by Rick Pantaleo

Fifty years ago the cell phone era began on the streets of New York City. The historic first cell phone call was made by Martin Cooper, director of systems operations for the communications division of the Motorola company, to his main rival at Bell Labs.

Martin described his call to Bell's Dr. Joel S. Engel on April 3, 1973 in an article called The History of the Cell Phone by Gareth Marples.

Talking while walking

"As I walked down the street while talking on the phone, sophisticated New Yorkers gaped at the sight of someone actually moving around while making a phone call," Martin wrote. "Remember that in 1973, there weren't cordless telephones or cellular phones. I made numerous calls, including one where I crossed the street while talking to a New York radio reporter - probably one of the more dangerous things I have ever done in my life."

A 1973 press release, Motorola touted its new Dyna-Tac "portable radio telephone," saying it would operate over radio frequencies and "talk" to any conventional (landline) telephone in the world.

"What this means, said John F. Mitchell, manager of Motorola's communications division, is that in a city where the Dyna-Tac system is installed, it will be possible to make telephone calls while riding in a taxi, walking down the city's streets, sitting in a restaurant or anywhere else a radio signal can reach."

The new Motorola mobile phone was nicknamed "the brick" since it was about the size of a brick used in building houses. It weighed about one kilogram and it measured 22.86cm x 17.7cm x 4.44cm. The talk time of the phone was fairly short since its batteries only provided a charge for about 35 minutes and took about 10 hours to recharge.

Motorola had been perfecting its new invention for about 10 years when it commercially introduced a slimmer Dyna-Tac 8000X "brick" in 1983. Motorola trimmed the weight down to less than half a kilogram and sold for $3,995.

Phones have changed

Technology for the mobile phone has advanced quite rapidly since then, with bigger and more sophisticated cellular networks being developed and built, and the phones themselves evolving into multifunctional "smartphones" that provide internet access, along with other features such a built-in cameras, portable music players and video playback.

The number of mobile phone subscribers has skyrocketed over the years, with about 340, 213 in 1985, according to the trade organization CTIA, the Wireless Association, to more than six billion today, according to a telecom report released by the United Nations last October.

Today increasing numbers of people are getting rid of their traditional landline phone service in favor of using their mobile phones as their sole form of telephone communications. In a number of developing countries that didn't have much of a landline infrastructure to begin with, communications companies skipped over installing cumbersome and expensive landline system and instead invested in and developed their own massive mobile phone/cellular phone systems.

History of the Cell Phone

The history of the cell phone dates back to the early 1970s, when the first cellular network was established. However, it was not until the 1980s that cell phones became widely available to the general public.

The first cell phones were large, expensive and had limited functionality. They were often referred to as "brick phones" because of their size and weight. The first commercially available cell phone was the Motorola DynaTAC 8000X, which was released in 1983. It cost $3,995, weighed 2.5 pounds, and had a battery life of only 30 minutes of talk time.

In the following years, cell phones became smaller, more affordable, and more feature-rich. By the 1990s, flip phones and candy bar-style phones had become popular. In 1992, IBM released the first smartphone, the Simon Personal Communicator, which had a touchscreen and could send and receive faxes and emails.

The 2000s saw the rise of the BlackBerry, which was popular among business professionals for its email capabilities. The introduction of the iPhone in 2007 marked a significant shift in the cell phone industry, with its touchscreen interface and app ecosystem. Android smartphones soon followed, and today, smartphones are ubiquitous, with billions of people around the world using them daily.

In addition to communication and information access, cell phones have also had a significant impact on industries such as transportation, entertainment, and social media. For example, ride-sharing apps like Uber and Lyft rely on cell phones to connect drivers with riders, while mobile games and streaming services have become popular forms of entertainment on smartphones.

The evolution of cell phones has also brought about new technologies and innovations. For example, the development of 3G and 4G networks enabled faster data transfer speeds and better internet connectivity, while the introduction of 5G promises to bring even faster speeds and low latency connections.

Furthermore, cell phones have also had social and cultural impacts, with the rise of social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. These platforms allow people to connect with others from around the world, share information, and participate in online communities.

However, the widespread use of cell phones has also raised concerns about privacy and security, with issues such as data breaches, hacking, and cyberbullying becoming more prevalent. As such, cell phone manufacturers and app developers are continuously working to improve security features and protect user data.

Overall, the cell phone has revolutionized the way we communicate and access information, and it continues to evolve and shape our lives in new ways.

Here is a brief timeline of the history of the cell phone:

    1947

    Bell Labs developed the first prototype of a mobile phone, called the Mobile Telephone Service (MTS).

    1973

    Martin Cooper, a researcher at Motorola, made the first public call on a handheld mobile phone.

    1983

    Motorola released the DynaTAC 8000X, the first commercially available cell phone.

    1989

    Nokia introduced the first phone with a built-in antenna, the Nokia 232.

    1992

    IBM released the Simon Personal Communicator, which was the first smartphone with a touchscreen and could send and receive faxes and emails.

    1993

    The first flip phone, the Motorola StarTAC, was introduced.

    1994

    Qualcomm developed the first CDMA-based mobile network technology, which paved the way for digital cellular networks.

    1996

    Nokia released the Nokia 9000 Communicator, which was the first phone with full Internet connectivity.

    1997

    The first mobile game, Snake, was introduced on Nokia phones.

    1999

    The first mobile phones with built-in cameras were introduced in Japan.

    1999

    Nokia released the 3210, which became one of the most popular mobile phones of all time, selling over 160 million units.

    2000

    Ericsson released the R380, the first phone with a touchscreen and a built-in operating system.

    2002

    The first 3G network was launched in Japan, which allowed for faster data transfer and better internet connectivity.

    2003

    BlackBerry introduced the first smartphone with push email capabilities.

    2007

    Apple released the iPhone, which had a touchscreen interface and app ecosystem, revolutionizing the smartphone industry.

    2008

    The first Android phone, the HTC Dream, was released.

    2010

    Samsung released the Galaxy S, the first smartphone to use the Android operating system.

    2011

    Apple introduced Siri, a voice-activated virtual assistant, on the iPhone 4S.

    2016

    The first modular phone, the LG G5, was released, allowing users to swap out different modules for added features.

    2016

    Google released the first Pixel phone, which was designed and built entirely by Google.

    2019

    The first foldable smartphones, such as the Samsung Galaxy Fold and Huawei Mate X, were released.

    2020

    5G networks were launched in some countries, promising even faster speeds and lower latency for cellular data.

 

Article: VOA News

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