In April 1973, the first phone call was made from a cell phone. It might have technically been a cell phone, but it was so much different from the tiny computers we keep within arm’s reach in 2015.
That first mobile phone call was made by Motorola executive Martin Cooper. He used that first phone call to call his rival company Bell Labs to tell them he was speaking via mobile phone. After that phone came a few similar Motorola phones. The world’s first truly portable commercial mobile phone, the Motorola DynaTAC 8000X, was released in 1983 and cost around $4,000.
The next series of phones made by Nokia came out in the early 2000’s. They made mobile communication affordable and widely available to the masses. Chances are you or someone you knew had one of these phones and spent hours playing snake. Also in the early 2000’s, Sharp created the first camera phone. The Sanyo 5300 was released in North America in 2002.
Just a few years later, the wildly popular Motorola Razr debuted in 2004. The slim, sleek and exceptionally small phone flip phone that also featured a camera, made it a hit for many years. It was followed in 2006 by the Krzr, a smaller version of the Razr.
In 2007, the mobile phone industry changed into what we know today with the release of the original iPhone. The 3.5 inch touch screen still influences the way mobile phones are designed today. After the release of the iPhone, app-enables smartphones took over the market. Google’s Android platform made it possible for manufacturers like Samsung, LG and HTC to create devices based on the operating system. Since then all smartphone companies are continuing to increase the screen-size of their newest phones.
With the increase in popularity of tablets like the iPad and Samsung Galaxy Tablet, a new trend of phones sometimes called phablets. Instead of carrying around two different devices, some people are opting for one of these phablets with a screen size in between the typical smart phone and tablet.
Some predictions for the future of mobile phones continue to become lighter, wider and more powerful. They will have a battery life that lasts longer than ever before and a camera that will rival the quality of DSLR cameras. A few experts also predict that mobile phones will become more resistant to damage, and even become flexible.
After mobile phones, wearable technology is becoming increasingly popular. With the rise in popularity of the health and fitness trend, wearable fitness trackers like Fitbit and Garmin, paved the way for even more advanced wearable devices like the Apple Watch and Samsung Gear smartwatch. These new technologies are gaining in popularity and will likely continue to take up a larger portion of consumer spending in the years to come.
Technology is advancing faster than ever before. As of October 2014, according to Pew Reseach Center, 64 percent of American adults own a smartphone. Fourty-four precent of cell owners have slept with their phone next to their bed because they wanted to make sure they didn’t miss any calls, text messages or other updates during the night and 29 percent of cell phone owners describe their cell phone as “something they can’t imagine living without.” The shift to mobile technology is here to stay and will only continue to advance in the years to come.
Sources:
http://www.techiestuffs.com/infographic-evolution-of-mobile-phones/
http://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheets/mobile-technology-fact-sheet/
http://readwrite.com/2014/07/04/cell-phone-evolution-popsugar
