The Most Important Moments in Mobile Phone History
These days, most of us can’t leave the house without our mobile phone, so it’s hard to believe that less than half a century ago they didn’t even exist. They’ve come a very long way since then. Here are some of the most important moments in mobile phone history:
1973 – The first mobile phone is invented Motorola employee, Martin Cooper, invented the first mobile phone prototype which went on to become commercially available as the Motorola SynaTAC 8000x. Reports say that his inspiration came from watching Star Trek. |
1992 – First commercial SMS message
The SMS text message revolutionised the way people use phones to communicate. The first ever SMS message read “Happy Christmas” and was sent in 1992 to Vodafone Director Richard Jarvis. This new method of communication provided a faster and more convenient way to get in touch.
1994 – Bluetooth
The invention of Bluetooth by Sven Mattisson and Jaap Haartsen, two Ericsson employees, allowed new ways of communicating between different devices, including mobile phones, fax machines, computers, etc. This wireless technology provided users with a quick and easy way to share and transfer information.
1999 – First full internet mobile phone
In 1999, NTT DoCoMo released the i-mode to mobile phones in Japan allowing users to access the web, their emails, the weather, and a whole load of other services on their mobile phone. Internet phones are now very sophisticated, and this is where it all began.
2000 – First camera phone
Then came the camera phone. Also in Japan, Sharp Communications and J-Phone released the first phone with a built in camera, the J-SH04, allowing users to take instant photographs on their mobiles.
2007 – The iPhone
Arriving closer to today’s mobile landscape, Apple’s iPhone arrived on the scene in 2007. This sleek, touch screen device was much more sophisticated than anything that came before it, and has continued to develop with each generation. The applications available have become almost unlimited, especially with the arrival of the App Store in 2008.
Other mobile phone manufacturers followed in Apple’s footsteps, and we now have a wide range of choice when it comes to smart phones; mobile phones that can be used in place of almost any other device you can think of. Martin Cooper should be proud of what he began.