Our generation should consider itself lucky as we have been here to witness the evolution of the mobile phone. For those of us with a deeper-than-surface interest, we have been here all along and it is an exciting time for the cellphone. The industry experienced a massive boom and quickly progressed since the turn of the millennium. And inevitably some phones stood out as the evolution took shape. But what phones stood out the most? Here are the best five.

Apple iPhone

By including the iPhone on this list, we mean the original iPhone. Arguably the first real touchscreen smartphone, it was born out of Steve Jobs' vision of a phone with no keyboard, one that could take advantage of the screen real estate by getting rid of the keyboard when it is not needed. And for that reason, this phone will always be regarded as a predecessor. It is a great milestone that explains its popularity even today.

Samsung Galaxy S

This was like the S1 of the S line from Samsung. It is a trendsetter and an icon. The Galaxy S was offered in the signature Samsung build at the time. A big screen, a central home button, yes kids, a button. This according to bigger tech pundits than me, is the phone that showed that Samsung was ready to take up the fight with the iPhone. Although its specifications are not as impressive today, this is the granddad of the S23 on sale.

Motorola Razr

You know a product is iconic when the manufacturer tries to recreate what they had built. But let us face it, nothing matches up to the original, a movie spinoff, your ex, they cannot give you the excitement they once gave you. That said, the Motorola Razr saw the light of day in 2003. The design was beautiful. This is in addition to the polished metal look and flip design. I can still remember playing Neyo's music videos on such a phone about eighteen years ago. We cannot even waste time discussing specifications but we can agree that the design was revolutionary and shaped the evolution of Motorola. The Razr suffered from its success and it did not end well for the original Razr. Motorola tried to right its wrongs by joining the flip phone craze and reintroducing the Razor to compete in the market four years ago.

Nokia 3310

This is another device that was too iconic that they had to make another one, the remix. In the developing world, the majority of the first mobile devices the rich owned were Motorolas and Nokias. And the Nokia 3310 was widely accepted. Members of the "baby boomers" generation all know this phone, ask one if you are in doubt. Kids these days only relate to this great device through memes referencing its toughness. And yes, I can confirm it was tough. I still have access to a Nokia 3310, and It will stay alive for as long as I am around. The "remix" as shown on this article cover is on sale today and it is still a respectable device. And it still comes with the iconic snake.

Huawei Ideos

This was the Android device for most millennials as it coincided with the era in which they needed a smartphone. In my dedicated article about the Ideos from Huawei, I go into depth about the impact it had on the Huawei brand name and the smartphones Huawei released thereafter.