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Back in the early 2000s, the mobile phone world was ruled by European companies. Everywhere you turned, European cell phone brands were present and highly visible. And almost all of their mobile phones were made in Europe.
I remember a number of names with fondness. At the top of the list was Nokia, the Finnish company that brought us some of the world’s most popular phones and later smartphones. I was a fan of the Nokia Communicator series , and I owned a handful before they were eventually discontinued.
The Nokia Communicator
- The Glory Years Of European Smartphone Brands
- The Last European Cell Phone Brands Left Standing
- List Of Smartphones That Are Made In Europe
- Final Words
The Glory Years Of European Smartphone Brands
From 1998 to 2012, a span of 14 years, Nokia was the largest mobile phone company in the world. It was a behemoth that commanded more clout than its next four competitors put together at the time. And it was during this period that Europe ruled the world of mobile phones. Almost all the leading phone brands were European.
From Sweden, Ericsson made some of the world’s most loved phones back then – including, the Ericsson R320, Ericsson T320s, Ericsson R380 , and Ericsson T68. I owned both the R320s and R380 at different times.
There was Siemens, the German company that brought us some solid top performers, includinmg Siemens SL45 and later S55 – along with a few interesting, if not quirky, mobile phone designs. Siemens Mobile was later acquired by Taiwanese BenQ in 2005. BenQ Mobile went defunct shortly after the acquisition.
And then, there was the French firm, Alcatel, which was well known for its trendy-looking budget phones. I remember the Alcatel 311 with fondness.
And who would forget Sendo, the British mobile phone maker that rocked the world with the Sendo X, a budget Symbian phone that was hot cake among young people for a while. The company is no longer in operation today.
I could go on for a little bit more in describing how Europe held sway in the industry between the late 90s and 2012. But you are likely not here for the history lesson (interesting as it is). You are more likely here to find out which European mobile phone companies still exist; right? Let me get to it right away then.
The Last European Cell Phone Brands Left Standing
There are no more than a handful of mobile phone companies left in operation, and most of them are small players – so small that they don’t show up on any charts of regional or global smartphone marketshare.
But they exist and certain individuals prefer and use them. If you are searching for a European phone brand, here they are.
Nokia : Nokia Mobile is the largest European cell phone brand in existence today. While it is no longer as big as it used to be in its Hey days, the brand sells enough phones to show up on regional and global statistics. Nokia used to be the champion behind Symbian OS and later Windows Phone/Mobile. Today, its joint venture partner, HMD Global, makes Nokia phones running Android OS . Update : HMD Global has since stopped making Nokia phones since 2024. It looks like the time of Nokia smartphones has really come to an end.
HMD Global is a Finnish phone brand based in Espoo, Finland. It was founded by former Nokia executives to revitalize the Nokia phone brand, which is also Finnish. Since 2024, HMD Global stopped producing Nokia-brqnded phones and now produces phones under its own brand name.
Fairphone . This is a Dutch phone brand with some global visibility, especially because of its commitment to producing eco-friendly smartphones. Fairphone devices run Android OS. It has a miniscule marketshare, but it is one of the most visible European cell phone brands on the global stage.
Gigaset is a German mobile phone brand. Almost every other European company listed here manufactures their devices in factories in China. Gigaset bucks the trend and manufactures their devices right there in the heart of Europe – in Germany. Their products are mostly home and office cordless phones, but they produce a small collection of budget Android-powered phones as well.
Philips Mobile has been around for a long time – since 1997 and producing phones since then. They have, however never not hit the big stage. Based in the Netherlands, Philips makes cordless phones and smartphones.
Spanish company, BQ , is relatively unknown and small, but they made up for it by offering tasty spices that most other mobile phone brands do not provide. For example, they made smartphones running Ubuntu Phone OS. One of them is the BQ Aquaris E4.5 Ubuntu Edition , which I still own till today.
But BQ also makes Android smartphones. I am including BQ on this list only because they were active up till 2020. As at the end of 2020, they had stopped making any more phones.
Wileyfox is a British mobile phone company that has struggled a lot in recent times, dying temporarily, and resurrected. There have been no news of any fresh releases in a while, so the company is likely still on a lifeline.
