Years Before the iPhone, This Flip Phone Ran Windows

Michael Fisher reviews the 2005 Motorola i930, a $499 Windows Mobile flip phone for Nextel that ran a full OS years before the iPhone but was crippled by app lockdown.

• The Motorola i930 cost $499 in 2005 (~$828 in 2026), roughly double the price of high-end phones of that era.
• Windows Mobile predated Windows Phone by a decade, with two editions: Pocket PC (touchscreen, stylus) and Smartphone Edition (button-driven, simpler).
• The i930 ran a 200 MHz Texas Instruments OMAP processor and included dual radio stacks: Nextel iDEN and triband GSM for international roaming.
• Nextel locked the i930 to only Nextel/Microsoft-certified apps, effectively killing its smartphone utility and triggering user petitions and a homebrew unlock campaign.
• Downloading 956 emails (~15 MB) over the mobile network took 40 minutes; syncing over USB via the included cradle was the practical alternative.
• The i930 launched over a year late and shipped without Bluetooth, a camera, or Wi-Fi — features already present on the concurrent i870.
• Sprint’s acquisition of Nextel made the iDEN network obsolete shortly after the i930 launched, ending any sequel plans; only a stripped cameraless i920 followed.

2026-02-23 · Watch on YouTube