Advance in mobile telephony can be traced in successive generations from the early OG services like MTS and its successor improved Mobile telephone service.The evolution of the mobile phone is a journey worth documenting, given the tremendous growth in technological impact over the past few decades. It is interesting to note that today’s mobile phones have evolved a lot in terms of size, shape, and even usage, from the heavy, brick-like appearance of the phones from the 1980s to the deluxe, versatile, and all-encompassing smartphones of the current century and age.
The Beginnings: The 1980s and 1990s:
The history of mobile phones was revolutionized with the invention of the first-ever handheld mobile phone by Dr. Martin Cooper of the Motorola Corporation in 1973. This ground-breaking prototype, known as Dynastic (Dynamic Adaptive Total Area Coverage), was a large and heavy device, weighing approximately 2 kg. Despite its bulk and cumbersome design, it marked the beginning of a new era in communication. It could only provide a maximum of 30 minutes of talk time for every 10 hours of charging. The first commercially marketed mobile phone, the Dynastic 8000X, was introduced in 1983, priced at roughly $4000 in today’s value.
The ownership of mobile phones in the eighties and the nineties was confined to the business callable and was rated as a luxury since it was costly and had limited functions. In the initial years, these phones were so-called analogue devices with minimal capabilities as the technology was in its infancy. They were making calls, receiving calls, and storing a few contacts. They were large, heavy, and popularly known as brick phones due to their size and shape and the brick-like feel when carried.
The Digital Revolution: The Late 1990s and Early 2000s:
The change from the old analogue generation system to the new digital system in the late 1990s was considered a revolution in mobile phone innovation. Electronic phones involve higher-quality audio, increased capacity, and the additional features of short message services (SMS) and voice mail.
One of the most iconic phones of its time, the Nokia 3310, was released in 2000. With its long battery life and the addictive snake game, it remains a symbol of the mobile phone era. The Nokia 3310 also marked the emergence of the popular ‘flip’ phones, which were smaller and featured small LCD screens capable of displaying simple images.
The Rise of Smartphones: The Mid-2000s:
Smartphones emerged in the mid-2000s, initially as a fusion of a phone and a PDA. The first BlackBerry, a 2003 innovation, was a hit among business executives for its ground-breaking features like email capabilities and the touch QWERTY keyboard, which were revolutionary at the time.
However, the most significant leap in the advancement of mobile phone technology was felt in 2007 with the introduction of the Apple iPhone. The iPhone incorporated a large, capacitive touch screen, meaning that there was no longer any need for the kind of tactile keyboard that had been standard on earlier mobile phones and smartphones; this also meant that there were no limitations in terms of where the screen could be touched. It also introduced the purpose for which such phones can be used, other than for phone calls, such as in using mobile applications (apps), where phones are more versatile tools used in browsing the internet, playing games, and even managing finances.
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