The rise and fall of the Nokia brand from 'banana' to 'razor'
The introduction of "the banana" in 1996 marked Nokia's rise in the city. Back in the '80s, it was Motorola that dominated the market with the "water flasks". Ericsson then entered the fray and Nokia was about third, jumping into the game in the '90s.
Lau Chi-kong, a mobile-phone seller in Mong Kok's gadget stronghold Sin Tat Plaza, entered the trade 17 years ago.
It was 1996, the year when Nokia rolled out the model nicknamed "the banana" because of its curved shape. It featured in the sci-fi movie The Matrix.
Users answered calls by sliding open the cover.
More importantly, it worked on the PCS network, whose monthly fee of about HK$100 was much cheaper than that for the GSM network other phones used.
The introduction of "the banana" marked Nokia's rise in the city. Back in the '80s, it was Motorola that dominated the market with the "water flasks". Ericsson then entered the fray and Nokia was about third, jumping into the game in the '90s.
The new millennium was a golden era for Nokia. "At that time, 10 out of 10 phones that I sold were Nokias," he said.