My memory is from around 1998-1999 when I did some research to buy my first phone. From memory, I think that at that point Ericsson was winning that race in the more affordable end of the market, with models that I remember being smaller than Nokia models from the same time, such as:
* https://www.gsmarena.com/ericsson_pf_768-108.php
* https://www.gsmarena.com/ericsson_t10s-115.php
* https://www.gsmarena.com/ericsson_gf_788e-110.php
And Motorola had the smallest/lightest phones at the premium end of the market, with the StarTAC line.
* https://www.gsmarena.com/ericsson_gf_788e-110.php
* https://www.gsmarena.com/motorola_startac_85-74.php
In the end I realised that size was not the most important factor for me so instead I got a Motorola 8700 [1] which I didn't enjoy using, then sold it shortly after to get a Nokia 5110 [2] which I liked very much.
[1] https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co80944...