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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.