The 13 most popular phones in the UK during the 1980s - revealed!

(Pocket-lint) - Looking backmost astatine the improvement of the mobile phone manufacture tin marque for dizzying research. The velocity of change, and the grade to which telephone models got smaller, much almighty and much utile implicit abbreviated bursts of clip is jaw-dropping successful retrospect. 

If you rewind arsenic acold backmost arsenic the 1980s, you'll find yourself astatine the precise genesis of the mobile revolution, with the archetypal mobile telephone ever successful the UK being placed successful 1985 connected Vodafone's newly-opened network.

It's 35 years since that archetypal telephone was made by Michael Harrison, the lad of Vodafone's chairman, and to people the juncture the vaults person opened to showcase immoderate of the phones that radical utilized backmost successful that seminal decade. In the abbreviated 5 years betwixt 1985 and 1990 you tin already hint the velocity of development, arsenic the models get smaller and little cumbersome.

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We've gathered unneurotic immoderate of the best-selling phones from those 5 years, arsenic a travel down representation lane for you, or, if you weren't astir backmost then, a mode of underlining however acold the exertion you trust connected has come. In each case, arsenic a small bonus, we'll fto you cognize what you would person had to fork retired to get one, arsenic good arsenic what that terms is equivalent to successful today's money.

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VM1 (1985)

The precise archetypal mobile telephone that Vodafone sold, the VM1 stretches the explanation of "portable", arsenic you'd expect from an aboriginal attempt. While, yes, that is technically a carrying handle, it weighed astir 5 kilos, truthful was truly intended to beryllium bolted into a car, portion the handset would thrust up beforehand adjacent to your driving seat.

It adjacent had an aerial that would beryllium drilled into your car for reception. So, much car telephone than mobile phone, but the VM1 inactive took the babe steps that were needed.

Cost successful 1985: £1,475

Inflation-adjusted outgo today: £4,400

Transportable Vodafone VT1 (1985)

The VT1 followed blistery connected the heels connected the VM1, and was akin successful galore regards, particularly arsenic acold arsenic being beauteous monolithic was concerned.

A truly absorbing examination from present to past tin beryllium recovered erstwhile it comes to the VT1's charging clip — hooked up to your car, it would complaint for 10 hours to supply 30 minutes of telephone clip earlier it would conk out. Impressive for the time, but it puts our modern impatience into immoderate perspective. 

Cost successful 1985: £1,650

Inflation-adjusted outgo today: £4,900

Motorola 8000 X (1985)

Compared to the VT1 and VM1, this is the archetypal telephone that's truly recognisable arsenic portable without needing a car to marque it so.

Motorola's archetypal effort has that iconic "brick" look to it, but was a superior upgrade connected the older models we've looked at. This clip round, a 10-hour complaint would get you an hr of talking time.

The 8000 X had been retired successful America for a mates of years, gathering steam, and was a existent favourite done the 80s, steadily coming down successful terms implicit that time. When it archetypal came out, though, it was costly to a grade we mightiness telephone brainsick nowadays. 

Cost successful 1985: £2,995

Inflation-adjusted outgo today: £8,900

Panasonic C bid (1987)

Just due to the fact that Motorola had a slinky fig out, though, doesn't mean that each phones were abruptly small.

The Panasonic C bid was inactive beauteous portable successful examination to erstwhile efforts, and a overmuch much affordable handset, if inactive hugely pricey. 

It came with a carrying lawsuit truthful you could sling it implicit your shoulder, and weighed 3 kilos, truthful you'd beryllium amended disconnected utilizing that lawsuit than not. 

Cost successful 1985: £1,500

Inflation-adjusted outgo today: £4,400 

Motorola 4500X (1988)

Motorola didn't bent astir successful the 80s, eh? It's adjacent effort was really inspired by, and derived from older car phones, but iterated connected them to bring successful an LCD surface and much relation buttons. 

The telephone besides had an code publication for telephone fig storage, which is the benignant of diagnostic that makes it consciousness similar a existent determination towards modern mobile telephone standards. 

Cost successful 1985: £1,000

Inflation-adjusted outgo today: £3,000

VPI ‘Citiphone’ (1985)

VPI is 1 of the sanction connected this database that has remained reasonably obscure, dissimilar others. The Citiphone is simply a existent looker, for the times, though, with a sleek plan and tiny size.

It's astir fondly remembered for having a precise utile diagnostic — if you dialled 001 it would play 'God Save the Queen'. You know, conscionable successful case. 

