 was the video output – the phone displayed images on TVs, monitors, and projectors, allowing you to watch videos or documents on a large screen. This made the model desirable in the business segment and beyond.
Samsung D600 managed to repeat the success of its incredibly successful predecessor – the phone sold well. The company went the right way, «cutting out» the main disadvantages of the D500 and leaving a compact, neat, nice design.
Probably, Samsung D600 is the most concise and understandable Korean flagship of 2005. At that time, working with a smartphone gave serious advantages only if you had serious knowledge and the necessary software (which did not always have good compatibility), so classic phones were in no hurry to leave the premium segment — Samsung D600 is a clear confirmation of this.
This monoblock hasn’t received any major improvements over the D500, it’s literally a simplified version of it in a classic form factor. And the transformation of the slider into a monoblock was perhaps the most successful decision of the company. Samsung X700 positioned itself as a business device, and as a result, it became a favorite of wealthy young people and music lovers.
The Samsung X700 was based on the already mentioned Samsung D500 because both models have almost everything the same: two speakers, a 1.3 MP camera, a 2-inch screen with a resolution of 176×220 pixels, and almost identical software, although the monoblock has faster operation in 2G networks.
The more affordable Samsung X700 was deprived of LED flash and infrared connector, but got a much-desired micro SD slot. Stereo speakers, a good MP3/MP4 player, large memory cards, wireless headphones and a built-in FM radio made the X700 an ideal music phone.
The new Samsung X700 differed from the music hit Motorola E398 by having a better camera, more internal memory, and more stable software. Equally important was the support for high-speed EDGE Internet. At that time, many Nokia models lacked this great option, and 3G coverage was not everywhere.
With such a good balance of features and price, the Samsung X700 was doomed to success. This model made a huge contribution to the company’s development, although it never received a worthy sequel. After 2-3 years, such phones as J210, E200 appeared, but they looked outdated at the time of release, and it would seem that the successor X820 belonged to a completely different class.
In 2006, the Korean giant focused all its efforts on sliders, clamshells, and smartphones, completely ignoring classic monoblocks like the Samsung X700, so this model remained the only good choice for a long time for little money. It was the phone that almost ruined the sales of Nokia 6230i, Sony Ericsson K700 (even slightly affected the K750), Siemens S75, Motorola E398, and other competitors.
The fashion for flip phones was only growing, and each manufacturer was bringing more and more models in this form factor to the market. It was not easy to stand out in such conditions, but Samsung E760 managed to be remembered as a truly unique, amazing device.
It was one of the first in the world to have an OLED screen and accelerometer. The external round screen displays 65 thousand colors, has a resolution of 96×96 pixels and is made using OLED technology, which saved battery power when displaying a screen saver or notifications.
But it was not just the screen that surprised us. With the accelerometer, Samsung E760 provided a unique experience of interacting with the phone for the first time. Back in 2005, switching music tracks with gestures was atypical, as was using the accelerometer in games.
The rest of the hardware was roughly the same as the Samsung D500, including a considerable amount of built-in memory of 92 MB (without memory cards), a 1.9-inch 176×220 pixel screen, a 1.3 MP camera (without flash), Bluetooth, and MP3 support. The only thing to complain about was the mediocre support for Java games, which was a common problem with almost all Samsungs of the time.
With the Samsung E760, it was surprisingly easy to surprise friends who already owned the best Nokia smartphones, even though the device’s functionality was far from flagship. Thanks to its image status, beautiful appearance, and unique features, it gained well-deserved popularity and gigantic sales.
The most functional smartphone of 2005 from Samsung is rightly considered to be the Samsung i750. Despite some serious compromises, this particular model had everything imaginable at the time.
Inside, there is an Intel XScale PXA270 416 MHz processor and 79 MB of internal memory with the ability to expand with micro SD cards. The camera was one of the best on the market, with a 2 MP sensor, autofocus, and flash, and the two speakers were the most impressive feature of many models.
The device runs on Microsoft Windows Mobile 2003 SE PocketPC, which opens up a lot of scope for technically advanced users. Since the 2.6-inch screen is touch-sensitive, you can work with programs for both Pocket PC and Smartphone versions of this operating system. This includes programs from Samsung i300, Qtek 8300 and most touchscreen PDAs with PocketPC.
The set of communications is as generous as possible: Wi-Fi 802.11b module, Bluetooth of the latest version 2.0, infrared port and TV output. Only the FM radio and 3G module were missing to complete the package.
