Slovakian Collector Opens Museum of Old Mobile Phones

By Spooky on March 16th, 2017 Category: News

Many people have one or two really old mobile phones from before the smartphone revolution happened, but 26-year old Stefan Polgari has a collection of over 3,500 of them, made up of 1,231 different models.

Polgari, from the small Slovakian town of Dobsina, has always been kind of a tech-head, and at 15-years-old, he started doing online reviews of new mobile phones. Before long, he had already amassed a small collection of Nokia, Alcatel, Sagem, Ericsson and other brands that were available in Slovakia at the time. But it was 2 years ago that Stefan’s collection really took off, after he bought someone’s collection of 1,000 old phones for a few thousands of euros. He has been hunting for missing models to add to his already impressive collection ever since, and today he is the proud owner of 3,500 “ancient” mobile phones, about half of which still work.

Stefan says that he has always been fascinated by how much technology has evolved in the last two decades of so, especially in the field of mobile phones, and his collection is a testament to that. From the legendary Nokia 3310 basic handheld, to the brick-like keyboard devices that were once popular with businessmen and early touchscreen phones, his massive collection shows how far technology has come in a relatively short period of time.

To make this window into the history of mobile phones accessible to everyone, Stefan Polgari has turned the attic of his home in Dobsina into the Museum of Mobile Phones, where all the items of his collection are carefully arranged on wooden shelves, based primarily on their design. Anyone can schedule a visit on the museum website.

Stefan recently made national headlines, after the Slovakian Book of Records recently recognized his collection of phones as the largest in the country, and even awarded him with a certificate for his achievement.

With 1,231 different mobile phone models in his possession, Stefan Polgari is still trailing behind the owner of the world’s largest mobile phone collection, a German man named Carsten Tews. In 2010, Guinness Book of Records reported that he had 1,563 different mobile phones in his collection. However, it’s worth mentioning that Polgari is solely interested in vintage mobile phones.

The Slovakian’s collection features mobile phones of 14 different brands: Alcatel, Sagem, Siemens, ZTE, Ericsson, Samsung, Trium, Nokia, Panasonic, Motorola, Mitsubishi, Bosh, Sony-Ericsson and Philips. You won’t find upstarts like HTC or Blackberry at his museum.