Mobile Phone [Nokia 1610]

Maker and role
Nokia Corporation, Manufacturer
Production date
1996
See full details

Object detail

Accession number

2021.8.1

Maker

Nokia Corporation

Production period

1990s

Description

Nokia 1610 Mobile Phone.

Part 1: Yellow and black mobile phone. On the front of the phone is a screen with "NOKIA" printed in white above. Above this is an earpiece and the power button. Below the screen is a black panel with a series of buttons, some of which read, "ABC / MENU / R / M". Below this is a small, circular button with "C" printed in black, and two buttons, each with an image of a phone. Underneath this is the keypad including the numbers 1 to 9, including the star, hash and 0 key. At the top of the phone is a black antenna. At the bottom is a port for charging. On the reverse "NOKIA" is etched at the top. Below this is a silver panel containing a white and black sticker which reads, "NOKIA / NOKIA MOBILE PHONES LTD. / Type: NHE-5NX / MADE IN KOREA / [...] / 490113/30/265964/0 / [...]". The battery can be attached to the phone here, as indicated by a arrow which has been etched into the surface.

Part 2: Black battery which can be attached to the main device. A black and white sticker reads, "NOKIA / NICKEL-MH BATTERY: / [...] /Type: BBT-S3 6.0V / [...] / SER. NO. AD38/0874 / [...] Made in China".

Brief History

Nokia launched the 1610 in 1996 as a budget digital mobile phone; this example showcases the yellow body that was an iconic Nokia colour.
1G analogue mobile phone networks were replaced by 2G digital networks from 1991, allowing a new way of communicating as users were able to send text (SMS) messages, picture and MMS (multimedia) messages, depending on their phone’s capability. As a budget phone, the 1610 did not have all these features, and the initial model didn’t have text message functionality as it wasn’t seen as an important feature for a consumer phone. This functionality was introduced in later versions.

Marks

NOKIA Printed
ABC / MENU / R / M / C / 1 / 2abc / 3def / 4ghi / 5jkl / 6mno / 7pqrs / 8tuv / 9wxyz / *+ / 0 / # Printed
NOKIA Etched
NOKIA / NOKIA MOBILE PHONES LTD. / Type: NHE-5NX / MADE IN KOREA / [...] / 490113/30/265964/0 / [...] Sticker
NOKIA / NICKEL-MH BATTERY: / [...] /Type: BBT-S3 6.0V / [...] / SER. NO. AD38/0874 / [...] Made in China Sticker

Media/Materials

Processed Material/Metal
Processed Material/Synthetic/Plastic
Organic/Vegetal/Plant Extract/Latex/Rubber
Processed Material/Paper

Other name

Cell Phone

Credit Line

Nokia Corporation. 1996. Mobile Phone [Nokia 1610], 2021.8.1. The Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT).

Related resources

https://www.motat.nz/collections-and-stories/stories/a-history-of-mobile-phones//