0We live in the 21st century, and now almost everyone has a mobile phone, through which they can contact another person almost anywhere in the world. But it was not always like this, and the first cell phone appeared relatively recently by historical standards.
Now we can inform our loved ones that everything is fine, share and show how we relax in the mountains or by the sea in real-time. But where did it all begin? Let's delve into the history of mobiles and trace the cell phone origin.
The Inception of Mobile Communication
On May 7, 1895, Alexander Popov demonstrated an invention he called the "thunderstorm detector" to people. This device, capable of registering electromagnetic vibrations within a radius of several kilometers, received such a vivid name. How is it related to telephone communication? Popov did not stop there; he decided to replace the metrological recorder with a telegraph apparatus. After these manipulations, it was discovered that this device could be used for remote telegraphy.
This is how the world's first wireless communication was discovered. The first message ever transmitted using this method contained two words: "Heinrich Hertz." In this way, the creator wanted to pay tribute to Hertz, who proved the existence of electromagnetic waves.
The situation then developed as follows:
- In 1901, Marconi patented an improved device based on Popov's invention. Thanks to this, he was able to transmit a message across the entire Atlantic Ocean. Undoubtedly, this was a significant breakthrough in the era of radio communication.
- Radio communication began to spread in 1921 (20 years later) in the state of Detroit. Police cars and stations were equipped with telephone communication operating at a frequency of 2 MHz. It was used to report incidents and crimes. Unfortunately, the technology did not support two-way communication and needed improvement.
- Over the next 12 years, efforts were made, and in 1933, the "Push to Talk" technology was born. A year later, the frequency range used for communication was expanded in the state. Four communication channels were introduced, and the technology began to grow across the country.
The Second World War began, and technology development did not receive due attention. Only in 1946 did innovations reappear. For example, in 1946, the world's first mobile radio communication was introduced. It was created by AT&T and Bell Telephone Laboratories. Only private clients could use it, and considering that the car radio weighed 40-50 kg, it was inconvenient and far from practical. In 1947, American engineer Douglas Ring suggested to Bell (the company he worked for) to create what we now call the "oldest cell phone," but the idea remained shelved.
Early Mobile Devices: Сell Phone Timeline
Only in 1973, the engineer from Motorola, Martin Cooper, introduced the world to the first ever cellular phone, which was named Motorola DynaTAC. The device weighed 1.2 kg and had small dimensions. It was the one that could already be called "mobile."
Martin Cooper's device gained popularity worldwide, and countries began equipping their territories with cell towers, giving rise to cellular communication. By 1983, cellular networks were present in Japan, Sweden, Norway, the USA, Denmark, Finland, and many other countries. However, the market still could not offer customers a truly convenient MOBILE device.
In 1984, Motorola released the DynaTAC 8000X, a device that became even lighter and more compact, with a price tag of $3995. After this, in the same and subsequent years, unified standards for cellular communication were created worldwide. In the UK, there was ETACS, in the USA - IS-54, and in the USSR, the NMT-450 standard was adopted only in 1991.
Motorola remained a leader in the mobile phone market for years. In 1989, the first cellular phone that could be stored in the pocket of trousers, the Motorola MicroTAC 9800X, was released. The phone had the world's first flip phone form factor, known as a "flip phone." Thanks to this, the model quickly became a hit. The phone weighed 350 grams, had a built-in phone book, backlit keys, and a single-line LED display.
In 1991, the Sony corporation introduced the first lithium-ion battery. Its creator, Japanese scientist-chemist Akira Yoshino, received the Nobel Prize for this development in 2019. The creation of the battery soon gave a new impetus to the development of mobile phones. A year later, the Nokia 1011 was released - the Nokia oldest mobile phone, supporting second-generation (GSM 2G) networks. The device had a classic appearance of button phones, a large monochrome display, and a retractable antenna. The phone's memory allowed saving up to 99 contacts. The device weighed 495 grams. The key difference from the Motorola MicroTAC 9800X was increased autonomy: the phone worked for up to one and a half hours without recharging.
In December 1992, British engineer Neil Papworth sent the world's first SMS (Short Message Service), marking another milestone in the development of mobile communication!
In December 1992, British engineer Neil Papworth sent the world's first SMS (Short Message Service — short message service). Another milestone in the development of mobile communication, which gave us messaging as we know it today.
The First mobile phone that allowed sending SMS was released by Nokia. In 1994, the company launched the latest model, Nokia 2110. Starting with this phone, Nokia phones featured the iconic ringtone, the "Nokia tune." The model was produced until 1999. The phone had a built-in calculator, stopwatch, and alarm clock. It could store up to a hundred contacts in memory, and the battery allowed for up to one and a half hours of operation.
In the same year, another significant phone was released — the IBM Simon. It is considered the earliest phone with a touch-screen display and app support. Essentially, the device tried to combine a phone and a pocket computer. The IBM Simon had features like a calendar, notepad, address book, and calculator. It allowed viewing world time, sending and receiving faxes, emails, and playing games. The phone could be operated using the touch screen with the help of a stylus.