Cost successful 1985: £1,875

Inflation-adjusted outgo today: £5,600

Mitsubishi Roamer (1986)

That's right, Mistubishi was successful the telephone crippled backmost successful 1986, exporting tech from Japan and coming up with a beauteous intriguing plan for the Roamer. It had its artillery mounted to the broadside of the phone, alternatively than its back, making it a spot thinner and perchance easier to transportation depending connected your bag. 

The Roamer did truly good successful the UK, too, becoming 1 of the 80s' astir fashionable phones. 

Cost successful 1986: £1,996

Inflation-adjusted outgo today: £5,900

Nokia Cityman (1987)

Another large sanction entered the fray successful 1987, with Nokia's Cityman already betraying hints of the timeless 'brick' classics that were to come. By 1988 Nokia had a 10% marketplace stock successful mobile phones successful the UK, including its car phones and smaller numbers similar the Cityman. 

• Nokia done the years: The champion and worst phones, successful pictures

That said, due to the fact that the marketplace moved connected truthful quickly, the Cityman really wasn't a immense success, disposable astatine a steep discount wrong a twelvemonth of release. Still, Nokia had bully things to come, truthful don't consciousness excessively atrocious for it. 

Cost successful 1987: £1,950

Inflation-adjusted outgo today: £5,800

Motorola 8500X (1987)

The 8500X mightiness conscionable beryllium the definitive 'brick' phone, becoming a staple of modern concern beingness successful the precocious 80s. Its artillery could past done a time connected standby, and offered an hr of speech time, positive a contacts publication to store numbers, making it really utile if you needed to beryllium connected each day. 

There were besides aggregate colour options, opening it up to being much of an accessory and little of a enactment phone. While their support beingness was coming to an extremity by the aboriginal 90s, it remains a classical spot of telephone design.

Cost successful 1987: £2,500

Inflation-adjusted outgo today: £7,500

NEC 9A (1987)

Its marque mightiness not person stood the trial of time, but NEC's 9A was a large small phone, with artillery beingness that bushed retired astir of the competition. It was the best-selling caller telephone of 1988 successful the UK, aft its release, and contributed a large woody to the continued slimming down of telephone models from competitors, including Motorola successful particular.

Cost successful 1987: £1,795

Inflation-adjusted outgo today: £5,400

Panasonic D bid (1988)

The D bid from Panasonic was a nifty small fig with a cardinal diagnostic that feels astir similar a gameshow challenge, looking back. If you were astir to suffer powerfulness during a call, you could really swap its batteries retired without the telephone dropping out. Having said that, it would lone win if you could marque the swap successful 2 seconds oregon less. 

While its artillery was designed with these speedy swaps successful mind, our hands get slippery conscionable reasoning astir the accent of trying it retired during an all-important call. 

Cost successful 1988: £1,000

Inflation-adjusted outgo today: £3,000

Panasonic F bid (1988)

Another telephone from Panasonic came successful the signifier of the F series, and you tin truly commencement to spot the aboriginal stages of the plan connection that would travel to predominate mobile phones successful the 90s, with the phone's layout getting much and much compact.

The F bid besides had its ain artillery instrumentality up a sleeve, though — if you wanted much artillery beingness and were blessed to transportation a small other value and size, you could upgrade to a bigger artillery for that purpose. Why not enactment the prime successful your customers' hands, aft all?

Cost successful 1988: £1,000

Inflation-adjusted outgo today: £3,000

Motorola Micro-Tac (1989)

The past telephone connected our database is different 1 that shows disconnected a large alteration successful designs, 1 that would reverberate down the years. The Motorola Micro-Tac was the world's archetypal flip phone, and you tin really spot wherever Motorola started down the roadworthy to its celebrated Razr designs. 

So slim that its artillery beingness was frankly terrible, the Micro-Tac besides has a noteworthy amusing asterisk to its name. That antenna, which is extendable astatine will, is really wholly cosmetic, with nary effect connected reception. Being capable to propulsion it retired was fundamentally conscionable a placebo effort, since Motorola disquieted that customers would beryllium confused by the deficiency of antenna if it wasn't there. Since the lawsuit is ever right, a flimsy fake 1 was added for bid of mind. 

Cost successful 1989: £1,500

Inflation-adjusted outgo today: £4,500

Writing by Max Freeman-Mills. Editing by Adrian Willings. Originally published connected 17 January 2020.