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December 7, 2011
Lumia

5 things you probably didn't know about Nokia design



Our design week would be NOTHING if we didn’t share some cool, random, interesting and sometimes useless pieces of information with you about Nokia’s design. So in true Nokia Connects fashion, here are 5 things you probably did not know about Nokia Design…

1. In 2010 Nokia’s dedication to using eco-friendly materials in their designs really shone through as they launched their eco hero phones. The C7 was the first to use bio-paints and the C6-01 was first to use recycled metals. Following suit in 2011 the 700 upped the ante by becoming the first to use recycled plastics as well. If you’re curious to find out what your Nokia is made take a look at your phone’s Eco Profile.

2. Did you know that your N9 or Lumia 800 is made out of the same material that jet fighters are made out of? Indeed, polycarbonate has many applications in this world but probably none more exciting than the canopy on the F-22 Raptor, a fighter jet that’s also wrapped in stealth technologies. The cockpit canopy of the F-22 is made from a piece of high optical quality polycarbonate. The large canopy is approximately 140 inches long, 45 inches wide and 27 inches tall. Cool huh?

f-22 raptor via wikipedia

3. Design isn’t just about making something look great on the outside, but fitting everything into a body so that it works harmoniously. A good example of this is the N8’s camera, packed into a very small space you get 12 megapixels worth of camera power and 4-element Carl Zeiss optics. All of this combined means that the pixels in the camera are 2-3 times more sensitive per area and also the area is 2-3 times lager.

4. Were you aware that Nokia’s industrial design department is head-quartered in London’s Soho, UK? Maybe some of you did and maybe some of you didn’t… but another thing you might not know is that more recently (earlier this year in fact), the place got a psychedelic overhaul. Designers Wai Chung Lau and Mark Holt set about refurbishing the UX Design Studio in January, using over 6ft tall and 3ft wide panels washed with colours and shapes ‘derived from the curve, vertical and diagonal of the letters ‘U’ and ‘X’, pretty neat!

5. Many people think that the first touch screen device from Nokia was the Nokia 5800, dubbed at the time the Nokia Tube. This however is not true! The first phone equipped with this now heavily sought after technology was no other than the 7700. This large and quirky device sported a big 134 x 80 x 22mm display that is operated with a stylus. It was also the only mobile to run the Symbian S90 OS. Looks a bit funky doesn’t it? Maybe ahead of it’s time for 2003? You can’t fault the forward thinking though!

Nokia 7700

There you have it! Did you enjoy these little nuggets of information? Do you have a fact about Nokia design that we didn’t mention that you’re bursting to get out? Speak to us in the comments section or shout at us @Nokia_Connects!