The large size, high cost, and poor battery life prevented successful sales of this giant. Despite the mediocre popularity, Samsung i750 became the face of the company, the embodiment of technological progress because a year ago, the Korean manufacturer could not offer anything like it, and in 2005 it fought for the buyer in the premium segment.
19 years ago, compact dimensions were valued as much as performance. It was the miniature models (SE K750) that were in the greatest demand among a wide audience, so it’s no surprise that Samsung P300 received a lot of media attention and successful sales.
It was one of the most compact and slim phones of the time. In 2004, everyone was surprised by the 14 mm thickness (when folded) of the Motorola RAZR V3, and at the end of 2005, the Korean giant released a credit card phone with a thickness of 8.9 mm. The dimensions of the Samsung P300 are also impressive: 86×54 mm.
Despite this, the phone has good characteristics: 1.8-inch screen with 157 PPI and 256 thousand colors, 80 MB of internal memory, 1.3 MP camera with flash, Bluetooth 1.2, HTML browser, Email client, Java MIDP 2.0 and 800 mAh battery (a large battery for its size). This baby was popular with wealthy fashion lovers and was later continued in the form of the P310.
The German company was going through hard times, but it wasn’t going to give up so quickly, releasing sequels to popular models. The Siemens S75 became a real treasure for the brand’s fans after the not-so-successful S65, as it received much more stable software.
Siemens S75 supports MP3/MP4 right out of the box, has a good 1.3 MP camera with flash, 20 MB of internal memory and a 128 MB RS-MMC card included. The maximum supported card capacity is 1 GB.
The screen, although it had a resolution of 132×176 pixels, received a high-quality TFT matrix with support for 256 thousand colors. In 2005, many manufacturers began to abandon the infrared port, but not Siemens. This interface opened up unlimited possibilities for data exchange between models of any year of manufacture.
The Siemens S75 differed from other manufacturers’ phones by having the most open file system, as the functional file manager could open various formats and transfer pre-installed Java games. Interestingly, no phone or smartphone (of any other manufacturer) at the time could pack an installed Java program for transfer to another device.
The Siemens S75 was the last successful high-end phone from this company. It absorbed all the best from its predecessors and finally got a convenient navigation key instead of a joystick that often broke. Pleasant design, improved firmware and generous functionality gave the Siemens S75 a chance to live, and it did not lose it.
The model sold well, although it was not as popular as Samsung X700, Sony Ericsson K700, Nokia 3230, Nokia 6230i. It would seem that a sequel to this phone was just around the corner, but it didn’t happen. Only a year would pass and fans would be crying, because at the end of 2006, BenQ completely stopped production of the once legendary Siemens brand.
To be bought out, to release a few models and to close down production is the sad fate of the German manufacturer. We’ll talk more about the collapse of BenQ-Siemens in the next part about phones of 2006.
One of the best and most underrated smartphones of 2005 deserves much more attention than can be given in a few paragraphs. The Siemens SXG75 was the peak of the company’s development, a true flagship, a benchmark of German technology that was late and released at the wrong time. It is possible that the Siemens SXG75 could have been continued, but the company decided to close the mobile division.
This model incorporated almost everything you could want from a smartphone of the time: 128 MB of ROM + RS-MMC cards, a large 2.2-inch QVGA screen with a top-of-the-line TFT matrix, a 2 MP camera, 3G networking, a front-facing camera for video calls, Bluetooth, IrDA, FM radio with RDS, and a full-fledged GPS receiver.
The Siemens SXG75 operating system is based on Linux and was still quite empty in terms of available programs at the time. The device’s potential remained undiscovered, although it had many chances. With such an incredible set of features, it could have become a serious challenge to the Nokia N-Series flagships.
It was one of the first phones that could replace a GPS navigator (which at the time cost as much as a full-fledged smartphone). The form factor also played a significant role. Classic smartphones with a numeric keypad and no touchscreen were in much greater demand due to their lower entry threshold and ease of use.
The Siemens SXG75 fit all these parameters and had almost no direct hardware nuances. Crude software, lack of proper support from the manufacturer, and eventual liquidation of the Siemens mobile division – all this was a sad end to an era.
The once mighty tech mastodon failed in the mobile phone market. We are witnessing a similar situation in 2024, although the reasons for the collapse of large companies are completely different. Undoubtedly, the SXG75 was the most technologically advanced nail in the coffin of Siemens.
