Toshiba
TS10

The Toshiba TS10 used a design inspired by the Toshiba manufactured Vodafone V602T which was offered on the J-Phone network in Japan. The TS10 was designed by the UK firm, Alloy. At the time, Toshiba was working closely with Vodafone in Europe and proposed a slimmed-down version of the V602T to be offered as an affordable 2G GSM tri-band phone with support for GPRS data capability. Internally the phone was known as the “golf ball phone” due to its distinctive finish which resembled a golf ball. When it was announced reviewers described it as a “fairly radical looking device” which distinguished itself “mainly by looking like no other handset on the market.” The phone had two displays, an internal 65k colour screen and a small external display to show users who was calling and other information such as when a new message arrived. Other features included a VGA camera, a WAP browser and support for polyphonic ringtones. Another notable design element was the positioning of the SIM card slot located behind the Toshiba branding below the internal screen just above the hinge. Despite its striking design, the phone was ultimately a rather underwhelming product with a basic feature set, and it was a poor seller. It had the misfortune to arrive in the market at a similar time to the Motorola Razr V3 which immediately reset expectations for design.