The 2000s were a deeply strange time. We were in the golden era of reality TV, and wearing a dress over bootcut jeans. Thoughts of economic and environmental strife were a lifetime away. Most importantly of all, we didn’t really have smartphones yet. Plenty of those who now wield the latest iPhone or Android look back wistfully to the day when we could hang up on someone by sassily slamming our device shut. 

However, the classic flip phone wasn’t the only design of this era. In fact, it could be argued that manufacturers were much more creative with their designs for mobile devices back then than they are today. This has been highlighted by a recent Twitter thread, which explores some of the strangest handsets that we have all but forgotten. You can see why they might not have been popular, although some of them do look like they would bring you some serious cred at school.