Top selling mobile phones of all time
While smartphones and smart devices dominate today’s headlines, with big smart brands like Samsung and Apple ruling the roost – these electronics giants were once unknown entities in a mobile market dominated by Nokia.
On Tuesday (3 September) Microsoft announced that it will buy Nokia‘s phone business $7.2 billion – marking the sale of the world’s most prolific mobile phone brand.
Unsurprisingly, when looking at the list of top 10 most-sold mobile handsets – the list is dominated by Nokia – hailing back to its glory days of the 90s and 2000s, before the advent of smart phones massive mobile data use.
Data compiled by the Telegraph and MSN, sourcing information from Nokia over the years, shows that, of the top 10 best selling mobile handsets of all time, Nokia claims 9 positions – losing only one to Motorola.
| # | Make | Model | Unit sales (millions) |
| 1 | Nokia | 1100 | 250 |
| 2 | Nokia | 3210 | 160 |
| 3 | Nokia | 1110 | 150 |
| 4 | Nokia | 1200 | 150 |
| 5 | Nokia | 5230 | 150 |
| 6 | Nokia | 3310 | 136 |
| 7 | Nokia | 2600 | 135 |
| 8 | Motorola | RAZRV3 | 130 |
| 9 | Nokia | 1600 | 130 |
| 10 | Nokia | 1208 | 100 |
Top mobile phones (click to enlarge)
While the likes of Samsung and Apple may take a number of years to match the legacy of Nokia, sales of their flagship smartphones have stretched far into the millions.
Apple’s iPhone range had sold a total of 387.44 million units. This total includes the sales of the iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS (all three of which have been discontinued), the iPhone 4, iPhone 4S and the iPhone 5.
The iPhone 3GS, which launched in 2009, sold over 35 million units, while the iPhone 4S, launched in 2011, is Apple’s top seller having moved 60 million units. The latest model, the iPhone 5 which launched late 2012 has sold well over 50 million units, and counting.
Samsung’s Galaxy S range of smartphones have been the electron giant’s biggest sales force in terms of its mobile arm, posing a big challenge for Apple. By June, Samsung had shipped 23 million units of its flagship S4 model, while the older S2 and S3 models moved 40-50 million units each.
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