Wednesday 3 April 2013

From chunky bricks to smartphones: The mobile phone turns 40



Founding father ... US engineer Martin Cooper posing with the very first Motorola.
 MOBILE phones turn 40 today - after the first ever call on one was made by a Motorola employee on April 3, 1973. Boffin Martin Cooper phoned his wife on the gadget made up of 30 circuit boards. Since then, the handy device has come a long way - maturing from clunky brick to sleek and superlight smartphone.


To celebrate mobiles' big birthday, we look at the key stages of the gizmos' evolution.

Motorola 4500x:
This retro brick from the '80s wasn't exactly portable but any phone yuppy wanted to be seen hauling one around. Weighing in at 3.5kg and resembling a car battery, the Motorola offered just 20 minutes of talk time.
Motorola
Chunky ... this Motorola was the phone of choice back in the '80s
Motorola DynaTAC 8000x
The world's first commercially-available mobile, the 8000x had a price tag of almost $4,000 back in 1983. The waiting list to get one of these - which could store thirty different "dialling locations" - ran into the thousands.
DynaTAC
Popular ... the DynaTAC was the first mobile available in shops
Nokia 101:
1992: The Nokia 101 was the phone that kick-started the Finnish manufacturer's dominance of the mobile market during the '90s. It weighed half a kilo and was also the first mobile to take on the new "Candy bar" shape familiar today.
Nokia 101
Brick ... Nokia enjoyed a dominance in the '90s kickstarted by the 101
Ericsson GA628:
1997: It might not look fashionable but the GA628 was the first mobile you could customize yourself.
The 170g phone signalled a big shift as mobile users became increasingly younger - making the market move away from catering for businessmen alone.
Ericsson GA628
Colourful ... the GA628 came in a range of different shades
Nokia 8110:
1996: Nokia's high-end range of phones were aimed at the business market and had a price tag to match. Sci-fi fans were also eager to get hold of the 8110 after the slider-form mobile was featured in The Matrix.
Nokia 8110
Fat cat phone ... the 8110 was popular with wealthy business people
Motorola StarTAC:
Launched in the same year as the 8110, 60 million StarTACs flew off the shelves.
The clamshell device weighed less than 100 grams but cost a whopping $1,000.
StarTAC
Hot property ... the StarTAC sold in huge numbers when it came out
Nokia 3210:
1999: The hugely-popular 3210 was the phone in the pockets of a whole generation of mobile users.
It was the first device not to have a visible aerial and also came pre-loaded with game Snake.
Nokia 3210
Icon ... the 3210 was the first device to have an internal aerial
Sanyo SCP-5300:
2002: World's first mobile phone to come with a feature now commonplace on most devices: a camera.
The crafty gadget also boasted cutting-edge polyphonic ringtones as well as a colour screen.
Sanyo
Cheese ... the Sanyo was the world's first camera phone
Blackberry Quark 6210:
2003: One of the first generation of Blackberry phones, the device boasted a QWERTY-keyboard making it popular with business folk.
It was listed by Time magazine as one of the top 100 gadgets ever made.
Blackberry
QWERTY ... the Blackberry device hit the shelves in 2003
Motorola RAZR:
Launched originally in the same year as the Blackberry, the RAZR became one of the best-selling clamshell phones ever. It shifted more than 130million units with its sleek design making it a hit with youngsters.
RAZR
Flashy ... a new version of the RAZR range
iPhone:
2007: Apple's gamechanger device was the brainchild of Steve Jobs and cemented the company's name in the mobile market. About a quarter-of-a-billion handsets have been sold to date.
iPhone
Smart ... the iPhone has sold a quarter-of-a-billion units

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...