In 1996, Motorola introduced the novelty — Motorola StarTAC. The model defined the "flip phones" for decades. The phone weighed 88 grams and had a lithium-ion battery, while most phones of that time used NiMH batteries. Vibration was introduced in this model for the first time, a feature borrowed directly from Motorola pagers. In 2005, PC World named StarTAC the sixth greatest gadget of the last 50 years.
In the same year, Nokia released the model 8110, featuring a new slider form factor. Thanks to the movie "The Matrix," the phone quickly gained popularity. A version with a manually sliding protective cover that covered the keyboard entered mass production. In the film with Keanu Reeves, a model with an automatic mechanism was used. The actor pressed a special button on the side, and the slider swung down. After the release of the film, the company launched a limited series of phones with an automatic button.
In 1997, the Siemens S10 phone was released for sale. The main feature of the model was the world's first color display. The screen supported three primary colors — blue, red, and green, as well as eight shades. The phone was supplied with rubberized tabs for additional protection of the casing. The model also had a built-in voice recorder with the ability to record up to 20 seconds.
In 1999, the WAP protocol was introduced. The first phone supporting it was the Nokia 7110. Websites operated on a simplified analog of HTML called WML. There were no flat-rate plans at that time. People paid only for the time they spent on the internet. Many will recall those frightening moments when significant amounts were deducted from their mobile phone accounts after just a few seconds in the browser. The phone operated on the Symbian OS and featured a unique navigation wheel called NaviRoller. It supported scrolling and pressing for OS control.
In 1999, the 1st phone with T9 predictive text input support was released — the Sagem MC 850. The era of those very text autoreplacements began. In the same year, the world's first phone with Global Positioning System (GPS) support was launched — the Benefon Esc. This marked the beginning of the integration of GPS technology into all mobile phones.
In 2000, Sony introduced the world's first phone with polyphony support — the Sony J5. Around the same time, Ericsson Mobile Communications released the world's first Bluetooth-enabled phone — the Ericsson T36. In 2001, an updated version, the Ericsson T39, was introduced. The display supported four shades of gray, and the phone featured the signature JogDial wheel on the side for navigation within the system. It also included a built-in set of wallpapers for the desktop.
In the same year, the legendary "indestructible" Nokia 3310 emerged. The phone instantly became a people's favorite for its durability, affordability, and reliability, with a total sales count reaching 126 million devices.
In May 2001, the 3G standard was introduced for the first time. Internet speed increased to 2 Mbps. For comparison, at the beginning of 2G development, it was 9.6 Kbps.
In 2002, Siemens released the SL45, the first phone supporting Java applications. It incorporated almost all available features at that time: SMS, MP3 player, games, voice recorder, organizer, calculator, MultiMediaCard, and internet capabilities.
In the same year, phones began to support Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS). It made its debut in the Ericsson T68. However, the main device feature was not MMS. Users could connect separate camera and keyboard modules to the Ericsson T68, making it the first modular phone.
In 2004, another revolution in phone design occurred with the release of the Motorola RAZR V3. Motorola positioned the phone as a flagship with its slim body, flat keyboard made of metal, two color screens, a camera supporting photo and video shooting, Bluetooth 1.2, and GPRS. Additionally, it boasted high autonomy, internet connectivity support, HTML display, Java, and a set of built-in games. The phone gained immense popularity, and on June 26, 2006, Forbes recognized the Motorola RAZR as the most iconic mobile phone in the world.
The Smartphone Era
January 9, 2007, was the day that changed the world. Apple's co-founder, Steve Jobs, presented the world with the first smart phone — iPhone at the Macworld Expo conference.
The development of the gadget took 2.5 years and was carried out in strict secrecy. The iPhone was released for sale on June 29, 2007, and instantly became extremely popular. It was at this time that Steve Jobs introduced the proprietary operating system for Apple phones for the first time — iPhone OS (iOS).
The specifications at the time of release were impressive: 128 MB of RAM, 4 to 8 GB of storage, a 2 MP camera, a Samsung processor, and a screen with a resolution of 320 x 480. The phone had a stylish minimalist design, a large screen, and a full-touch display. Among the main drawbacks were the lack of 3G support, a quiet ringtone, no video recording (despite the presence of a camera). Complaints were raised about general OS limitations, such as restrictions on sharing images and music with other users, limitations on file uploads, limited data support, lack of copy/paste functionality, and system customization.
On September 23, 2008, Android, Inc., introduced the main competitor to iOS — the Android mobile OS. In 2010, the search giant Google released its first phones under its brand - Google Nexus. The phone was produced in collaboration with HTC and, at the time of release, operated on the proprietary OS — Android 2.1 Eclair. The innovation was warmly received, but it did not have any significant new features.
