Calling Gordon Gekko: how old mobile phones became £1,000 collector items

With the market for retro cell phones booming, here's a selection of desirable designs, from a 10kg monster to a clamshell classic

When it debuted in 1989, the MicroTAC was hailed as a "game-changer", one that Motorola argued would bring mobile phones out of the hands of top execs and into the hands of senior mid-level execs. Competively price at $2,995, the size of a Dutch brick rather than the preceding concrete breezeblock, it had an amazing half-hour's talk time with only 10 hours of charging.

The price has dropped a bit, but at 100 on eBay, the likes of the MicroTAC still hold value for collectors. New research by Talkmobile highlights how the market for vintage phones has become increasingly lively as collectors aim to snap up a brick of tech history.