Patrick Walsh: My 5 favourite Nokia phones of all time
First up, we have Patrick Walsh, world traveller, smartphone photographer extraordinaire, author and founder of the amazing Facebook phoneography, Nothing but a Nokia. Take it away, Patrick!
The Nokia 3210 (2000-2002)
Why did you get it?
I was inspired to buy a Nokia thanks to one person: My little brother Paul. He has always had the best phone of anyone I know and those phones have always been Nokia. There were many reasons why I wanted the 3210, but ‘Snake’ was the main one. Plus, this was the first Nokia to prove that phones would develop to be so much more than simple calling and messaging devices.
What did you love about it?
I really like the weight of it. It was heavy despite it being very small and slick in comparison to the phones of the day. It may sound ridiculous to many people, but I really enjoyed sending text messages on this phone, due to its large screen.
What happened to it?
It is still lying around somewhere in my parents house – well at least I hope so!
The Nokia 5210 (2002 – 2005)
Why did you get it?
As soon as I graduated from University and started working as a trainee accountant, I began saving my wages so that I could purchase this phone. It was on sale for €300 at the time, which was a lot of money, but I just had to have it – it was the way the Xpress-on rubber shell that split in the middle that appealed to me so much.
What did you love about it?
It was the ultimate ‘boy phone’. It was waterproof, smash-proof, war-proof, nuclear-proof and tsunami-proof. In fact, it wasn’t any of those things but I liked to think that it was at the time. It also had a thermometer.
What happened to it?
Wanted: Dead or Alive. Last seen in my brother’s bedroom circa 2007.
The Nokia 7610 (2005- 2007)
Why did you get it?
The 7610 was the first ‘phone’ that I purchased that I could call a ‘device’. It was more than a phone. It had a camera. It was a camera phone – my first. It was because of the 7610 that many people on twitter now know me as @thePhoneographer. This is where it all started for me.
What did you love about it?
The camera was amazing, but the fact that it had great video capabilities, really made it stand out. It was on this device that I first started to download and share content. My brother had installed the Michael Jackson video “Smooth Criminal” on the 7610 and I used to go around showing it to people, just to impress them. Strange but true.
What happened to it?
I have so many good images saved on this device that I still keep it with my current devices. I actually brought this phone on my travels around the world with me, to use it as a back up camera in the early days.
The Nokia N95 (2007 – 2009)
Why did you get it?
It was a phone that was so far ahead of the competition in so many ways, but the main reason why I flew to New York just to buy this phone was because the superb 5 megapixel camera.
What did you love about it?
It was the ultimate backpackers phone. It had GPS and mapping technology that was like nothing ever seen before, the camera was amazing, it had WIFI capability and the music and video player was just so impressive. Of course, I just felt cool having a slide up phone – the fact that it was dual-slide made me feel twice as cool.
What happened to it?
I sold my original N95 to a guy in Sydney so that I could buy the newly released (at the time) N95 8G. I still have the N95 8G now and I will still take it out some days to use as a camera. Despite it being 6 years old, it is still an impressive device.
Nokia Lumia 925 (2013- present)
Why did you get it?
I got this device simply because of one thing – the Smart Cam. The people that designed the Smart Cam should be given some sort of Nobel Prize.
What do you love about it?
Despite possessing the amazing functionality, toughness and connectivity that everyone expects from Nokia devices, what I really love about this device is the camera. Every single day I am more impressed by it. The capabilities of the camera just blow my mind and the more I use it, the better my ‘Phoneography’ skills become. This device will be responsible for many people making the #switch to Lumia.
What happened to it?
I have it in my pocket right now – on a bad day, I would capture around 10 images on it. Some days, when I am feeling inspired, I could capture as many as 200 images on the Lumia 925. It makes my life as a ‘phoneographer’ so easy. I just love it and I love showing it to people.
Nokia smartphones clearly have a place in Patrick’s heart, so much so that all the photos for his latest book, Life is, were taken on Nokia devices. But what do you think of his choices? As ever, we’d love to hear your opinions down below.