40 years of mobile phones

Perhaps for the younger generation, the presence of mobile phones is too familiar. But few people know that it was only born 40 years ago.

For a technology industry that has experienced many ups and downs like mobile phones, few people think that it is still a fledgling industry.

Since the first mobile phone was launched in 1973 until the boom of smart phones (smartphones), this product has gradually shifted from the role of a communication device to a pocket-sized personal computer. The potential of this technology device is so great that people see it as a new direction of the future personal computer industry.

Continuous improvement

Cell phones are the crystalline products of the most critical technologies in modern history. The most important first is the introduction of voice communication technology, which is a device innovation. This technology was tested and developed by a series of inventors in the nineteenth century, including Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison (Bell was officially granted a patent in 1876).

The phone at the time was only able to connect via a signal line but being able to communicate by voice at that time was considered a miracle. This is followed by the introduction of radio signal transmission technology through Radio Frequency. The advanced countries' military from the 1938s began using remote radios but they weighed more than 11kg and were only about 8km in contact.

Martin 'Marty' Cooper with his first mobile phone - Motorola DynaTAC. (Photo: INTERNET)

By 1947, AT&T - an American telecommunications company behind the Bell Labs research institute of Alexander Graham Bell introduced the first wireless consumer phone, using the MTS (Mobile Telephone Service), also known as Generation 0G (Zero Generation) generation of mobile service waves. AT&T wireless devices weigh up to 36kg and can only be installed inside a car.

Struggling to compete with AT&T Group, many technology and telecommunications companies at that time had to give up. As a last resort, Motorola Company bet all their hopes on a mobile phone project to hold. The host of this project is executive engineer Martin 'Marty' Cooper. In 1973, Marty made the first phone call in the history of cell phones. The person he calls Marty's biggest competitor: Joel Engel - chief engineer at AT&T Bell Labs Research Institute.

'Joel, Martin! I'm calling you from a mobile phone . ' Martin recounted that the other end had only silence. Joel Engel understands that it is Martin's victory statement in the telecommunications technology war. However, until 10 years later, 1983, Motorola's new mobile phone model was launched with the name DynaTAC, using the world's first automated telecommunications signal technology.

1G DynaTAC can only allow users to talk within 60 minutes and cost up to $ 4,000. Over a period of time from 1984 to 1997, mobile phones were continuously improved with a smaller shape, the conversation time was increased, the price was much lower .

Time of smartphones

The concept of smartphones is almost nonexistent, until Nokia releases Nokia 9000 Communicator, with network connectivity and Qwerty keyboard. Nokia was also the first to launch a phone without an external antenna. In 1992, the 2G network was launched and allowed phone users to send messages.

This feature has become most popular so far. In 1999, Nokia released the 7110, the first phone to use the WAP network, allowing access to a simplified version of the website, which is seen as a huge step forward for the smartphone industry. The integration of the camera into the phone also began to be tested, with the story of engineer Philippe Kahn attaching the camera to the phone to send the first images of his newborn child. But in 2000, Sharp was the first company to market mobile phones with integrated cameras, although only 0.1 megapixels.

In the 2000s, the technology world witnessed a rise of smartphone phones. The most prominent is Palm, a compact portable computer product that allows users to use some Microsoft software. Motorola launched the RAZR line, a flip-flop phone with a very elegant design. The RAZR line that started a race for mobile phone design became more fashionable. Meanwhile, derived from a kind of pager, Blackberry has become a leading brand in the smartphone market.

But the greatest jump of smartphones is when Steve Jobs - the CEO of Apple - launched the iPhone super product. This product is ahead of its rivals from feature to design. The iPhone not only sets the standard for quality, but also the concepts of a smartphone's essential features, such as content distribution and utility systems. Under pressure from Apple, Google launched Android, an open-source smartphone operating system to balance the game. And so a new era of mobile phones started.

Part of human civilization

Today, mobile phones become an indispensable item for anyone, a real personal computer. Even the popularity of mobile phones overshadowed its 'predecessor' as a landline phone. Cell phones have become a hallmark, part of the history of human civilization.