More accessory than phone, the Xelibri 6 was shaped like a powder compact and targeted at fashion-forward buyers. It had a mirror, a circular display, and a T9 keypad that made texting clumsy. This wasn’t a phone built for productivity—it was made to be noticed. The design turned heads, though it wasn’t practical in any day-to-day sense. A bold swing that didn’t quite land.
2. Samsung Serene (2005)
Built in collaboration with Bang & Olufsen, the Serene was luxury minimalism. It opened like a makeup compact and placed the screen on the bottom half, keypad on top. A motorized hinge completed the odd layout. It wasn’t made for texting or camera use—it was built for calls and elegance. It felt like a design concept made real, and for a niche audience, that was enough.
3. Haier P7 (2004)
The Haier P7 looked like something meant to control a robot, not take calls. Its joystick-based navigation and futuristic silver body gave it a gadget-like feel. Designed more like a tech toy than a daily device, it had minimal functionality but managed to grab attention with its unusual style. It had a camera and a small display, though both were modest by 2004 standards. This phone felt like a bold attempt to be different, which didn’t quite translate into long-term success.
4. Toshiba G450 (2008)
The G450 looked more like a USB stick or a tiny MP3 player than a phone. It had three round buttons for a keypad, music player, and navigation. Calling or texting was a nightmare, but it could double as a 3G modem. People bought it just to get internet access on their laptops. Functionality was sacrificed for its quirky design, which was either charming or frustrating, depending on how you looked at it.
5. Nokia N93 (2006)
The N93 was part camcorder, part phone. Its twisting body allowed users to flip and rotate the screen like a mini handheld camera. It had Carl Zeiss optics, a decent zoom, and video capabilities that were better than most phones at the time. It appealed to mobile photography fans, though the large body wasn’t ideal for everyday use. Still, it showed Nokia’s willingness to blend form with purpose.
6. Nokia 7600 (2003)
This phone looked like it was designed in an art class. Shaped like a teardrop or a leaf, it had buttons placed along the sides of the screen. That made texting awkward unless you were used to it. Still, it had 3G, which was rare at the time. While it didn’t stick around long, it definitely left an impression thanks to its shape and quirky layout.
7. Nokia 5510 (2001)
A blend of phone and MP3 player, the 5510 was bulky and had a QWERTY keyboard split in half on either side of the screen. It could store and play music, which was new at the time. Its shape made it tough to use one-handed, but it appealed to a niche crowd of music-loving texters. It was one of those phones you either loved or couldn’t figure out.
8. Motorola Aura (2008)
Motorola went all in on luxury with the Aura. It had a circular display, a precision-engineered swivel mechanism, and a body made with premium materials. The screen was small but insanely sharp for the time. It wasn’t about performance; it was about turning heads. The phone came with a hefty price tag, making it more of a fashion piece than a practical device.
9. Motorola MPx (2004)
The MPx was a strange hybrid. It opened both vertically and horizontally like a book, and had a QWERTY keyboard tucked inside. It ran Windows Mobile and was marketed as a business phone. The dual-hinge made it chunky, and the interface was clunky, but it pushed boundaries in terms of what a phone could do. Unfortunately, the MPx was also buggy and never reached wide popularity.
10. NEC N-01A (2008)
The MPx was a strange hybrid. It opened both vertically and horizontally like a book, and had a QWERTY keyboard tucked inside. It ran Windows Mobile and was marketed as a business phone. The dual-hinge made it chunky, and the interface was clunky, but it pushed boundaries in terms of what a phone could do. Unfortunately, it was also buggy and never reached wide popularity.
11. Samsung Galaxy Beam (2012)
Samsung took a shot at blending entertainment and communication with the Galaxy Beam. It came with a built-in projector, which allowed users to beam videos or presentations onto walls. While the projection quality wasn’t impressive, it was novel enough to catch eyes. The phone itself wasn’t too bulky, which made the addition of a projector all the more surprising. It found a niche audience but never took off in the mainstream market.
12. Siemens SX 45 (2001)
The SX 45 looked like someone had stuck a phone onto a PDA. It ran on Windows CE and had a stylus, touchscreen, and even a CF card slot. It was bulky and awkward to hold during calls, but it was also one of the earliest devices to try merging a handheld computer with a phone. Ahead of its time in ambition, it was behind in usability.
13. Huawei Mate XT (2025)
The Mate XT from Huawei imagines a future where your phone turns into a tablet. Unlike earlier foldables with hinges, this concept hints at a flexible glass design that is rolled instead of being folded. The focus is on creating a single continuous screen, not just splitting it into two. While its commercial release is still uncertain, it reflects the direction some brands are still willing to explore to move beyond the traditional slab design.
All images: eBaum's World
