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Fessenden demonstrates a wireless radio telephone
Cellphones have a long and varied history going back to Reginald Fessenden's invention and shore-to-ship demonstration of radio telephony, through the Second World War with military use of radio telephony links and civil services in the 1950s, while hand-held cellular radio devices have been available since 1983. Due to their low establishment costs and rapid deployment, mobile phone networks have since spread rapidly throughout the world, outstripping the growth of fixed telephony.[ (Fessenden -
First US patent of a wireless phone
U.S. Patent Number 887357 for a wireless telephone, issued 1908 to Nathan B. Stubblefield of Murray, Kentucky. He applied this to "cave radio" phones and not directly to cellular telephony as we know it today. (First US Patent for a Wireless Phone) -
Zero Generation (0G) of mobile telephones
In 1945, the zero generation (0G) of mobile telephones was introduced. 0G mobile telephones, such as Mobile Telephone Service, were not officially categorized as mobile phones, since they did not support the automatic change of channel frequency during calls, which allows the user to move from one cell (the base station coverage area) to another cell, a feature called "handover". (Zero Generation (0G) of mobile telephones) -
Cells For Mobile Phones
The introduction of cells for mobile phone base stations, invented in 1947 by Bell Labs engineers at AT&T, was further developed by Bell Labs during the 1960s. (Cells for mobile phones) -
First Call on Handheld
Motorola is widely considered to be the inventor of the first practical mobile phone for handheld use in a non-vehicle setting. Using a modem, if somewhat heavy portable handset, Motorola manager Martin Cooper made the first call on a handheld mobile phone on April 3, 19 (First call on Handheld Mobile phone) -
Nokia’s First Mobile Phone
Nokia Mobira Senator (1982)It may look more like a boombox than a portable phone, but this boxy, bulky device was actually Nokia's first mobile (if you can call it that) phone. Introduced in 1982, the Nokia Mobira Senator was designed for use in cars. After all, you wouldn't want to use this phone while walking: It weighed about 21 pounds (Nokia's First Mobile Phone) -
2nd Generation (2G)
the first GSM network (Radiolinja) opened in Finland. 2G phone systems were characterized by digital circuit switched transmission and the introduction of advanced and fast phone to network signaling. In general the frequencies used by 2G systems in Europe were higher though with some overlap, for example the 900 MHz frequency range was used for both 1G and 2G systems in Europe and so such 1G systems were rapidly closed down to make space for 2G systems. In America the IS-54 standard was deploye -
2G
The first digital cellular phone call was made in the United States -
Pre iPhone
Pre-iPhone: BellSouth/IBM Simon Personal Communicator (1993)A cell phone with added PDA functions isn't news today. But in 1993, it was a novel idea. The Simon Personal Communicator, jointly marketed by IBM and BellSouth, was the first mobile phone to add PDA features. It was a phone, pager, calculator, address book, fax machine, and e-mail device in one package, albeit a 20-ounce package that cost $900. (Pre-iPhone Introduction) -
First Text
Text messaging, also known as Short Message Service (SMS), began in the late 1980’s by a group of Europeans who were trying to improve systems for the Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), but was used by a civilian in 1993 by an engineering student totally by accident. (Introduction of Text Messaging) -
Cell Phone Fashion
Ahead of Its Time: Motorola StarTAC )Before the Motorola StarTAC was introduced in 1996, cell phones were more about function than fashion. But this tiny, lightweight phone ushered in the concept that style was just as important, ultimately paving the way for today's sleek-looking phones like the Motorola Razr. This 3.1-ounce clamshell-style phone, which could easily be clipped to a belt, was the smallest and lightest of its time. In fact, it was smaller and lighter than many of today's teeny-ti -
Bluetooth
Mobile phone vendor Ericsson demonstrated its Bluetooth mobile phone, the tri-band and WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) ready T36, at the CommunicAsia conference and exhibition, the Swedish mobile phone and network equipment vendor announced this week. The T36 is the first mobile phone to have built-in Bluetooth wireless technology, according to Ericsson. The T36 is also the company's first tri-band GSM (global system for mobile communications) phone, meaning the phone can be used over GSM f -
Web Integration
Nokia's candy bar-style cell phones were all the rage. Sporting a monochrome display, an external antenna, and a boxy, 5.2-inch tall frame, the Nokia 6160 was the company's best-selling handset of the 1990s. The somewhat sleeker Nokia 8260, introduced in 2000, added a colorful case and lost some of the 6160's bulk: it stood only about 4 inches tall and weighed 3.4 ounces, compared with almost 6 ounces for the 6160. (Wedb Integration to Cell Phones) -
Blackberry
The BlackBerry is a wireless handheld device introduced in 1999 which supports push e-mail, mobile telephone, text messaging, internet faxing, web browsing and other wireless information services. Developed by the Canadian company Research In Motion (RIM), it delivers information over the wireless data networks of mobile phone service companies -
Smartphone
Early Smart Phone: Kyocera QCP6035 (2000)If you're one of the many fans of the Palm OS-based Treo phone, you might want to thank Kyocera. The company's QCP6035 smart phone, which hit the retail market in early 2001 and cost between $400 and $500 (depending on the carrier), was the first Palm-based phone to be widely available to users. It included a measly 8MB of memory, and sported a bland monochrome display, but it paved the way for future products. (Introduction of Smart Phone) -
3G
Not long after the introduction of 2G networks, projects began to develop third generation (3G) systems. Quite differently from 2G systems, however, the meaning of 3G has been standardized in the IMT-2000 standardization processing. During the development of 3G systems, 2.5G systems were developed as extensions to existing 2G networks. These provide some of the features of 3G without fulfilling the promised high data rates or full range of multimedia services. CDMA2000-1X delivers theoretical ma
