Motorola MicroTAC 9800X

The Motorola MicroTAC 9800X, released in 1989, was the phone that made mobile phones mobile. At just 349 grams, it was dramatically smaller and lighter than anything that came before - the first phone you could genuinely slip into a jacket pocket. The flip design, with its hinged mouthpiece that folded up over the keypad, became the template for a decade of mobile phone design.

This Gizmo print captures the MicroTAC's pioneering form - the slim profile, the flip mechanism, the stubby antenna, and the compact keypad that set the standard for pocket-sized communication. A device that bridged the gap between the brick phones of the 1980s and the sleek handsets that followed.

Gizmo is a collection of design-led art prints built around the machines that shaped how we made music, wrote code, played and connected with the world. Synthesisers and drum machines. Cameras and home computers. Calculators and handheld devices that once felt like the future.

Each print is a carefully constructed illustration that isolates what made an object memorable - its proportions, controls, typography, surfaces, and small acts of engineering intelligence. Not retro sentimentality, but honest observation: what made these machines distinctive, how they looked when they were new, and why their forms still resonate.

Adapted from and inspired by Simon Tyler's forthcoming book Gizmo: Retro-Tech We Loved and Lost, published by Laurence King in May 2026.

All prints are produced to order on 250gsm archival matte paper using pigment-based inks, chosen for colour accuracy and long-term stability.

Each print is rolled in acid-free tissue and shipped in a rigid cardboard tube, sealed for moisture protection, ready for framing on arrival.

Large · 50 × 70 cm · 20 × 28 in

XLarge · 70 × 100 cm · 28 × 40 in

UK: Free · 3-5 working days

Europe: €8.50 · 3-7 working days · No customs charges

USA & Canada: $8.95 / $12.00 CAD · 5-10 working days

Australia: $14.00 AUD · 5-10 working days

Rest of World: £14.95 · 7-14 working days

All prints are produced to order and dispatched within 1-3 working days. Orders placed before 5pm GMT ship the same day. You'll receive tracking information by email once dispatched.

Orders outside Europe may be subject to local customs charges on delivery - these are the responsibility of the recipient.

Full delivery information →

Returns accepted within 30 days. Email returns@axisophy.com with your order number and we'll provide return instructions.

Return postage is the customer's responsibility except where the print arrives damaged or there's been an error - in which case we'll arrange a replacement or refund immediately, no return needed.

Full returns policy →