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Throwback Monday: Which manufacturer had the best-looking flagship in 2011? (poll results)

posted by Chris P. / Dec 15, 2015, 3:11 AM

Throwback Monday: Which manufacturer had the best-looking flagship in 2011? (poll results)

For those of you who didn't know, PhoneArena has been around for over a decade now. That's a lot of history, so naturally, we do get sentimental every once in a while. We're sure the vets among our readers do, too. And so, with 2015 about to run its course, we thought we'd go for a throwback kind of poll and take you on a trip back mobile history — all the way back to the now distant 2011.

We asked you to state your preference in terms of 2011's crop of flagships from major manufacturers, and specifically in terms of aesthetics. As these kind of topics often do, the poll sparked quite some debate in the comment section, and prompted nearly 1,600 of our readers to respond. Voting is now closed, and we've got them results ready to share.

With a comfortable lead on the rest, Sony's — or back then, Sony Ericsson's — Xperia arc S grabbed a little over 26% of the votes, followed by the Nokia Lumia 800 with a share of about 19%. Third spot goes to Apple's iPhone 4S, which is actually a favorite with the team here at PhoneArena.com, closely followed by the aforementioned Xperia arc S. Next up, we've got the Samsung Galaxy S II (~12%), the HTC Sensation (~9%), and the Motorola DROID RAZR (~9%). LG's Optimus 2X was last on the list, with a sub 1% share of the votes.

Proof:

Throwback Monday: Which manufacturer had the best-looking flagship in 2011?

HTC with the Sensation

8.96%

Samsung with the Galaxy S II

12.16%

Motorola with the RAZR/DROID RAZR

8.77%

Apple with the iPhone 4S

14.08%

LG with the Optimus 2X

0.9%

BlackBerry with the Bold 9790

3.39%

Sony Ericsson with the Xperia arc S

26.23%

Nokia with the Lumia 800

18.87%

Google with the (Samsung) GALAXY Nexus

6.65%

2011 flagship line-up

View more + 4 images

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32 Comments

1. AlikMalix unregistered

A bit off topic for a second: anyone else donated to Wikipedia yet? I only gave $3... but I have used more than that's worth... Just a reminder... Carry on...

posted on Dec 15, 2015, 3:13 AM 10

3. NoToFanboys

Posts: 3231; Member since: Oct 03, 2015

I definitely would if I can. Third world problems lol.

posted on Dec 15, 2015, 3:35 AM 3

10. Planterz

Posts: 2120; Member since: Apr 30, 2012

Forgo an energy drink or Starbucks or tallboy of Bud or scratchers or a few cigs or a Big Mac and fries or some booger sugar or that 88 oz soda and jumbo popcorn at the movie theater or whatever your vice may be and you'll find it's not a hardship to throw a few bucks to a non-profit like Wikipedia.

posted on Dec 15, 2015, 5:13 AM 0

21. shahrooz

Posts: 792; Member since: Sep 17, 2013

deleted

posted on Dec 15, 2015, 9:32 AM 0

22. shahrooz

it's not about the poverty, facepalm. I would definately donate to them. 3$ is nothing but how can I do it if there are no means?

7. Planterz

No, but I pledged $50 to the BringBackMST3K kickstarter campaign.

posted on Dec 15, 2015, 3:57 AM 0

2. mahima

Posts: 727; Member since: Nov 20, 2014

phonearena team always like iphone...

posted on Dec 15, 2015, 3:21 AM 2

4. maherk

Posts: 6768; Member since: Feb 10, 2012

Hands down the iPhone 4S. Till this day, many OEM's still take design cues from that phone. You can dislike Apple as much as you want, but no one can deny that it was the iPhone 4/4S that made OEM's focus a lot more on design, build quality, and materials used in our today smartphones.

posted on Dec 15, 2015, 3:44 AM 3

8. NoToFanboys

Which is heavily inspired by Sony. "What would Sony do?" - Steve Jobs

posted on Dec 15, 2015, 3:59 AM 3

13. maherk

How? Genuinely asking. And while it might be inspired by Sony, there are tons of phones that completely COPIED the iPhone 4's design, from the material used, to the camera placement.

posted on Dec 15, 2015, 7:08 AM 0

15. NoToFanboys

Well Steve Jobs actually said that to their designers, telling them to design something as if Sony designed it. Materials? Metal and glass are common, what do you expect for then to use besides plastic? You want them to use concrete or porcelain?

