Mobiles in the Movies

This is the video generation, and the TV, PC and even the mobile phone are designed to bring us the best of entertainment. It’s no wonder that mobile manufacturers sponsor movies that showcase their elite handsets, and sometimes even their most basic ones. The movies are a vibrant entertainment medium, and it would seem as if every new release these days has some actor flaunting a snazzy handset.

Whether it's in the hands of spies, cops, villains, or superheroes, mobile phone technology is featured as being something that emphasizes their larger-than-life personas. Of course, you will realize that most of the mobiles shown in the movies are tweaked to offer so much more than just a simple call-and-answer option. So don’t be fooled into thinking that you can go out and buy the same handset and get the same great features.

Here are some handsets that have made a name for themselves by guest-starring in a blockbuster movie. The movies didn’t make just the actors famous, but the phones as well.

Nokia 8110 – Matrix
Anyone who’s seen the Matrix will won’t just remember the characters or the totally original and visually stimulating concept. One aspect that was vital to the plot was the phone, and Nokia quickly cashed in on this with a slight redesign of their existing 8110 handset. The 8110 Banana, as it was called, seemingly because of its curved design, wasn’t originally designed with a spring-loaded slide for the keypad cover – this was done specially for the movie.

In more than one instance the handset saved the lives of some of the characters, becoming a legend in its time. The spring-action slide was later incorporated into another Nokia handset, the 7110 – incidentally the world’s first phone to be equipped with WAP support. As for specs, the 8110 was pretty basic; it incorporated Nokia’s old UI (seen in the 3310) on a monochrome display. If you haven't seen the phone, or forgotten what it looks like, go watch the movie.

LG VX9400 – Iron Man
Superheroes need mobiles too; at least their alter egos do. Just ask billionaire playboy and technical wizard Tony Stark as he flashes LG’s VX9400 swivel-screen CDMA mobile, specially designed for Verizon. The handset had a 2.2 inch display and was originally designed as a TV handset. It supported microSD cards for added memory.

Other features in the VX9400 included a 1.3MP camera with an LED flash, GPS with A-GPS support, stereo Bluetooth, and GPRS/EDGE/WAP support. It had a media player for audio and video playback. The main feature was the V-cast Mobile TV function. LG had also launched an Iron Man limited edition Shine handset made of 22-carat gold, with a little red thrown in for effect. Only 100 pieces were made.