Did you know that the first cell phone call was made 40 years ago. The first cell phone ever made was in 1984 and it cost about $4,000, it had an LED display and took 10 hours to charge. If you want to try a more vintage look get rid of your iPhone or Android and buy one here. After people became tired of holding a brick, the next big cellphone invention was the flip phone, described by Motorola as “about as thick as a fat wallet at the earpiece while tapering down to half the thickness of a deck of cards at the mouthpiece.” And who can forget the Nokia ringtone, very well progressed during the years (listen here) a dub step version really? The next big thing after the flip phone was the camera phone, they weren’t sold until the year 2002 in the United States, Sony Ericsson’s T68i with its clip-on camera being amongst the first. Before the IPhone and Blackberry were top sellers, there was another phone that everyone had, I remember I got it as my first phone in pink, the Razr. Motorola’s slender, square Razr series, first launched in 2004, was such a runaway hit and sold 50 million phones in the first two years. After the average cell phone era had its run, the smartphone era took over, BlackBerry’s 5810, was the very first Blackberry device to get a cellular connection. The Palm TreoW, also a pocket assistant, was the first phone to run a Windows mobile operating system. These phones started to smudge the line between computer and phone. Last but not least, in 2007 came something that would reinvent a simple phone, the IPhone, an iPod, phone and internet communicator in one device. Since then, flat, skinny smartphones from Nokia and Samsung and HTC have reconfigured our expectations of a smartphone, and they are far from what was the first phone. So what do you think the next phone innovation is going to be? Assuming most of you have smartphones, how has it made your life easier/harder ? Could you live without it?
Your post brought back some old memories! Around 1997 , my grandmother lived out in the middle of the woods. Since my mom was worried about her, she bought her the most state of the art cell phone available at the time, the Motorola StarTAC. I remember it seemed like such cutting edge technology at the time, and now its funny to imagine that.
I would say at this point I could not live without my Smartphone/Ipad because I’ve created a life where I need to rely on always being connected. I know I can put off paying my bills at home because I can use my bank app between classes. Also, just the other day I knew that I could wait to get Nets tickets until right before the game, because I knew I could use stubhub on my phone. If this connectivity was taken away, I would have to greatly alter my habits and life.
I hope the next phone innovation is HD Projection. A lot of phones can now play movies from Itunes and Netflix. I have always wanted the Iphone to have a projector that allows you to play those movies on a television sized screen, no matter where you are.
Wow. Yes what memories are appearing in my head right now. Correction 1984 is roughly 30 years ago not 40! I do not actually remember what my first cell phone was. I know it was in the 3rd grade and on Sprints network. I was the first in my grade at school to have one although it was because of some family illnesses and immediate need to be contacted. However, this was no hinderance on the pleasure that I had using it. Because I was the first in my grade (only 35 students per grade) but still a big deal, I had no one else to use it with. All my friends were able to call my cell but at the time that was not so exciting after about a day or two. I remember the day that Nokia made the game snake for their phones and it was not available on my phone. I was furious and threw a temper tantrum with my mom until she bought me one that was never activated but that I could play all the snake I wanted to. Yes I was a bad little bugger. I can also remember the first time I saw someone with a headset for their phone. I was confused how a homeless person could afford a suit and tie. Soon learned that he was on a cell phone. I can also still remember when my phone was not able to send/receive text messages and now I’m pretty sure that there is not a phone in the world that does not have text messages.
My favorite phone that I have ever had was a the Pantech c300 http://cellphones.about.com/library/bl-pi-pantech_c300.htm
it was I believe at the time the worlds smallest colored camera phone. We used to joke that it was the Zoolander phone because it was so incredibly small. I actually miss this phone very much. It was simple, it did not have internet access but only a few at the time did and it was ridiculously small. I am currently an iPhone addict but that is mainly because I am not the most tech savvy and the iPhone is compatible with my computer. I also hate change and do not having to relearn something, I stick with what I already know and feel comfortable with. This is a flaw in my character but at least I can admit it, that’s said to be step one.
You have prompted me to go in search of my old phones. I wish i had a the whole collection and hope to acquire it one day. I am hearing more and more that the iPhone in their innovation. They no longer seem to have the newest and coolest technology but I am still a little stubborn and not ready to change. Thanks for this post it really brought back some good memories!