We tell you the history of the cell phone or mobile phone, what the different generations are until today and their characteristics.
The cell phone is an independent telecommunication device.
The history of the cell phone
The history of the cell phone, the cell phone or mobile phone, includes the sequence of developments, technological innovations and scientific discoveries that have allowed the creation of mobile phones. It also includes their evolution over time to become the multifaceted tools that exist today.
The cell phone is an independent telecommunication device. It allows you to perform various operations such as calls, text messages, access the Internet and various digital applications. It is an indispensable device in today’s world, whose history shows the great technological changes that societies have undergone since the end of the 20th century.
Cell phone background
For the cell phone to be created, the invention of the radio was necessary, among other inventions.
Long before the cell phone, Telephones were invented by Antonio Meucci at the end of the 19th century. and patented by Alexander Graham Bell. It was designed to transform electrical impulses into the human voice. Over almost 100 years of history, the telephone has evolved a lot to become the devices we have (although less and less) in our homes.
However, for the cell phone or even the cordless phone to become possible, The radio was also to be discoveredThat is to say, the cell phone required the development of information transmission via electromagnetic waves and, later, through satellite microwaves.
Once these two technologies were discovered, it was a matter of time until the first “cordless” phones appeared.
The world’s first cell phone
The first cell phone was a Motorola model DynaTAC 8000X.
The idea of making a cell phone is not as new as its manufacture, since in 1947 the engineer DH Ring had already proposed some sketches to Bell LaboratoriesHowever, they lacked the technology to produce them.
In the 1960s All the major telecommunications companies were using the same concept.and they competed to be the first to achieve this. Finally, the first company to design a cell phone was Bell Laboratories, whose patent was approved in 1972.
The first cell phone prototype was demonstrated in 1973 by Motorola.via a call from Martin Cooper on a street in New York. The phone was a DynaTAC 8000X model and the call was made to his biggest competitor in the area, Joel Engel, of AT&T’s Bell Labs.
The DynaTAC 8000X was first marketed in 1984.It weighed about 1 kilogram and measured 33 x 4.4 x 8.9 centimeters. Its battery allowed only one hour of communication or eight hours of standby time on the network.
The first generation or 1G
The first generation of cell phones was bulky and allowed few functions.
In the 1980s appeared Ameritech Mobile Communications, LLC, the first company to provide cell phone services. To do this, it used analog radio channels (frequencies of around 450 MHz) with frequency modulation (FM). Some of the first phones of this type were from the company Ericssonbrand NMT 450.
This generation of cell phones It was cumbersome and not very useful by today’s standards., but it was a huge advance in communication and technology. In 1986 Ericsson modernized its equipment, launching the NMT 900and companies like AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System) and TACS (Total Access Communication System) operated in the United States and other first world countries.
Second generation or 2G
In the 1990s, terminal manufacturing became simpler and cheaper.
The second generation of cell phones was born in the 1990s. It used GSM systems (Global System for Mobile Communicationsa European standard) and frequencies between 900 and 1800 MHz, which represented the step towards the digitalization of cellular communications. It improved voice quality and security levels.
On the other hand, terminal manufacturing became simpler and cheaper. Different line management models were also used, such as Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), which allowed migration from analog to digital without having to make large investments in changing cabling, towers, antennas, etc.
This new technology It also allowed roaming and the marketing of units at much more competitive prices. In this generation, the massification of the mobile phone began.
Generation 2.5
Soon EMS and MMS technology was incorporated into the second generationthus allowing text messaging and multimedia messaging to be carried out on existing cell phones. In many cases, the functionality was limited to receiving them, but it was not long before units capable of transmitting them also appeared.
Since this type of new technologies required higher transmission speeds, Networks were upgraded to GPRS (General Packet Radio Service), which allowed speeds of up to 120 kb/s, and EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution), which took it up to 384 kb/s.
Third generation or 3G
The first smartphones already functioned as small computers.
At the beginning of the 21st century the third generation responded to the need for cell phones with internet connectivityvideo conferencing, television and file downloading, that is, small computers.
The first smartphones or smartphones belong to this generationand are responsible for its popularization. For this purpose, a new system was implemented: UTSM (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) with CDMA technology, capable of reaching transmission speeds of 7.2 Mb/s in optimal conditions.
Fourth generation or 4G
The fourth generation allowed high definition videos to be played.
This is the generation of smartphones “high-end” or higher capacities, thanks to its high speed internet connection (bandwidth) and reception of High Definition (HD) videos. This is the technology currently used by cutting-edge companies in the world of mobile telephony, and is considered the technological evolution of mobile telephony.
Fifth generation or 5G
Since 2019, the fifth generation of cell phones is under development. However, since 2014 some powerful companies such as the Chinese Huawei and the Russian Megafon Tests are being carried out to manufacture a new generation of technology.
As revealed by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in 2017, it is estimated that will reach speeds of up to 20 Gb/s download and 10 Gb/s upload, optimizing the technology with new standards that are expected to be available by 2020.
The smartphone revolution
The incorporation of touch screens eliminated the use of keyboards.
smart phones They were the biggest change in the history of cell phones. On the one hand it changed the functionality, incorporating many aspects of computers. On the other hand, the design changed: the phones promised to be smaller and more discreet, but the arrival of Smartphones They implemented the need for large screens.
Faced with the need to display information on screens, keyboards were removed and replaced by touch instructions inside the screenknown as technology touch-screen. In addition, larger, rectangular-shaped devices were designed.
Cell phone timeline
- 1973. The first cell phone in history is created, the DynaTAC.
- 1982. The marketing of 1G cell phones begins.
- 1990. The marketing of 2G cell phones begins and becomes widespread.
- 1992. The first SMS in history is sent.
- nineteen ninety six. Motorola announces its first mobile phone, the StarTAC.
- 1997. The first cell phone with an integrated camera is announced.
- 1999. The first cell phone with mp3 capability appears, the Samsung sph-m100.
- 2001. Marketing of 3G cell phones begins.
- 2001. The first cell phone with Bluetooth capability appears, the Sony Ericsson T68.
- 2005. The first cell phone with Wi-Fi capability appears, the Nokia n91.
- 2008. The first cell phone appears Manzanahe iPhoneinaugurating the world of smartphones.
- 2008. The first cell phone with an operating system is marketed Linux (Android).
- 2009. The boom in smartphone applications is taking place.
- 2010. The commercialization of 4G cell phones begins.
- 2011. The first cell phone is marketed with Dual CoreOf the brand LG.
- 2014. Development of future 5G technology is announced.
- 2017. The first smartphone with a front camera (dual camera) from the brand is marketed Alcatel.