For today‘s 2.5 billion smartphone users, it‘s nearly impossible to imagine life without these slim, powerful, app-driven devices in their pockets. Yet wind back the clock a few decades and mobile phones were the nearly unrecognizable progenitors of today‘s gadgets – expensive, clumsy analog "bricks" with extremely limited capabilities.
Join me on an extensive tour through mobile phone history as we explore the technical progression, landmark devices, and user experience paradigm shifts that set the stage for today‘s ubiquitous mobile computing platforms. You‘ll gain a new appreciation for that svelte slab in your pocket!
The Spark of a Wireless Revolution (1973 – 1983)
Of course, the ancestral lineage of today‘s phones traces back to April 3, 1973 when Martin Cooper, an engineer at Motorola, placed the first public cell phone call to his rival Joel Engel at Bell Labs. Cooper inaugurated the wireless age using Motorola‘s clunky DynaTAC prototype handset that weighed 2.5 pounds. Consumers would have to wait another full decade for commercial devices.
While public demonstrations continued, engineers worked feverishly to shrink components like radio receivers/transmitters to build viable consumer hardware. The real birth of telephony mobility emerged on September 21, 1983 when the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved commercial cellular service for the United States.
Just a month later, on October 13, 1983, Motorola‘s unveiled the seminal DynaTAC 8000X – the first handheld mobile phone made commercially available to consumers. The DynaTAC retailed for a staggering $3,995 in 1983 dollars – over $10,000 today!
For such a premium, DynaTAC owners got a unwieldy 1.75 pound analog-based brick capable of only 30 minutes of battery-powered talk time. But despite significant limitations, brands eagerly courted exclusivity with the DynaTAC. For status-seeking business executives, the sky-high price tag only enhanced its mystique as a must-have tool.
Bulky "Bricks" Proliferate (1984 – 1992)
The exorbitant cost and short talk times restricted the DynaTAC‘s reach primarily to Wall Street elites. But the DynaTAC had set off a wireless arms race across the tech sector. Companies rushed back to their R&D labs to develop the next evolution in mobile hardware to capitalize on the new market.
Motorola itself raised the bar in 1989 with the MicroTAC 9800X, shrinking the form factor down to a still unwieldy 1 pound "brick." The MicroTAC expanded talk time to 60 minutes via improved nickel-cadmium battery technology. And though analog cellular networks still prevailed, a 2-line digital display vastly improved the user interface over the single-row DynaTAC. At a $2,495 entry price, the MicroTAC saw much broader adoption as cellular infrastructure coverage spread.
The Rise of Specialty "Bricks" (1993 – 1999)
By the early 1990s, Motorola faced stiff competition in the rapidly growing mobile market from foreign challengers like Nokia and NEC. Battery life, talk times, and standby times were incrementally improving while prices continued falling, reaching the upper middle class.
It was also during the 90s that the divergence between standard voice-oriented cell phones and specialty devices tailored to business/tech niches really took shape. These early smartphones offered radically advanced capabilities despite retaining brick-esque form factors.
Let‘s explore some landmark specialty phones that emerged as mobile pioneers during the period:
IBM Simon (1994)
Part mobile phone, part PDA, the IBM Simon marked a revolutionary step towards smartphones. Unlike other models, the Simon aimed to be a mobile productivity tool rather than a pure communications device.
With its 4.5 inch touchscreen and included stylus, owners could utilize built-in apps like address book, email client, fax software, and even third-party apps. The Simon allowed business users to remotely access contacts and office communication from nearly anywhere for the first time.
- Dimensions – 8.89" x 5.11" x 1.4"
- Weight – 1.1 pounds
- Talk Time – 1 hour
- Standby Time – 8 hours
- Display – Monochrome LCD w/ Backlight, 240 x 160 pixels
- Storage – 1MB built-in
- Connectivity – Cellular, Fax Modem
- OS – Proprietary (text-based)
- Price – $899
Nokia Communicator Series (1996)
As cell phone capabilities increased exponentially, the Finnish giant Nokia took a radically divergent approach with their Communicator series – melding full Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) functionality with mobile devices.
The original 9000 Communicator (and subsequent 9110/9120 iterations) effectively constituted a portable palmtop computer with an Intel 24 MHz 386 CPU built-in! Running Nokia‘s GEOS-based software environment, users could draft documents, read email, browse extremely primitive WAP sites.
Communicator owners also got robust productivity apps like spreadsheets, word processors, presentation builders, and personal organizers. But like the IBM Simon, the Communicator achieved this power via larger, bulkier form factors that started around 400 grams (~1 pound). For mobile warriors, that extra heft was worthwhile – especially once GSM support unleashed the capability worldwide.
- Dimensions – 5.98" x 3.54" x 1.77" (Closed)
- Weight – 397 grams
- Talk Time – 2.5 hours
- Standby Time – 55-260 hours
- Display – 10 line Monochrome LCD, 640×200 pixels
- Storage – 8MB built-in
- Connectivity – Cellular, Infrared, RS-232 Serial Ports
- OS – GEOS V3.0
- Price – $800
Hagenuk MT-2000 (1996)
The ill-fated German manufacturer Hagenuk may have vanished in obscurity since, but their MT-2000 left an dent in cell phone history as the first device to ship with a game. The included Tetris clone gave bored callers a revolutionary new option – playtime in between conversations.
Beyond gaming, the MT-2000 touted other smartphone features like an integrated PDA calendar and built-in phone book. Large-scale user adoption proved elusive though. Hagenuk ceased hardware production just months after the MT-2000 launch.
Mainstream Adoption Begins (1999 – Present)
While mobile phones retained brick-esque form factors throughout the 90s, each hardware cycle (and wireless standard improvement like 2G GSM networks) brought incremental enhancements. Prices steadily declined, average talk times stretched longer. Standby times began reaching up to 5 days by 1999. Displays shifted from single row monochrome to full color.
Most importantly, wireless penetration rates were skyrocketing. By 1999, over 100 million cell phone subscribers had signed onto networks worldwide. Penetration vaulted from a niche 7 million users in 1990 to an undeniable mass market phenomenon less than a decade later.
Accordingly, manufacturers shifted attention towards slim, lightweight form factors and mass demographic appeal. Functional folder and clamshell style flip phones like Nokia‘s sleek 8810 (1996) or Motorola‘s StarTAC (1996) lines stormed global markets as the new hallmarks of style and sophistication.
Of course, the mobile phone revolution was just getting started. Behind the scenes, engineers plugged away on emerging data networking standards like 2.5G GPRS and EDGE that would enable mobile Internet access. These efforts laid the essential groundwork for BlackBerry, Palm and eventually full touch-based computing smartphones just around the corner.
The dawn of the 21st century heralded astonishing advancements like built-in cameras, media players, storage expansion, app ecosystems, mobile browsers and more. But most staggeringly, digital mobile phones have evolved from executive novelty into the most essential, ubiquitous and constantly-used technology in human history.
