The nokia 8850 hit irish shop approx 6 years ago.
Wasn't a bit seller as it was too expensive. Then they brought it out with a colour screen. Still didn't sell that well. At the time the Nokia 3310 was the biggest selling phone in Ireland.
Nokia 8850 was released 1999 according to this [broken link removed]. Sounds about right to me.
Mine stopped working eventually - screen knackered. I suppose I could get it fixed. I always like the form factor and the coolness, even if the cover was more or less plastic covered with paint.
For the record, the software can be upgraded but will cost you money now. The screen did have problems - mostly bad connections between the case and the screen - on the 8850 and related 8210/8250 but this could also be fixed.