This year marks 40 years since the first public cellular phone call was made by Martin Cooper of Motorola. This mobile phone was a massive device by today's standards – weighing two and a half pounds (1.15 kg) and all of 10 inches long it could only be used for 20 minutes before the battery died.
Cooper was given the challenge of creating what became the prototype DynaTAC handheld cellular phone by Motorola’s at the time Vice President John Mitchell. The very first public wireless phone call was made by Cooper on April 3, 1973 while walking along Sixth Avenue in New York City. Cooper made the call directly to the office of his rival, Joel Engel, head of research at Bell Labs who was also committed to developing the first mobile phone.
Ten years later, the Motorola DynaTAC was put on the market. It had twenty large buttons, a long rubber antenna and a talk time of just thirty minutes, before needing to be recharged for 10 hours. Despite its whopping four thousand dollar price tag and immediately being nicknamed "the brick," it proved to be a resounding success and kicked-off the cellular age.
In 1991 the second generation (2G) cell technology hit the market, after being launched by the Finnish company Radiolinja with the famous slogan: “So that Finns can talk more.”
3G hit the market another 10 years down the track in 2001 and by 2009 these networks experienced enormous demand, giving rise to the recent 4G technologies, which promise faster internet connections and advanced multi-media applications.
Back in 2008 it was estimated that one in two humans carried a cell phone and from 1990 to 2011, global cell phone subscriptions increased from 12.4 million to over 6 billion.
Not only has usage skyrocketed, but the cell phone has undergone a dizzying number of face-lifts over the past few decades, evolving from a high-priced business accessory to an essential item for modern living and a means of stimulating economic growth and prosperity in developing countries.
Head to our gallery to follow the cellular age from brick to smartphone and see if you can spot your first cell phone.
And check out the 1980's Motorola DynaTAC promotional video ... how far we've come!
Sources: University of Salford and PCSelf
Some cannot see the world for what it is !
I used one for nearly twenty years, and even in the end, when the system changed My Brick outperformed the super duper latest and greatest!
Of course the problem with them was battery or power usage. You think the old Motorola Cell phone "Brick" was heavy at a pound and a half, these prototypes weight in at around 3 pounds and were good for only around 2 hours talk time.
I used to sell them to celebrities and wealthy businessmen along with Living Trusts and a Tax Shelter Scam known as "Beefalo Tax Shelters". The phone although it had a touch tone dial pad, it was useless as most areas were still using analog ring dialers. But it was impressive none the less, because you simply used a real live operator to connect your calls.
Celebrities loved them..... since they made them stand out and nobody else had one. Even at $1500 minimum they sold well. I used mine to meet girls.... like at department store makeup counters, where I met my wife. Simply by calling her while just a 100 ft away and asking questions. It really freaked her out telling her what she was wearing as I walked up to her during the phone call! .....I guess that was the first Hotline date in it's day!!!