The survey, which saw 2,000 votes cast, was set up by Professor Nigel Linge in the Computer Networking and Telecommunications Research department.
The iPhone secured 13% of the total votes, closely followed by the Nokia 3210 and the Nokia 6310.
Simon Walsh, co founder of one of Europe’s largest mobile phone recyclers www.mopay.co.uk, said: “We receive a vast array of mobiles everyday and the most popular models to be recycled are Nokia handsets. They really stand the test of time and remain a top choice for upgrades. I’m not surprised the iPhone was voted number one; its iconic design has captured the attention of fans across the world.”
Professor Linge said: "The Apple iPhone is a design classic and has truly transformed the design of mobile phones. Personally I’m nostalgic for the Motorola StarTAC, which was the world's first clam shell phone, but it fell outside of our top ten, being in twelfth place.”
Despite Apple capturing the most votes for one phone, the top manufacturers in the poll were Nokia (five entries) and Motorola (three entries).
Professor Linge continued: “For a long time these two manufacturers were the market leaders. The Nokia 3210, which was second in our survey, is another design leader because you could change the phone’s cover to suit your mood.”
The top ten list most iconic mobiles are: 1) Applie iPhone 13.5%; 2) Nokia 3210 8.5%; 3) Nokia 6310 8.4%; 4) Nokia 5100 range 7.8%; 5) Motorola Razr V3 6.5%; 6) Blackberry 8300 Curve 5.7%; 7) Motorola 8000 range 5.1%; 8) Nokia 9000 5.0%; 9) Motorola MicroTAC 4.7%; 10) Nokia 7110 4.5%.