Released in 1999, the Philips Savvy was a 2G mobile phone, supported by the GSM standard. 2G digital cellular networks made Text messages, picture messages and multimedia messages possible, creating a whole new way for people to communicate. The Savvy could be used to send texts, up to 160 characters, had 25 preloaded picture messages to send to other Savvy users, voice activation and speed dialling for up to 8 numbers. It had a monochrome screen that could display two lines of 15 characters.

GSM which stands for Global System for Mobile Communications, was a European standard for early digital mobile networks, meaning that mobile phone users could use their phones across the whole of Europe without having to buy a new handset in every country. First deployed in 1991, a key feature of GSM was the Subscriber Identity Module, commonly known as a SIM card. By the mid-2010s, GSM became the global standard for mobile communications operating in over 193 countries and territories.

During the 1990s mobile phones rose in popularity as they became smaller and more portable. The decade saw a shift in how mobile phones were marketed, moving away from being a tool for business to being a mass consumer product. The Savvy combined several features that developed during this era, most notably customisation. Owners could personalise their Savvy with yellow, golf green or black cases, a design popularised by the Ericsson GA628 and Nokia 5110, released in 1997 and 1998 respectively. Savvy owners could choose between 20 preloaded ringtones. Other features included a calculator, stopwatch and horoscope game.