First ever cell phone — How it all started

Today, the 3rd of April, marks the anniversary of the invention of the cell phone. It was on this day in 1973 that Motorola engineer Martin Cooper made the first call from a portable device that was considered a real breakthrough in telecommunications. He made the first call in New York City, standing outside the Hilton Hotel on Sixth Avenue, to a colleague from Bell Laboratories.

Novyny.LIVE will tell the brief history of the first cell phone. 

How the idea of creating a mobile communication system came about

As early as 1946-1947, Bell Laboratories had its first ideas about the possibility of building cellular networks. An employee of this research unit, Reid, outlined in a memo a number of possibilities for creating such networks. Subsequently, the concept of "cells" (base stations) and key patents in the field of cellular communications were developed by Amos Joel, also a Bell Labs specialist.

Martin Cooper, while working at Motorola, initially focused on improving the automotive radiotelephone network. In the early 1970s, when he headed the department responsible for this area, he suggested that a mobile device should be compact enough to be carried in hand. Several companies worked on reducing the size, increasing convenience, and eliminating frequency conflicts, but it was Motorola that achieved real results.

How the first ever mobile call took place

On April 3, 1973, in New York City, Martin Cooper literally made history when he made the world's first cellular phone call using a prototype Motorola DynaTAC 8000X phone. The device weighed about 1.15 kg, was more than 22 cm long, and the battery provided only 20 minutes of talk time.

Joel Engel, the then head of research and development at Bell Laboratories, whom Cooper called, later admitted that he was quite impressed. Cooper himself recalled that his colleague's reaction to such a call was, although not very eloquent, eloquent nonetheless.

"I don't remember what he said, but, you know, I thought I heard his teeth grinding," Cooper said at the time.

Although a prototype of the DynaTAC 8000X appeared in 1973, it took another ten years before ordinary users could purchase a commercial model. On March 6, 1983, Motorola launched its first portable cell phone at retail. The model weighed about 800 g and cost about $3,995. It took 15 years and about $90-100 million to develop.

"The idea of a phone call has changed now. You used to call a specific place, but now you call a specific person," Cooper said after creating the first mobile phone.

Like any new technology, a cell phone was expensive at the beginning. Nevertheless, the idea of always being "in touch" inspired thousands of people who were ready to queue up for an expensive device. Today, for most of us, a cell phone or smartphone has long since become a daily accessory and an extremely important means of communication. Few would deny that a mobile gadget has now become an integral part of our style and lifestyle.

As a reminder, Google has introduced AI search in Gmail. Now, users can find the most relevant emails in their inbox faster.

We also wrote that the modern Internet collects a huge amount of private data about users. Choosing a reliable web browser can be one of the easiest ways to maintain your anonymity and protect your data.