posted on Dec 15, 2015, 7:24 AM 2

16. maherk

Well, at the time the iPhone 4 was designed, 99% of manufacturers were going with polycarbonate as their preferred material for building smartphones. And again, you failed to show me what Sony phone the iPhone 4 was designed after. Complementing Sony's designing skills is different than copying a design.

posted on Dec 15, 2015, 7:52 AM 0

17. NoToFanboys

It wasn't based on a Sony phone. Do some research please, you know how to google don't you?

posted on Dec 15, 2015, 7:59 AM 0

18. maherk

You said that the iPhone 4 was inspired by Sony. And you failed to present a link where it shows the resemblance of the iPhone 4 to a Sony one. Again, Steve saying this or that still doesn't prove your point, I know what Steve said that, but I am yet to see an evidence that proves how the iPhone 4 looks like a Sony phone.

posted on Dec 15, 2015, 8:19 AM 0

26. NoToFanboys

Am I your Googler or what? One google search and you will find what you are looking for. Don't know if your lazy or just in denial.

posted on Dec 15, 2015, 4:42 PM 0

29. Hexa-core

Posts: 2131; Member since: Aug 11, 2015

Steve saying that proves his point, clearly!

posted on Dec 16, 2015, 7:48 AM 1

32. TechieXP1969

Posts: 14967; Member since: Sep 25, 2013

What? There were phones make of glass and metal before the iPhone 4...geez dude. How old are you. Even if they weren't bar style phones, metal and glass very very common. The problem is they damage to easy. I remember the first time I dropped and broke my Moto Razr V3 which was metal/glass. I literally had a tear drop because it was my favorite phone EVER! Yes lots of OEM's mimic'd the iPhone. So? I dont understand why this always has to be an argument. Theer were billions of cellphones sold well before Apple got into the game. Every product Apple makes was inspired or included things ripped off from others. Every times one of you fools talk about people copying Apple, I wish I could reach through your post and smack the taste out of you. Because you speak in a way as if Apple never steals of copies. Everyone copies products that get huge consumers attention. people copied the Model T, every car maker copied Chrysler's concept of "cab-forward" design. Every car maker copied their ideaology to build multiple cars off he same platform. Do you see them having some fit over it? If copying a good idea legally to make your products better is what you're aiming for, which they all are; what is your beef with it?

posted on Dec 17, 2015, 9:21 AM 0

12. Wolf_Blitza

Posts: 64; Member since: May 30, 2014

I can see why you'd go with the 4S from a design perspective, but the 3.5" screen looks laughably small today. Given the trend towards larger screens, the 2011 devices with a 4.3" and larger screen actually aged better imo.

posted on Dec 15, 2015, 5:54 AM 1

14. maherk

They are talking about design not screen size. Even a 4.3" is tiny for today's standards, so your point is sadly invalid.

posted on Dec 15, 2015, 7:10 AM 0

19. AntiFanBoyz unregistered

Screen size is part of design. Carry on.

posted on Dec 15, 2015, 8:47 AM 1

27. Wolf_Blitza

design includes proportions and overall size, and the 4S large bezel to screen ratio dates it. 4.3" is small by today's standard's but not nearly as bad as 3.5".

posted on Dec 15, 2015, 4:53 PM 0

5. xperiaZlover

Posts: 202; Member since: Nov 15, 2015

Xperia arcS definetly was the most awesome looking device of 2011. I saw a person using Arcs sometime ago. I think it still keeps up with the design standards of today. Big congrats to sony sweden design team.

posted on Dec 15, 2015, 3:45 AM 3

9. XperiaFanZone

Posts: 2277; Member since: Sep 21, 2012

Inb4 JohnMIcrosoftMobiles crying about Nokia

posted on Dec 15, 2015, 4:55 AM 1

23. Johnnokia

Posts: 1158; Member since: May 27, 2012

Troll

posted on Dec 15, 2015, 9:39 AM 2

24. Rafishant

Posts: 395; Member since: Oct 13, 2015

I also noticed him mentioning your name and following you for no reasonable reason. He probably fancies your body photos and keeps seeking for you D! LOL

posted on Dec 15, 2015, 9:43 AM 2

25. Johnnokia

Lol I 'm not sure if he or she. But definitely A troll. I never had anything against him/her.

posted on Dec 15, 2015, 9:47 AM 0

11. Tizo101

Posts: 524; Member since: Jun 05, 2015

' Third spot goes to Apple's iPhone 4S , which is actually a favorite with the team here at PhoneArena.com' Who didn't see that coming, you guys like everything Apple so this is implied or at least should be.