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Photos: Top 10 mobile design classics
The good, the bad and the ugly...?

By Jo Best

Published: Monday 27 November 2006

Like the 7600, the Xelibri was its maker's attempt to take the phone into new realms of fashion. Siemens envisaged the Xelibri as the height of consumer must-have, with a spring and autumn 'collection' schedule encouraging consumers to update their phones as often as possible.

While the Xelibri brand only lasted some 18 months, its legacy is still oddly present. As well as ushering in the era of phones as design icons, the Xelibri also marked the start of a return to back-to-basics devices, where talking and texting were uppermost. It's a trend that's still hot in advanced markets such as Japan, where stripped-down phones like the RakuRaku concentrate on the simplest of features.

Photo credit: Siemens