Posted on 03/12/2005 1:49:59 PM PST by srm913
A word in your ear ...
The massive fledgling mobile phones of the 80s were objects of fun until recently; now they are sought-after collector's items which can fetch hundreds of pounds each. Toby Walne reports Toby Walne Saturday March 12, 2005
Guardian Yuppies are getting their revenge with the "brick" mobile phones of the 80s becoming collectable investments.
These huge fledgling mobiles may be impractical but a wave of nostalgia for those bygone days of red braces is helping values rocket.
Until recently, the earliest models were treated as useless relics, but well-preserved phones now fetch £100 or more and experts predict prices will soar much higher. Olly Tagg, 34, of Colsterworth in Lincolnshire, is an avid collector. Married to teacher Gudrun, 35, with daughters Inga, eight, and Orla, five, he runs a phone recycling company, CMR and online store Retrofone.
He explains: "A few years ago, you would be laughed at for owning an ancient mobile as it was considered nothing more than worthless junk.
"However, now that the mobile phone has become established as a key tool in our modern lives, their unique place in history is being re-assessed. Of course, the old bricks also look pretty cool."
The grand-daddy mobile is the Motorola Dynatec 8000x launched in 1983. It looked more like a doorstep than a brick and boasted a one-hour talk time, all for £1,200 new.
Among the most iconic collectable oldest mobiles is the 1987 Motorola 8500x made famous by wannabe yuppie Del Boy in the Only Fools and Horses TV comedy, and the 1980 flip-top Motorola 8800.
"An original boxed phone of the earliest models can fetch at least £300 but a battered handset should be viewed only as an object of fun - perhaps an unusual bookend," says Olly.
In the 80s, the mobile phone market was in its infancy and prices were seriously high, so few examples survive - particularly in collectable pristine condition. Their rarity has bumped up their investment value.
Well looked-after examples without a box are still sought-after and can fetch at least £100. But a damaged brick mobile might only be sold for £20 as a novelty item.
"As the rarity of these bricks increases so will their value. The market is ripe for growth because many people fondly remember the early days. I expect prices to double in the next two or three years," adds Olly.
The earliest mobile phones were analogue-based units which means they cannot accept the SIM cards used today. However, pick up a mid-90s mobile and not only could you get into the new market at a bargain price but also you will have a phone that can be used.
Perhaps the most recently manufactured collectable is the mini-mobile Motorola Startac launched in 1996, whose flip-top design created a benchmark for future models.
Other later mobile phones attract investor interest because they have a cult classic status owing to their rare periodic look. A good example of this is the somewhat naff-looking limited edition walnut effect Nokia 2110 once favoured by Jaguar-driving company directors.
Both these models were almost worthless at the turn of the millennium but have seen values pick up briskly over the past couple of years; they now fetch at least £50.
Brian Donnellan, head of design at online fashion shop Microzine, says: "The lure is partly a reaction against the mass-produced look of mobile phones today. However, providers are slowly cottoning on to this investment niche and starting to produce limited-edition alternatives that could also be worth collecting."
Mr Donnellan points to a recent white-leather coated Nokia 7200 which immediately sold out - even though customers were being charged £700 a phone.
Providers such as Virtu Mobile and Xelibri are also attempting to stake a claim in this market by selling exclusive designer handsets for as much as £14,000.
But Olivia Collings, a spokeswoman for Design Museum in south east London, points out that it takes a huge slice of luck as well as skill for investors to pick out a design classic of the future. The museum recently exhibited a 2004 model of a £700 ultra-slim Talby mobile phone produced for the Japanese market by Australian designer Mark Newson, which Ms Collings believes might be a shrewd investment.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of ageing mobile phones are little more than rubbish - but charities such as Oxfam, Guide Dogs For The Blind, Action Aid, Friends of War Memorials and Hearing Dogs For Deaf People welcome them.
The charity gets some extra income and the phone is reconditioned for users in the developing world, or recycled in an environmentally friendly way.
What they want
Collectors are looking for mobile phones in excellent condition. This is what they'll pay.
Motorola Traveller Phone
Holy Grail of mobile phones, launched in 1982/83. Strictly speaking it's not a mobile, as it required the user to carry a huge heavy suitcase battery at the same time as the phone was being used. Extremely rare and worth up to £500.
Motorola Dynatec 8000x, 8500x and 8800
Launched 1983, 1987 and 1990 respec tively. The first mobile phones were almost a foot long and weighed in pounds almost as much as they cost new. Now worth at least £100.
Ericsson GH 172
Relatively lightweight 390g model with orange buttons. Launched in 1993 as the first handset to accept modern SIM cards and now worth around £45.
The People's Phone
A Japanese pink mobile phone model CTN 7000 which came in luminous pink as well as green colours, launched in 1993 and worth £50.
The "Mars bar" Sony
The first phone to come with a sliding earpiece. The model DX100 earned its nickname from its chunky shape. Launched in 1993 and worth £90.
Motorola Startac
Design classic that set the blueprint for flip-top mobile phones of the future. Launched in 1996, now worth £60.
Nokia "banana phone" 8110 and 2110
The banana-shaped phone with folding screen-holder featured in the hit film, The Matrix. The 2110 is a bosses' favourite. Launched in 1996, it is now worth at least £50.
· Microzine, 020-7704-6667 or microzine.co.uk; Corporate Mobile Recycling (CRM), 020-7404-6440 or cmrecycling.co.uk; Retrofone, retrofone.com; Design Museum, 020-7403-6933 or designmuseum.org
How come this never happened with eight-track tapes? I'm still waiting for the market to come back and make a killing.
I have a big basket full of old cell phones, some as big and heavy as a brick.
Put 'em on ebay and leave a millionaire!
Motorola Startac
We have three of those. None of us liked them and we all got new ones and kept the Startacs in the closet.
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Motorola used to have the edge in reception untill they changed their antenna design (I believe the change started with their "V" series phones, but maybe before). Now I wouldn't give a plugged nickel for a Moto handheld.
OK I will tell my son to sell them for me. Have battery chargers, instruction books, boxes they came in, leather cases. They were horrible phones. I have Motorola Camera Phone now and it SUX.
That is the truth. My last phone was a big ole brick but it had great reception!
Mine is a V series and it just plain sux.
There's one in the junk shop across the street from Yokota Air Base Japan. I saw it in 1991.
Mobile phones go back much farther in time than cell phones.
It just means the real estate bubble hasn't burst yet....remember the comic book magnate who paid $3 mill for Bond's record home run ball...now, if it's worth $25.00...that's a lot..
Still, nothing got reception like the good old Classic (brick) or even the "bag phones" (allowed up to 3.0 watts of power). Luckily, wireless providers are building out the infrastructure more and more, so that today's puny little phones (0.2 watts for digital) can still make and receive calls.
I've heard from several people that phone stores won't activate them anymore because they don't have the new E911 service, so they're just "for looks."
I'm seriesly stuned here in hugh way. How much is an old beeber worth?
"How come this never happened with eight-track tapes? I'm still waiting for the market to come back and make a killing."
Uh, you better start getting them out. Beatles tapes sell pretty well. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=618&item=4703818387&rd=1
Or The Clash !! Wow, this one must be rare. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=618&item=4703575953&rd=1
Hmm -- who'd have thunk it -- now I need to find a market for Creedence's "Cosmos Factory" or "Procol Harum Live With the Edmonton Symphony." I didn't think they were still making 8-tracks by the time The Clash came around.
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