Technology

A History of Phones: How the Mobile Phone Became What It Is Today

Mobility has been such a big notion for the modern person. To be able to stay connected, even when on the go, is a prized ability for some people. Not everyone is lucky enough to do that but those that do usually have something keeping them busy, that’s why they need to stay connected.

Who do they stay connected to? It can vary. From businesses to the most important person in their life, you’ll usually see them gabbing away on their mobiles. From executives with their flashy phones to engineers touting their push to talk mobile devices, there is always a connection being made to somebody, somewhere, no matter how remote the location.

The history of mobile phones is a colorful one to visit. Let’s look at how the mobile phones of today got their start in the imagination of people who made them possible.

1973 — Mobile is Born

It was Motorola that was first to the mobile scene. The first-ever mobile telephone call in history was made on a phone from the company, the DynaTAC8000X, on April 3, 1973. The person called was Dr. Joel S. Engel of Bell Laboratories. One could think that this was like the very first telephone call made by Alexander Graham Bell but had a diminished effect.

This phone became the first commercially available phone that could be carried anywhere you please. All that hype wasn’t fulfilled until 1983 when the phone was finally sold. It was priced at $4,000 and was a premium phone.

1982 — Europe is Connected

In between the first mobile call and Europe’s connection to the mobile network, Japan managed to make history with the world’s first cellular network being opened. Nippon Telegraph and Telephone supplied the capability for people to make calls. In Europe, there were already plans to create a similar network.

It wasn’t until this year when sales representatives from eleven European countries decided to establish the cellular network. They had already met up prior, even before the release of the DynaTAC800X. Their agreement paved the way for Europe’s first mobile connections.

1992 — Nokia’s Entry into the Fray

Other notable and historical occurrences happened after ’82 and the release of the first Nokia mobile phone. The first mobile call in the U.K. was made by Ernie Wise, decked in full Dickens-era clothing. The call went to Vodafone’s office. Meanwhile, in ’87, the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) was born. It was vital to the further development of the mobile network as it is today.

Nokia’s first entry into the mobile market was 1011. It was also the first mass-production handset that featured GSM technology. At the time, it was the pinnacle of the available tech and came with a hefty price tag.

The Mid-90s — Customers Shift to Size and Function

When Nokia came into the scene, smartphone manufacturers found that they could start creating phones with more features. The feature-rich phone was still a little longer to arrive, but small additions started coming in. Whereas the Motorola phone was only for calling, subsequent phones to 1011 featured access to email, an address book, and even a fax machine capability.

More recent adaptions of features into the mobile phone totally transformed it from a tool of communication to an entertainment aid. It had features for surfing the web and snapping photos, as well as browsing social media. Watching movies and listening to music on it became basic additions.

The Future — Moving to the ‘Cloud’

From cell phones to mobile phones, things changed fast for the device in only a decade. With all the additions on it, it appears that the sky’s the limit for any technology that can be added to it. It’s become a bit of an advanced gadget that there are a lot of other possible additions on it that will make it futuristic.

Smartphones may also become something else than what you may know today. It may even be called a different term. Experts believe that phones in the future will be smarter and more made to adjust to a person’s biological reflexes and processes.

It’s amazing to see how much technology has changed in the past few decades. Take the mobile phone, for example; it has become more than just a tool to call. It’s like a small, handheld laptop than anything else, with all the functions that it can do. With the pace that technology is going, the future is near that you may even start calling smart phones something else. It should be exciting to see what that future holds.