Not the most powerful, but the best phone of 2005 and simply the best push-button phone in the history of mankind. Without exaggeration, nostalgia and unnecessary pathos, it is the Sony Ericsson K750 that deserves this title.
The world of mobile technology has changed forever with the release of this model because Sony Ericsson K750 showed people high-quality, truly high-quality mobile photos for the first time. The luxurious 2 MP camera with autofocus and flash made the phone so popular that it did not leave the assembly line for several years after its release.
If you compare the photo quality of an Apple iPhone (2007 or 3G 2008) and a Sony Ericsson K750, the first Apple phone models don’t stand a chance. In addition, the K750 takes photos as well as many modern smartphones from purebred Chinese brands, and this is no exaggeration. In good light, the pictures are clear and beautiful, even by today’s standards, and the colors are realistic (the curved algorithms of Android cameras say hello).
In addition to an unrivaled camera, the K750 stood out as the best software among all competitors. Platform Sony Ericsson A100 literally replaced the full-fledged Windows Mobile, Symbian, Blackberry OS, and Palm OS operating systems and left no chance for the primitive Nokia Series 40.
The Sony Ericsson K750 can switch between running programs, has a built-in photo editor, video editor, melody composer, fast browser, and the best Java machine on the market with unattainable performance (although after the Mophun it was still garbage). Games and programs from other manufacturers did not run as smoothly and quickly as Swedish-Japanese phones.
This model had almost no drawbacks because it could do literally everything: Bluetooth with the largest number of supported profiles, an infrared port, an MP3/MP4 player, work with large memory cards, a high-quality (albeit small) screen, FM radio, a good level of autonomy, and stable software.
The phone was so successful that it went through many reincarnations and musical versions. Its functionality was fully adopted by the D750 (carrier version), W800, W700 models, and later another Walkman W810 appeared on the basis of the K750. Even later, updated models K550 and W810 were released with identical screens and camera modules, but a faster 220 MHz processor.
The Sony Ericsson K750 honorably led the company to the peak of glory — the stock rose, worthy successors appeared (K790) and everything was going great. It was the golden age of mobile phones that kept people connected and not on the needle of social media, but two years later, the Apple iPhone came out and changed the world forever.
Although the K750 is considered to be the company’s most successful phone, the title of the true flagship of 2005 belongs to the Sony Ericsson W900. This mastodon appeared a few months later, so it received serious technological improvements.
In fact, the S700 is considered to be the predecessor of the Sony Ericsson W900. The unique form factor of the rotary phone was peculiar only to Swedish-Japanese phones because the manufacturer stubbornly ignored sliders. The dimensions of the W900 were impressive: 109×49×24 mm when folded, and when opened, it was a real giant.
Compensation for these dimensions was a 2.2-inch screen with a resolution of 240×320 pixels (182 PPI). The Sony Ericsson W900 was the world’s first phone with almost 0.5 GB of internal memory. While naïve Samsung and Nokia were shoving hard drives into their phones, Sony Ericsson took the right path and made no mistake in developing FLASH drives.
It soon became clear that HDDs had no place in such small devices, so the Sony Ericsson W900 with support for memory cards up to 4 GB looked like an absolute winner against the Nokia N91 with unbearably poor battery life and the Samsung i300 with imperfect software and a relatively weak camera.
The Sony Ericsson W900 took the best photos on the market. The model received the same high-quality module as in the K750, but with additional advantages. Of course, the autofocus, and LED flash were still there, but thanks to a faster processor, the phone shot video in 320p resolution, not 144p.
It was also the world’s first mass-market phone with a graphics accelerator Nvidia GoForce 4800. The Sony Ericsson W900 was lightning fast compared to the primitive smartphones of the time. It brought the best solutions from Nokia, Samsung, and Motorola combined to their knees. This is the case when the phone was as good as the top smartphones.
Thanks to the SE A100 platform, the functionality of an ordinary (in fact, top-of-the-line) Java phone was approaching flagship smartphones, and with a graphics accelerator and fast processor, everything not only worked, but «flew». The Walkman player had no equal until the advent of the Nokia X-Press Music series and Samsung M-series music solutions, and beautiful interface animations (using Flash SWF) were 2–3 years ahead of the competition.
The Sony Ericsson W900 did not become as popular as the K750 only because of its incredibly high price, but functionally it can be considered the best phone of the end of 2005, which will long mock the vain attempts of competitors to match it. Thanks to its large memory capacity, excellent music capabilities, and A100 platform, it remained relevant until the massive dominance of touchscreen smartphones based on iOS, Web OS, and Android.