In 2011, Microsoft and Nokia unveiled their first joint gadgets — Nokia Lumia 800 and Nokia Lumia 710. The devices ran on the proprietary Microsoft OS — Windows Phone 7. The interface was distinctive compared to competitors and was named Metro UI. At that time, all phones had a design with application icons, but Microsoft persistently promoted the tiled interface.
In 2013, Samsung introduced the first smartphone with a curved AMOLED display — the Samsung Galaxy Round. The phone was a true flagship with a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, 3 GB of RAM, 32 GB of internal memory, support for memory cards up to 64 GB, and a 5.7-inch diagonal screen. The innovation operated on the Android 4.3 Jelly Bean system.
In the same year, Apple also released the next generation of its smartphone — the iPhone 5S. For the first time, they started using the Touch ID fingerprint scanner. Thanks to this technology, gained popularity and actively developed in the devices of competitors.
In 2014, Microsoft announced the completion of the acquisition of Nokia for 5.4 billion euros. In November, they announced the Microsoft Lumia 535. The gadget operated on the Windows Phone 8.1 OS. A year later, Microsoft launched a new mobile operating system — Windows 10 Mobile. The OS was used in smartphones and tablets on the ARM architecture. The creators wanted to blur the boundaries between mobile devices and Windows-powered PCs. Users did not warmly welcome the new OS. They were upset by the abundance of bugs and shortcomings. The absence of many applications in Windows Mobile and the unwillingness of developers to port programs became the last straw.
The year 2015 brought two notable innovations to the mobile industry. The first smartphone with curved screen edges, the Samsung Galaxy S6, was introduced. The model influenced the design of a large number of subsequent gadgets. Sony also released the world's first phone with 4K resolution — the Sony Xperia Z5 Premium.
2017 marked the beginning of the widespread adoption of Face ID technology. Apple made another breakthrough in the mobile segment by introducing the innovation in the iPhone X. Apple was not the first company to implement facial recognition to unlock a smartphone. However, all previous attempts to use the technology were unsuccessful. Unlocking was extremely slow, and the protection was weak. It could be bypassed with a simple photograph of the owner. Apple was able to improve the technology, raising the protection of devices to a new level. As a result, Face ID was adopted by almost everyone.
Technological Innovations and Features
By the end of the decade, smartphones began to compete in form and design. It was a time for truly bold decisions in the history of smart phones. In 2018, the Chinese company Rouyu Technology introduced the world's first foldable smartphone — the Royole FlexPai. It outpaced Samsung, LG, and other competitors working in this direction.
In its folded state, the device resembled a regular smartphone with a four-inch screen. When unfolded, the screen size reached 7.8 inches. The gadget operated on the Android platform. The phone was equipped with a Snapdragon 800 series processor, 6/8 GB of RAM, and a storage capacity ranging from 128 to 512 GB. The camera was dual, with 20 and 16 MP lenses. The Royole FlexPai received interest from critics, but they criticized it for the lack of system optimization and numerous bugs.
At the CES 2018 exhibition, the Chinese company Vivo showcased the world's first smartphone with an embedded fingerprint sensor in the display, using Synaptics technology. They also released the world's first phone with a pop-up front camera from the body — the Vivo NEX.
In the winter of 2019, Huawei introduced its first device with a flexible screen — the Huawei Mate X. The gadget was released for sale after nine months, in November. When unfolded, the thickness of the body is 5.4 mm, and when folded — 11 mm. It features a side fingerprint button, three cameras, and 4K video recording capability. The device supports 5G networks, fast charging at 55W, 8GB of RAM, and up to 512GB of internal storage. The Kirin 980 processor has eight cores and the Mali-G76 MP10 graphics accelerator.
The South Korean company Samsung also presented its own development of a foldable smartphone — the Samsung Galaxy Fold. In the folded state, the size of the smartphone's AMOLED display is 4.6 inches, and when unfolded — 7.3 inches. It is equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor, 12GB of RAM, and 512GB of internal storage. There are three rear cameras - one with 16MP and two with 12MP. The front camera has a 10MP sensor. The reliability of the device was estimated at 200 thousand folds.
The smartphone received mixed reviews. Users noted the low reliability of the display and the likelihood of its failure. Criticisms included the absence of water resistance and the presence of a noticeable fold in the center of the screen.
To redeem itself, Samsung decided to release another folding smartphone in 2020 — the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip. And now we see both of these models in their fifth generation — evolving with more reliable hinges and less noticeable folds.
The Future of Mobile Phones
The development of phones continues, and the search for interesting solutions is ongoing. The history about mobile phone does not stand still. Some mobile technologies become successful and firmly establish themselves in the smartphone market, while others are quickly forgotten. 3G and 4G technologies have given way to 5G.
As of the beginning of 2024, current trends indicate a shift in the design of smartphones. More devices with folding mechanisms and dual displays are emerging. It is likely that this trend in the evolution of smart phones will persist for at least several years.
