5 Old Phones That 90s Kids Will Definitely Remember

The 90s were an exciting time because it was the last decade of a century, which led to a lot of uncertainty about the new millennium. The technology was really starting to explode. The internet was growing, gamers had a variety of consoles to choose from between Nintendo, Sega, and Sony, and the variety of phones was endless. Granted, unless it was a cell phone, few people probably thought about the different landlines that existed.

However, if you asked a ’90s kid what types of phones existed between 1990 and 1999, they’d probably mention the see-through phone, some basic-looking landlines, the first flip phone, and, of course, the prolific Nokia cell phone. ’90s technology has a special place in history – so much so that there are some cool ’90s-inspired gadgets on Amazon. If you really like the look of an old phone and want to add it to your collection, you shouldn’t have much trouble finding one. Etsy and eBay are also great resources. These are some of the greatest of all time.

Cortelco Inc. began business in 1897 and continues in business to this day, but few people know the name of the company that produced one of the most popular and basic landline phones of the 1990s. These phones were found in almost every office, motel room, and in many homes during the 1980s and 1990s. There weren’t many available for them, but back then, phones didn’t need to be supercomputers, especially if it was a landline.

There were also rotary versions of these phones, but it was more of a 1950s model. In the 1990s, the push-button model became more popular because it was easier and faster to dial a number. What was nice about this style of phone was that if you wanted to walk around while you talked, you could pick up the handset and take it with you. And if you were a business, you could get a template with multiple rows. These vintage (vintage? really?) phones are pretty easy to find on eBay if you’re a fan of the look or want to dress up your home with some retro tech.

The 90s were the era of seamless consumer technology. If you’re a gamer, you probably remember versions of the Nintendo 64 controller that were translucent, including the first Atomic Violet. However, years before the console’s release, there were teenagers with transparent landlines in their bedrooms to chat with their friends, ignore their homework, and prevent their parents from making important or equally unimportant phone calls.

It was a unique item that revealed the inner workings of the phone, which was cool, but it also served as a means of expression for the owner. That look said they weren’t like the boring adults in their lives; they were interesting and went against the grain. Of course, over time, companies sold versions that weren’t as colorful as the more memorable ones, because at some point the companies decided that fancy wasn’t marketable, but you might be able to find one of the original clear phones on Etsy or maybe even eBay.

Anyone who has ever seen a few episodes of “Saved By The Bell” will recognize Motorola’s DynaTAC phone, as it is the phone that Zack Morris (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) frequently used in various episodes. Thus, it became popularly known as the Zack Morris phone. It was the first commercial cell phone (the DynaTAC 8000X), released in 1984. Zack Morris was the epitome of “cool” at the time, so everyone wanted the same cell phone, but it was a big ask by anyone’s standards. It costs about $4,000 (adjusted for inflation, that’s about $12,000). So if you think mobile phones are expensive today, even Apple wouldn’t charge that much for an iPhone.

And what were people paying for? The phone’s battery only lasted 30 minutes before needing to be recharged, which actually took 10 hours. And it only stored 30 phone numbers. In 1990, Motorola released the updated and thinner 8800X, with, one might assume, a lower price, although research yields few results to confirm this. It had a two-line red LED screen before later iterations of the 8800X (in 1991) released with an LCD screen. The cell phone was definitely evolving.

Shortly after Motorola made the DynaTAC 8800X, it must have realized it needed something thinner, more portable, and less expensive, because in 1989 it released the first MicroTAC cell phone, the MicroTAC 9800X, a cell phone small enough to fit in your pocket and recognized as the original flip phone. There was a cover that opened and closed, which housed the microphone and ended any call when closed.

This phone cost $2,995, so it was cheaper than the DynaTAC, but still not affordable for anyone who didn’t work on Wall Street. Motorola saw the MicroTAC as the wave of the future, so it created several iterations, including the MicroTAC II in 1991 and the MicroTAC GSM in 1994, and they became increasingly popular. The MicroTAC was designed with an eight-character red matrix LED display, as well as a fake antenna.

There was an actual antenna inside the phone, but focus groups made it clear to Motorola that consumers expected one that users could interact with. If you’re a collector or feel compelled to own a piece of cell phone history, you can find a MicroTAC cell phone on eBay for around $45, a significantly better price than the original $2,500 price of the first MicroTAC.

You can’t talk about recognizable phones from the ’90s without mentioning the Nokia 6110 cell phone. Although the 6110 wasn’t the indestructible brick that Millennials fondly remember (that was the 3310) nor was it the best-selling Nokia of all time, it was the first Nokia cell phone on which kids could play the iconic game “Snake,” to the frustration of many teachers. It was also the first Nokia with an infrared port that was supposed to let you connect the phone to a laptop or printer, but it was probably more popular for letting teenagers play “Snake” with/against a friend. And that fact alone is priceless.

The phone was launched late in the decade (1998), so it wasn’t exactly a powerful device. He could only save up to 50 phone numbers in his phone book, but that was okay because remembering important numbers was commonplace. We were a decent society. Its resolution can also only be described as five lines, so no 1080p here. Yet Nokia’s advertisements at the time described the 6110 as “everything you want in a mobile phone, plus a few extras you might not expect.” Its specs aren’t exactly in demand circa 2026, but the publicly traded Finnish company has managed to make a reliable phone with impact.