In parallel with the W900, the company released a smartphone for business people who are heavily dependent on highly specialized software and need the Symbian UIQ operating system with all its advantages and disadvantages. In fact, the Sony Ericsson P990 had serious compromises, which we will discuss, but its functionality is worthy of attention.
The parameters are top-notch for its time: 64 MB of RAM, 128 MB of ROM + Memory Stick up to 4 GB, 32-bit Philips Nexperia PNX4008 208 MHz processor, Wi-Fi 801.11b, Bluetooth 2.0 A2PD, FM radio, IrDA, USB 2.0, a top-of-the-line 2 MP camera with flash and autofocus, a front-facing VGA camera for calls and work in 3G networks.
The smartphone has a 2.7-inch QVGA touchscreen and a completely new design, which has never been used in the legendary P series. From now on, the QWERTY keyboard unit is located on the main part of the body, and the number pad with the navigation key covers it. The screen ratio has also changed, but the main thing is that the operating system has changed.
It was version 9.1 that began to bury the mighty Symbian, as users lost the gigantic library of software for earlier versions. Hundreds, thousands of programs and games no longer worked on the new operating system, which was an incredible disappointment for the owners of the brand new Sony Ericsson P990.
The software held back the incredible capabilities of this smartphone. Some people believe that the P990 with Symbian UIQ 9.1 was the beginning of the end of the P series and the entire UIQ platform, while others believe that it was the most successful device in its class. In any case, it caused quite a stir and was the most desired smartphone from the Swedish-Japanese manufacturer in 2005.
After the Qtek 9000, even the best Nokia Series 80 communicators began to look like children’s toys, at least that’s what Windows Mobile fans who hated Symbian thought. In fact, this model was a compromise and was a good solution, but not for everyone.
The Qtek 9000 has the best VGA 640×480 pixel screen on the market with a 3.6 inch (40 centimeter square) diagonal. In 2005, 222 PPI for this display size was unattainable. Thanks to the clamshell form factor, in addition to the large screen, we managed to accommodate a full QWERTY keyboard.
After classic QWERTY phones, the buttons there were really huge. The Qtek 9000 was one of the first to blur the line between a netbook and a smartphone, except for the Nokia Communicator series. The ergonomics are top-notch — it’s immediately obvious that the engineers have thought through all possible use cases. The screen can be rotated to turn the device into a classic pocket computer with a touchscreen display, or open it as a mini laptop.
In addition, the device had something to surprise: the most powerful Intel XScale 520 MHz processor on the market and the latest Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 PocketPC operating system. This phone (if you can call it that) was one of the first to receive the latest version of Windows Mobile 5.0.
Unlike Symbian, the Windows Mobile update did not break software compatibility, so the owner of the Qtek 9000 immediately had a huge number of programs from the 2003 version right at release. With such a fast processor, Wi-Fi module, and HTML browser, surfing the Internet or using an email client was a pleasure, as was typing text messages.
In addition, the Qtek 9000 works on 3G networks and has a front-facing camera for video calls, but the main 1.3 MP module did not surprise with photo quality, taking pictures like a solid mid-range phone. There were no serious problems with autonomy because the manufacturer supplied a giant 1620 mAh battery, which was enough for a full working day.
Out of the box, this computer-phone offered the owner a full-fledged Pocket Office package (not only viewing, but also editing/creating documents) and supported a large library of third-party programs. Given the VGA screen, SD card support, and powerful hardware, the Qtek 9000 turned into a multimedia combine.
Watching 0.5 GB movies on a 3.6-inch screen was a real joy. Not every device could run high-quality video, but with an open operating system and tricky third-party players, nothing was impossible.
In 2005, only a select few could afford to buy a Qtek 9000. It was a super-flagship for not just the rich, but the rich and smart, technically advanced people who needed to fit a phone, camera, and laptop into a jacket pocket at any cost.
This smartphone gave away the status of the owner, making it clear that you were a top manager of a large company, a successful and wealthy System Architect-level programmer, or a director of an international bank.
Is it nostalgia or just enjoying the article? We suggest you read the previous parts:
The world of mobile technology before the Apple iPhone: the best phones of 2000-2001
The world of mobile technology before the Apple iPhone: the best phones of 2002-2003
The world of mobile technology before the Apple iPhone: the best phones of 2004
The world of mobile technology before the Apple iPhone: the best phones of 2005 (Part 1)