French company, Wiko , made a brave entry into the smartphone world and built a presence in over 30 countires, making it one of the largest European cell phone brands left standing.
Wiko Mobile is one of the last European cell phone brands or companies left standing.
AllView is not quite popular, but this Romanian company has been active in the smartphone market for some years and has a sizable chunk of its home country’s marketshare.
Bullit Group of the United Kingdom is the company behind the range of rugged smartphones and feature phones under the Catphones brand name.
Nothing is a London-based tech company that makes mobile devices and are the latest European cell phone brand. The company was founded by former OnePlus co-founder, Carl Pei, and acquired former Essential. Their first smartphone, Nothing Phone 1 , was released in 2022. Nothing is still in business till date.
Jolla is headquartered in Finland. It designs and manufactures smartphones that run Sailfish OS, an in-house developed Linux-based mobile operating system. Jolla is not releasing a lot of phones per time, but the company continues to operate.
List Of Smartphones That Are Made In Europe
Gigaset , the German phone maker, produces their cordless phones, smartphones, and smart home systems in Germany, making it one of the few cell phone brands that still manufacture on the old continent.
In September 2023, HMD Global began to manufacture the Nokia XR21 in Europe, specifically in Hungary. That is it. I am aware of only two European cell phone brands that do any manufacturing in Europe today in 2023.
Final Words
Mobile phone and smartphone history is a fascinating thing for me. Having been around since 2001 and watched the various transitions happen in the industry has been quite an experience.
Most smartphones sold in the world today are of Chinese origin and also made in China . If you have a preference for European taste, the companies listed on this page are the main European cell phone brands to explore. Note that most of them are made in China too. Only a few are manufactured in Europe.
Author:Mister Mobility
Digital Skills and Communication Coach | Mobile Phone Connoisseur since 2001 | Tech Blogging since 2004
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Android smartphones have become increasingly popular with billions of people worldwide both young and old getting to grips with this technology. Android phones are the proverbial “jack of all trades” for smartphones, as these phones offer amazing photography, top-notch gaming experience and an amazing internet connectivity.
However, there are time when your apps keep crashing without any prior warning, interrupting the previous activity on the app and making your smartphone a bit difficult to operate. In this piece, we will consider why apps crash unexpectedly and what to do when your apps keep crashing.
The major factors that make apps crash without warning hover around the chipset and memory. If your Android’s memory is low, certain apps may close up unexpectedly, as they will require more memory to operate properly. Also, a weak chipset may not be able to adequately sustain the strain associated with certain apps or games. In a brief moment, we will look at some of the fixes for this rather common Android bug.
- Restart your device: Restarting your android device can help you take care of this glitch, as this move will kill and restart the process run by the system, creating a fresh start for your Android device when your apps keep crashing. To restart your Android device, hold down the power button and wait for a number of options, click on restart and wait for your device to reboot.
Check App permission: You may have apps that are not properly coded and may demand that you do not deny app permissions for the apps to work. Ideally, apps are supposed to work on your device even when their permissions are denied. If you have one of such apps on your device, go to Settings > Apps and choose the app you want to work on, now click on Permissions and grant the ones you may have denied earlier.
Keep your apps updated: This is a no-brainer, as updated apps contain bug fixes which can help to solve app crashes.
Clear Cache: Sometimes, certain apps can have rather large caches, taking up space for important information. Clearing your app cache can help you improve your device’s performance and halt app crashes. To do this, go to Settings > Storage and click on cached data, you can clear cache from there.
Try a force stop: One of the easiest things to do when your apps keep crashing is to try a force stop. To do this, go to Settings > Apps, then click on the app that keeps crashing. Click on the app’s name then tap ‘Force stop’. This should decidedly take care of this glitch when your apps keep crashing.
Free up some memory: As earlier mentioned, one of the major causes of app crashes is insufficient memory, as certain apps require more memory to operate properly. To make these apps work more smoothly, you need to free up some memory on your Android device, letting these apps work better. To do this, go to Settings > Apps , then select the games or apps you no longer need and uninstall.
These fixes are particularly helpful and can get your device working back at optimum levels in no time.
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Author:Alfa Baye
Staff Writer
