Mobile Industry Awards | Shortlisted: Best Phone

Shortlisted: Best Phone

Nokia N95 8GB

The Nokia N95 8GB came very close to the iPhone in this category, with the industry survey placing the N95 at number one in terms of features, capabilities, and breadth of appeal. The launch of the device was much anticipated and it was snapped up in huge volumes.

‘It has sold extremely well and over a long period,’ said one judge. A fellow judge added: ‘It hasn’t had the returns of the original.’

Dubbed the ‘Swiss Army Knife phone’, the operators said it was a surprise that the handset had such a long stay at the top-end of the market.

Nokia was credited by retailers for acting like a leader and combining features like GPS, Wi-Fi connectivity, a five-megapixel camera and 8GB of memory on one device.

Nokia 6300

The Nokia 6300 has been another big hit from Nokia. It’s praised as a business and consumer device that one judge described as ‘a textbook example of how to stretch the lifespan of a device through mid-range contract to mid-range prepay’.

Although the phone wasn’t revolutionary in terms of design or functions, sales figures prompted one judge to say: ‘Nokia finally reinvented the 6310 − the phone that replaces the everyman phone; the one which was bought in huge numbers.’

LG Viewty

Retailers love the stylish LG Viewty as a great iPhone substitute. It sold well and has been extremely popular with consumers.

It has an innovative design and looks more like a camera than a phone. The handset has a five-megapixel camera and a large, dynamic display.

‘It has done a lot of good to LG’s image in the market,’ said one judge.

Nokia 6500 Slide

The Nokia 6500 Slide is a reliable and easy to use device,

and was described as ‘sleek, sexy and elegant’ by the judges.

The device has a wide range of functions in a light and thin frame, with a long battery life. It’s great for business and consumer users.

The 6500 bolstered Nokia’s presence in the mid-range market as a new product with mass appeal, around the same time as the 6300 began to fade into the prepay market.